eCOA Vendor Start-Up Lead (6-Month Contract)

KCR Placement; Reading; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave entitlements

Health insurance offerings

Retirement planning offerings

Global Employee Assistance Programme (

Life assurance

Flexible country-specific benefits

Job summary

ICON Strategic Solutions is seeking a Vendor Start up Manager (eCOA) to work within a sponsor-dedicated model across the UK/Europe. The role focuses on study start-up, vendor governance and ensuring readiness for regulatory submissions.

You will lead UAT for eCOA and IRT, manage budgets, coordinate vendor documentation for submissions, and drive on-time start-ups while maintaining quality and strong internal/external partnerships.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a scientific, life sciences, or business-related discipline, or equivalent industry experience.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.
• 3+ years of experience within clinical operations with vendor management.
• Solid understanding of GxP, ICH-GCP, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Experience leading or supporting User Acceptance Testing (UAT), particularly for eCOA and IRT platforms.
• Experience supporting outsourcing, vendor selection, contracting, and procurement processes, including RFPs and RFQs.

Responsibilities

• Review vendor and category-specific protocol requirements, ensuring supplier expertise is incorporated into final study specifications.
• Support the development of Study Specification Worksheets (SSWs) to aid vendor selection and the bid process.
• Partner with Procurement and vendors to evaluate proposals and quotations, providing support during contract discussions when required.
• Assess and validate vendor budgets against final project scope and quotations.
• Organise vendor kick-off meetings and facilitate ongoing vendor governance discussions throughout the study lifecycle.
• Coordinate the collection and submission of vendor documentation required for regulatory authority submissions across participating countries.
• Lead User Acceptance Testing (UAT) activities for systems such as eCOA and IRT to ensure readiness for study implementation.
• Ensure protocol amendments and study design changes are effectively communicated to vendors and reflected in budgets, timelines, and service agreements.
• Drive efficient study start-up activities to support timely vendor database deployment and operational readiness.
• Oversee vendor performance at the study level, ensuring delivery meets agreed quality standards, timelines, and service expectations.
• Identify and manage vendor-related risks, developing mitigation and contingency plans to minimise study impact.
• Monitor vendor performance issues, implementing corrective actions and escalating concerns where appropriate.
• Conduct root-cause analysis of supplier performance challenges and identify trends to support continuous improvement.
• Contribute to the implementation of vendor management processes, templates, tools, and best practices across study start‑up activities.

Skills

Vendor management

GxP/ICH-GCP knowledge

Stakeholder collaboration

UAT coordination

Regulatory compliance

Education

Advanced degree in life sciences or related discipline

Tools

eCOA

IRT

Job description

ICON Strategic Solutions is seeking a Vendor Start up Manager (eCOA) to work within a sponsor-dedicated model across the UK/Europe. The role focuses on study start-up, vendor governance and ensuring readiness for regulatory submissions.

You will lead UAT for eCOA and IRT, manage budgets, coordinate vendor documentation for submissions, and drive on-time start-ups while maintaining quality and strong internal/external partnerships.