Director, Clinical Trial Patient Recruitment and Retention

Jazz Pharmaceutical; Penn (Westmoreland County); On-site; USD 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is seeking a strategic leader to steer the global patient recruitment and retention program across multiple clinical studies. You will partner with program leads, Clinical Development, CROs, and external vendors to meet enrolment objectives while optimizing costs and participant experience.

The role requires deep expertise in direct-to-patient outreach, digital campaigns, and data-driven forecasting.

Qualifications

• 10-12 years of experience in clinical research with 5+ years in leadership roles.
• Experience in patient recruitment, patient engagement, or trial enrolment strategy.
• Expertise in direct-to-patient outreach, digital campaigns, patient advocacy partnerships, and data-driven recruitment.
• Ability to interpret complex patient data and translate insights into actionable strategies.
• Knowledge of data privacy and global regulatory considerations in recruitment.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership of global patient recruitment and retention across programs.
• Develop study-level recruitment strategies in partnership with program leads and CROs.
• Oversee governance and performance management of CROs and vendors.
• Integrate data sources and AI/ML insights to improve planning and forecasting.
• Build and develop a high-performing recruitment team and cross-functional partnerships.

Skills

Leadership

Global recruitment

Stakeholder mgmt

Data-driven decisions

Regulatory compliance

Data privacy

Education

Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

AI/LLM tools

Job description

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharma company whose purpose is to innovate to transform the lives of patients and their families. We are dedicated to developing life-changing medicines for people with serious diseases - often with limited or no therapeutic options. We have a diverse portfolio of marketed medicines, including leading therapies for sleep disorders and epilepsy, and a growing portfolio of cancer treatments. Our patient-focused and science-driven approach powers pioneering research and development advancements across our robust pipeline of innovative therapeutics in oncology and neuroscience. Jazz is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with research and development laboratories, manufacturing facilities and employees in multiple countries committed to serving patients worldwide. Please visit www.jazzpharmaceuticals.com for more information.

Job Description

Essential Functions/Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership of the global patient recruitment and retention capability, ensuring operational excellence across all related activities.
• Lead the development of program and study-level patient recruitment and retention strategies in partnership with Program/Study leads, Clinical Development, CROs, and external vendors, ensuring alignment with agreed timelines, budget, and enrolment objectives with advanced mitigation plans.
• Provide strategic input into protocol and operational planning to identify opportunities for enhanced patient-centric study designs, advise on the need for patient insights, enrolment opportunities, recruitment risks, and retention challenges.
• Integrate country, direct patient insights and patient population considerations into the strategic feasibility assessment and study design process, leveraging data-driven approaches (e.g., real-world evidence, EMR/claims data, AI/ML tools) to support realistic enrolment planning and forecasting.
• Develop, implement and oversee global patient recruitment and retention processes, optimize enrolment acceleration, clinical study costs, and trial participant experience.Establish and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for patient recruitment cost and ROI using insights to drive study level mitigations as well as continuous improvement.
• Ensure all patient-facing clinical trial activities and materials meet regulatory compliance, ethical standards, and organizational objectives, incorporating health literacy considerations.
• Provide functional oversight of CROs and specialist vendors supporting patient recruitment and retention activities, including governance, performance management, and contract and budget alignment.
• Identify, assess, and integrate cutting-edge technologies and data sources (e.g., direct-to-patient outreach, digital and social media campaigns, patient advocacy partnerships, geo-mapping, patient registries) to improve the accuracy and efficiency of recruitment planning and patient engagement.
• Build effective working relationships and provide cross-functional leadership with key internal and external stakeholders (e.g., Feasibility, Patient Advocacy, Clinical Development, Medical Affairs) to ensure alignment and timely delivery of recruitment initiatives.
• Manage and develop a high-performing patient recruitment and retention team, including hiring, coaching, and resource planning.
• Act as a strategic advisor and Subject Matter Expert (SME) on patient recruitment, retention optimization, and clinical trial patient engagement across the organization and in industry forums.
• Represent patient recruitment and retention leadership in executive meetings, governance boards, and strategic planning sessions.
• Support inspection readiness and study closeout activities through appropriate documentation and oversight of recruitment-related activities.
• Contribute to the enhancement of recruitment tools, methodologies, and best practices across the clinical development portfolio and within industry collaboration efforts

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• At Jazz, we believe that effective people leadership is essential to our success. Our people managers play a vital role in creating an environment where teams thrive, and individuals reach their full potential. Jazz invests in people managers to ensure they are equipped to drive performance, grow individuals and create belonging. As a result, Jazz people managers champion a culture of collaboration, inclusion, and belonging; ensuring that everyone feels heard and valued. They connect with their teams on a personal level, understanding their unique needs and motivations and providing personalized support to empower every team member to thrive
• Success in this role requires a high degree of independence, initiative, and accountability. This individual must be comfortable establishing processes, driving decisions, and managing multiple stakeholders with minimal direction
• Advanced expertise in global patient recruitment and retention strategy with proven success in strategic leadership of global patient recruitment programs and delivering enrolment outcomes and mitigating enrolment risk.
• Expertise in diverse recruitment approaches, including direct-to-patient outreach, digital and social media campaigns, patient advocacy partnerships, site-based recruitment, and healthcare professional engagement, leveraging cutting-edge technologies.
• Proven ability to interpret complex patient data and translate insights into actionable recruitment strategies, integrating predictive analytics and various data sources (e.g., real-world evidence, EMR/claims data, AI/ML tools).
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop a high-performing team and a proven cross-functional leader, manage complex projects, and drive cross-functional decisions through data-driven discussions.
• Demonstrated functional oversight of CRO and vendor partnerships supporting patient recruitment and retention, including governance oversight, performance management, and contract and budget alignment.
• Deep understanding of data privacy, informed consent, and global regulatory considerations associated with patient recruitment and retention activities.
• Advanced experience in developing or reviewing patient/HCP-facing recruitment materials, supporting health literacy considerations, and ensuring ethical and regulatory compliance.
• Proficiency with clinical trial systems, reporting tools, and data visualization platforms, with experience in assessment or utilization of AI/LLM preferred.
• Experience with inspection readiness and continuous process improvement initiatives

Required/Preferred Education and Licenses

• Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Healthcare, Public Health, Marketing, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10-12 years of experience in clinical research, with 5+ years in leadership roles within patient recruitment, patient engagement, or clinical trial enrolment strategy

FOR US BASED CANDIDATES ONLY

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices and we strive to provide employees with total compensation packages that are market competitive. For this role, the full and complete base pay range is:

$200,000.00 - $300,000.00

Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, and other pertinent factors. The goal is to ensure fair and competitive compensation aligned with the candidate's expertise and contributions, within the established pay framework and our Total Compensation philosophy. Internal equity considerations will also influence individual base pay decisions. This range will be reviewed on a regular basis.

At Jazz, your base pay is only one part of your total compensation package. The successful candidate may also be eligible for a discretionary annual cash bonus or incentive compensation (depending on the role), in accordance with the terms of the Company's Global Cash Bonus Plan or Incentive Compensation Plan, as well as discretionary equity grants in accordance with Jazz's Long Term Equity Incentive Plan.

The successful candidate will also be eligible to participate in various benefits offerings, including, but not limited to, medical, dental and vision insurance, 401k retirement savings plan, and flexible paid vacation. For more information on our Benefits offerings please click here: https://careers.jazzpharma.com/benefits.html

Jazz Pharmaceuticals is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any characteristic protected by law.