Senior Director, Clinical Project Management Centre of Excellence

KCR Placement; Dublin; Hybrid; EUR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Health insurance

Retirement planning

LifeWorks EAP

Life assurance

Flexible benefits

Job summary

ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation currently seeking a Senior Director, Clinical Project Management Centre of Excellence to lead the evolution of ICON’s PMO into a federated CoE. This role will establish standards, governance and capability framework to support high-quality clinical delivery across a global matrix.

The successful candidate will build a central hub defining the quality bar while growing a distributed network of champions embedding

Qualifications

• Extensive global clinical trial delivery experience across full lifecycle.
• t

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy, operating model, charter and roadmap for federated PMCoE.

Skills

Global clinical delivery

PMO leadership

Enterprise standards

Stakeholder influence

Learning platforms

Analytics

Digital & AI solutions

Education

Bachelor's degree in life sciences or related

Tools

ICH-GCP knowledge

CAPA framework

Project governance tools

Job description

Senior Director, Clinical Project Management Centre of Excellence -- US -- Canada -- Ireland -- Remote

ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation united by a mission to bring new medicines and treatments to patients faster.

As a values-driven organisation, integrity, collaboration, agility, and inclusion are at the heart of how we work and interact with each other, customers, patients and suppliers.

We are currently seeking a Senior Director, Clinical Project Management Centre of Excellence to lead the evolution of ICON’s Project Management Office into a federated Project Management Centre of Excellence.

Sitting within ICON Business Operations, this role will establish the standards, governance, capability framework and enabling infrastructure that support consistent, high-quality clinical project delivery. The successful candidate will create a central hub that defines the quality bar while building a distributed network of certified champions who embed project-management capability within ICON’s delivery functions.

This is a standard-setting and capability-building leadership role. It does not own clinical delivery directly. It owns the enterprise standards, methods, capability framework and performance mechanisms that enable project teams to deliver consistently.

Success will require the clinical delivery credibility to influence senior stakeholders, combined with the governance, capability architecture and change leadership expertise to establish enterprise standards across a complex global matrix.

What You Will Do:

• Lead the strategy, operating model, charter and roadmap for ICON’s federated Project Management Centre of Excellence, clearly defining central ownership, local delivery responsibilities and decision rights.
• Establish and govern enterprise project-management standards, methodologies, processes, templates, systems and certification requirements for clinical trial delivery.
• Design and own a role-based competency framework, structured onboarding journey and continuous-learning architecture covering project-leadership roles across the organisation.
• Build, train and certify a distributed network of functional champions and subject-matter experts, securing the protected capacity and governance required to deliver central standards consistently at a local level.
• Standardise study intake and outtake processes and drive measurable improvements in study start-up, site activation, closeout, quality and cycle-time performance.
• Establish governance, adoption measures, scorecards and accountability mechanisms that embed standards across functions, divisions and geographies.
• Partner with Quality and Oversight, Governance & Oversight, Data Analytics, Business Transformation, and Digital and AI teams to scale capability, strengthen process effectiveness and demonstrate measurable business value.
• Engage senior executives and delivery leaders, positioning project-management capability as a driver of quality, operational performance, sponsor experience and business growth.
• Build, lead and develop a high-performing central team, with accountability for resource planning, priorities and stakeholder management.

Your Profile:

• Extensive global clinical trial delivery experience across the full study lifecycle, including start-up, conduct and closeout, with personal accountability for scope, timelines, financials, risk, resources, vendors, sponsors and quality.
• Significant senior leadership experience within project management, a PMO or comparable enterprise capability function in a global, matrixed clinical development or CRO environment.
• Proven experience designing and owning a role-based competency framework and structured onboarding and continuous-learning pathway for clinical project-leadership roles, with demonstrated adoption and measurable impact.
• Demonstrated success establishing enterprise project-management standards across functions outside your direct line authority, including the governance, decision rights and accountability mechanisms needed to drive sustained adoption.
• Experience building and leading a distributed capability network, such as certified champions, subject-matter experts or train-the-trainer communities, that enables central standards to be delivered consistently within individual functions.
• Strong working knowledge of ICH-GCP, clinical trial regulatory and quality requirements, inspection readiness and CAPA, combined with executive-level influencing skills and the ability to lead effectively through a complex matrix.
• Experience establishing a Project Management Centre of Excellence or leading a significant operating-model transformation, with demonstrated improvements in areas such as study start-up, site activation, close-out, quality or cycle-time performance.
• Experience using learning platforms, analytics, digital or AI-enabled solutions to scale capability and measure effectiveness; relevant credentials such as PMP, PgMP, Prosci or continuous-improvement qualifications are an advantage.

• Proven experience using process-engineering principles to design and embed standardised, scalable project-management processes across a complex global organisation, supported by clear controls, performance measures and continuous improvement.
• Live in Eastern US or Midwest US, Canada, or Ireland and able to travel 10%
• Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, business, project management or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

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.

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.