Associate Clinical Operations Manager II

Merck; São Paulo; On-site; BRL 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck in Brazil is seeking a Clinical Operations Finance Specialist to ensure performance and compliance for country protocols under ICH/GCP and local regulations. The role supports budget execution, CTAs, and financial forecasting in collaboration with senior management.

The position involves coordinating with cross-functional teams, maintaining documentation, and driving process improvements to meet country commitments and timelines. Fluency in English and Portuguese is valued.

Qualifications

• Good IT skills (MS Office, Clinical IT applications) and ability to adapt to new IT tools.
• Knowledge of core clinical systems, tools and metrics.
• Excellent verbal and written skills in local language and English.
• Strong coordination and organizational skills.
• Knowledge of budget and contract negotiation processes and local regulatory environment.

Responsibilities

• Support country budgets and CTAs. Develop, negotiate and complete Clinical Trial Research Agreements (CTRA).
• Oversee and track clinical research payments; reconcile payments at study close out; support financial forecasting with senior teams.
• Manage country deliverables, timelines and results for assigned protocols to meet country commitments and maintain quality and compliance.
• Contribute to local SOP development and ensure regulatory alignment in country operations.
• Coordinate with CRM, CTC, CRA, Finance and Legal to obtain deliverables for submissions, budgets and CTRAs.
• Provide oversight to local vendors and manage local filing, archiving and insurance processes.

Skills

Budget knowledge

Contract negotiation

ICH/GCP knowledge

Regulatory understanding

Communication skills

Time management

Mentoring

Tools

MS Office

Clinical IT applications

Financial systems

Job description

Job Description

This role is accountable for performance and compliance for assigned protocols in a country in compliance with ICH/GCP and country regulations, our company policies and procedures, quality standards and adverse event reporting requirements internally and externally.

Under the oversight of the Line Manager, the person is responsible for Supporting budget/finance aspects, for execution and oversight of clinical trial country submissions and approvals.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to

• Support to country and site budgets. Development, negotiation and completion of Clinical Trial Research Agreements (CTRA).
• Oversees and tracks clinical research-related payments. Payment reconciliation at study close out. Oversee FCPA, DPS/OFAC, and maintenance of financial systems. Support of Financial forecasting in conjunction with Sr.COM /other roles.
• Manages country deliverables, timelines and results for assigned protocols to meet country commitments. Responsible for quality and compliance in assigned protocols in country.
• Contributes to the development of local SOPs.
• Coordinates and liaises with CRM, CTC, CRA, (Finance and Legal if appropriate) to ensure country deliverables are obtained for submissions, budgets, CTRAs and local milestones.
• Provide support and oversight to local vendors as applicable.
• Coordinates local processes, local electronic/hard copy filing, archiving and retention requirements, and insurance process management. Enters and updates country information in clinical and finance systems.
• Support of local regulatory and financial compliance. Ability to in/directly influence investigators, external partners and country operations and adheres to budget targets and agreed payment timelines.
• Works in partnership internally with GCTO country operations, finance, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, legal and regional operations, HQ functional areas and externally with vendors and sites, IRB/IECs and Regulatory Authorities in submission and approval related interactions.
• Through continual interaction with local clinical team/s successfully delivers clinical and financial contracts within fair market value.
• Contribute or lead initiatives and projects adding value to the business, as appropriate/required.
• Contributes strongly to COM team and other Country Operations roles knowledge by acting as/supporting process Subject Matter Expert (SME), sharing best practices, making recommendations for continuous improvement and providing training as appropriate/required.
• Contributes to COM team knowledge by sharing best practices as appropriate/required
• May act as buddy / mentor

Skills

• Good IT skills (MS office, Clinical IT applications) and ability to adapt to new IT applications on various devices.
• Knowledge of core clinical systems, tools and metrics
• Excellent verbal and written skills, in local language and English
• Strong coordination and organizational skills
• Knowledge of budget and contract negotiation process, local regulatory environment and understanding of how this impact study start-up.
• Ability to indirectly influence investigators, vendors, external partners and country managers to address and resolve issues, with minimal support from the Sr.COM or manager.
• Ability to make decisions independently with oversight from Sr.COM or Manager.
• Ability to proactively develop risk management and mitigation plans in the country and resolve issues locally. ICH/GCP knowledge is appropriate to role. Good knowledge of Good Documentation Practices
• Able to work with other experienced clinical research professionals and manage select protocols independently. Works with high quality and compliance mindset.
• Problem solving is essential to this position. Requires the ability to pro-actively identify issues and risks, contribute to root cause analysis, and propose solutions to problems and elevate to management as applicable. Specific examples of common problems include: 1) Issues in budget / CTRA negotiations, 2) Quality and compliance issues, 3) Regulatory and legal issues, and 4) issues related to functional area deliverables that could jeopardize protocol milestones.
• Effective and efficient time management, organizational and interpersonal skills, conflict management and problem-solving skills.
• High sense of accountability and urgency in order to properly prioritize deliverables
• Strong communication and negotiation skills as well as developing skills in influencing and training/mentoring, both written and verbal, in local language and English.
• Ability to focus on multiple deliverables and protocols simultaneously is essential. Requires that the individual has ability to work effectively also in a remote virtual environment with a wide range of people.
• Positive mindset, growth mindset, capable of working independently and being self-driven
• Able to directly influence site staff Qualification & Experience
• Experience in Clinical Researc