Scientific Sales Associate

Charles River Laboratories; Tranent; Remote; GBP 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Charles River Laboratories is seeking a Scientific Sales Associate to fuel our sales pipeline across the UK/EU with remote work. You will identify, engage, and qualify prospective clients, working with marketing, inside sales, field sales, and SMEs to generate high-quality leads.

The role requires a self-starting communicator with an interest in life sciences, ready to build relationships, stay current on drug discovery trends, and strive to exceed monthly KPIs while helping customers advance

Qualifications

• Experience in sales, prospecting or inside sales is desirable.
• Remote work capability with strong communication and time management.
• Familiarity with CRM systems and data sources.

Responsibilities

• Source and qualify new business opportunities via outbound and inbound leads.
• Conduct discovery conversations to understand research needs and fit solutions.
• Collaborate with marketing on campaigns and digital leads.
• Log all activity in Salesforce CRM and maintain data quality.
• Book qualified meetings for Client Services and SMEs.
• Maintain daily outreach cadence and balance volume with quality.
• Research target accounts to tailor messaging and outreach.
• Partner with sales leadership to refine strategies.
• Meet monthly KPIs for leads, qualification, and pipeline.
• Stay informed on Charles River services and industry trends.

Skills

Prospecting

Outbound sales

Lead qualification

CRM

LinkedIn Navigator

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or science

Tools

Salesforce

LinkedIn Navigator

ZoomInfo

Crunchbase

Job description

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

Job Overview

Do you have the desire for sales and prospecting?

Are you passionate about life sciences and want to be a part of a global mission to improve lives?

Charles River Laboratories are excited to be recruiting for a Scientific Sales Associate to be a critical part of the Sales and Commercial team. We’re looking for this candidate to be based in the UK or EU only, to work remotely.

As a Scientific Sales Associate, your primary mission is to identify, engage, and qualify prospective clients to fuel the sales pipeline for our portfolio of services. You will work closely with marketing, inside sales, field sales, and scientific subject matter experts to generate high-quality leads, conduct initial outreach, and set the foundation for long-term client relationships.

This role is ideal for a self-starter with a desire to work in the scientific sector and is looking to forge a successful career in Business Development or Sales.

You’ll thrive in a fast-paced environment, able to demonstrate strong communication skills, and are passionate about helping customers advance their scientific goals.

Job Description

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Proactively source and qualify new business opportunities through a combination of outbound prospecting (calls, emails, LinkedIn, other data sources) and inbound lead follow-up.
• Conduct discovery conversations with prospective clients to understand their research needs, qualify, and determine solution fit.
• Collaborate with marketing to follow up on campaigns, webinars, tradeshows, and digital leads.
• Accurately log and maintain all lead and prospect activity in Salesforce CRM.
• Book qualified introductory meetings for Client Services, SMEs in appropriate Service Lines.
• Maintain a consistent daily cadence of outreach activity, balancing volume and quality.
• Research target accounts and industries to develop tailored messaging and outreach strategies.
• Partner with sales leadership and scientific experts to refine messaging and targeting approaches.
• Meet and exceed monthly KPIs for lead generation, qualification rates, and pipeline contribution.
• Stay informed about Charles River services, therapeutic areas, and drug discovery and development trends to engage prospects credibly.

Other Duties

• Build internal scientific and commercial relationships including knowledge of service lines and capabilities.
• Partner with Commercial & Operational leadership to understand areas of need and gaps in pipeline inquiry volume to prioritize areas of prospecting focus.
• Collaborate and communicate across sites, divisions, and functional teams to deliver on client expectations and ensure comprehensive solutions are proposed when needed.
• Required to initiate Confidentiality Disclosure Agreements (CDA) where needed and MSA agreements when required.
• Perform all other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree (B.A./B.S.) or equivalent in business, marketing, or science related discipline.
• Experience: some experience within sales, prospecting or inside sales is highly desirable. Experience in a contract research and/or pharmaceutical setting with knowledge of drug discovery a plus however not required.
• Capable of working with a minimum of supervision remotely, able to handle multiple tasks, and effectively prioritize based on departmental goals. Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Organizational skills and attention to detail required.
• Proficient in word processing, spreadsheet, and database software including Salesforce, LinkedIn Navigator, ZoomInfo, Crunchbase. Ability to work effectively and efficiently to meet deadlines. Understanding of business/sales process required.

Applicants must have full and permanent Right to Work in the country they reside, as we are not able to offer sponsorship for this role now or in the future.

The salary for the role is £35,000/annum+ plus bonus and benefits. Please note that the salary could vary based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.

About Corporate Functions

The Corporate Functions provide operational support across Charles River in areas such as Human Resources, Finance, IT, Legal, Sales, Quality Assurance, Marketing, and Corporate Development. They partner with their colleagues across the company to develop and drive strategies and to set global standards. The functions are essential to providing a bridge between strategic vision and operational readiness, to ensure ongoing functional innovation and capability improvement.

About Charles River

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO).

We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non‑GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development.

Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities.

Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges.

Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives.

Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well‑being of many across the globe.

We have proudly supported the development of 80% of the drugs approved by the FDA in the last five years.

At Charles River Laboratories, we recognize and recruit all talent.

We are a company committed to fostering a sense of belonging and work daily in this direction.