Director, Regulatory Affairs

ICON Clinical Research; Reading; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Health insurance

Retirement planning

Employee Assistance Programme

Life assurance

Country-specific benefits

Job summary

ICON plc is seeking a Director of Regulatory Affairs to provide strategic regulatory leadership across pharma and biotech projects in the UK. You will drive regulatory strategies, oversee submissions (MAAs CP/MRP/DCP), and guide lifecycle management to ensure compliant, timely deliverables.

You will lead cross-functional teams, interact with regulatory authorities (including Scientific Advice), and ensure alignment with business goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant scientific discipline or healthcare field; advanced degree preferred.
• Extensive regulatory affairs experience in clinical research or pharma, with European procedures (CP/DCP) and post-authorization activities.
• Strategic ability in developing regulatory strategies (TPPs, CDPs) and leading submissions.
• Strong leadership for cross-functional teams and complex projects.
• Excellent communication and agency negotiation skills; travel ~25%.

Responsibilities

• Lead regulatory affairs activities and provide strategic direction across projects.
• Oversee preparation, authoring, and submission management of regulatory documents, including MAAs (CP, MRP, DCP).
• Manage European regulatory pathways, including Orphan, PIPs, and PRIME.
• Lead agency interactions and Scientific Advice meetings, coaching SMEs.
• Provide regulatory intelligence and interpretation of legislation to guide decisions.

Skills

Regulatory strategy

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Agency negotiation

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant scientific discipline

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Director Regulatory Affairs

ICON plc is a world-leading healthcare intelligence and clinical research organization. We’re proud to foster an inclusive environment driving innovation and excellence, and we welcome you to join us on our mission to shape the future of clinical development.

As a Director, Regulatory Affairs at ICON, you will ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and provide strategic direction to ICON’s customers both in pharma and small biotechs.

What You Will Do:

You will lead regulatory affairs activities and actively partner with subject matter experts across projects, providing strategic direction while guiding multidisciplinary teams to ensure the delivery of high-quality regulatory deliverables in alignment with business and customer objectives. Key responsibilities include:

• Driving Strategic Development : Collaborating with internal and external teams to define and develop robust regulatory strategies, utilizing Target Product Profiles (TPPs) and Clinical Development Plans (CDPs) to achieve broader development goals.
• Leading Submissions & Lifecycle Management : Directing the development, hands-on authoring, and submission management of regulatory documents. This includes overseeing initial European Marketing Authorisation Applications (MAAs - CP, MRP, or DCP) as well as post-licensing lifecycle management.
• Navigating European Pathways : Managing complex pre-marketing designation submissions in Europe, with specific expertise in Orphan Drug Designations, Paediatric Investigation Plans (PIPs), and PRIME.
• Leading Agency Interactions : Leading regulatory agency interactions from the front—including Scientific Advice meetings—while coaching and training customer or internal SMEs to achieve optimal meeting objectives.
• Providing Regulatory Intelligence & Insights : Overseeing the interpretation of relevant legislation and guidelines to drive informed decision-making and establish strong partnerships with regulatory agencies.

Your Profile:

You will bring significant regulatory affairs experience developed across 10-12 years of industry and/or consulting roles, with a track record of working in high-performing teams and delivering results.

Required qualifications and experience:

• Education : At least a Bachelor's degree in a relevant scientific discipline or healthcare-related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Experience : Extensive experience in regulatory affairs within the clinical research or pharmaceutical industry, with a proven history of managing European regulatory procedures (CP/DCP) and post-authorization activities. Candidates with advanced therapy or international market experience are particularly welcome although this is not essential.
• Strategic & Technical Ability : Deep expertise in developing regulatory strategies (TPPs, CDPs), combined with self-sufficiency in technical document writing and submission management.
• Leadership Skill : Strong leadership skills and a proven ability to manage cross-functional teams and complex projects in a collaborative environment.
• Communication : Excellent interpersonal, stakeholder management, and agency negotiation skills, with the ability to influence and drive change in a complex organization.
• Travel : Willingness to travel as required (approximately 25%).

What ICON can offer you:

Our success depends on the quality of our people. That’s why we’ve made it a priority to build a diverse culture that rewards high performance and nurtures talent.

In addition to your competitive salary, ICON offers a range of additional benefits. Our benefits are designed to be competitive within each country and are focused on well-being and work life balance opportunities for you and your family.

Our benefits examples include:

• Various annual leave entitlements
• A range of health insurance offerings to suit you and your family’s needs.
• Competitive retirement planning offerings to maximize savings and plan with confidence for the years ahead.
• Global Employee Assistance Programme, LifeWorks, offering 24-hour access to a global network of over 80,000 independent specialized professionals who are there to support you and your family’s well-being.
• Life assurance
• Flexible country-specific optional benefits, including childcare vouchers, bike purchase schemes, discounted gym memberships, subsidized travel passes, health assessments, among others.

Visit our careers site (https://careers.iconplc.com/benefits) to read more about the benefits ICON offers.

At ICON, inclusion & belonging are fundamental to our culture and values. We’re dedicated to providing an inclusive and accessible environment for all candidates. ICON is committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please let us know or submit a request here (https://careers.iconplc.com/reasonable-accommodations)