Director of Clinical Trials Growth & Partnerships

Fred Hutch; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 157,000 - 261,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sign-on bonus (eligible)

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, WA seeks a strategic leader to grow its Clinical Trial Business Development portfolio. You will design outreach, build durable sponsor relationships, and partner with research leaders to align trials with scientific priorities.

You will build scalable processes, CRM, and a high-performing team while collaborating across operations, contracts, and finance to accelerate study start-ups and trial activation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree (MBA, MPH, or life sciences) strongly preferred.
• 8–10+ years of experience in clinical research business development, sponsor relations, or clinical operations, ideally within an academic medical center, CRO, or pharma/biotech setting.
• Deep understanding of the clinical trial lifecycle, sponsor/CRO relationships, contracting, and regulatory processes.
• Proven track record cultivating and closing relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a strategy to grow clinical trial volume and quality across disease areas, establishing metrics and dashboards to track pipeline, activation timelines, accrual performance, and alignment with institutional research priorities.
• Partner with principal investigators, department chairs, and clinical operations leaders to assess capacity, feasibility, and strategic fit for incoming trial opportunities.
• Build and promote the institution's reputation as a top-tier clinical trial site by collaborating with clinical operations, regulatory, and contracting teams to reduce study start-up timelines, and by developing marketing materials, capability presentations, and case studies for sponsors.
• Represent the institution at industry conferences, sponsor meetings, and networking events to strengthen visibility within the pharma/biotech ecosystem.
• Cultivate and manage strategic, long-term relationships with pharmaceutical, biotech, and CRO sponsors, serving as primary point of contact for key accounts from initial engagement through contract execution.
• Negotiate study agreements and budgets in collaboration with contracts, legal, and finance teams, ensuring alignment with institutional policies and sponsor expectations.
• Design and implement proactive outreach strategies to scout and evaluate trials aligned with institutional scientific priorities and patient population, supported by ongoing market intelligence and competitive analysis of the clinical trials landscape.
• Collaborate with scientific leadership to translate research priorities into targeted business development criteria for trial selection.
• Develop and present a phased 2 - 3 year plan to expand the Clinical Trial Business Development function, including role definitions, hiring timelines, budget requirements, and performance metrics for new positions.
• Build internal processes, CRM systems, and reporting infrastructure to support a growing team and expand trial portfolio.
• Mentor and, upon hire, directly manage Business Development and Program/Operations Managers, fostering a high-performing, collaborative team culture.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Strategic planning

Negotiation

Market analysis

CRM/pipeline management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree (MBA, MPH, or life sciences)

Tools

CRM systems

Reporting infrastructure

Job description

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, WA seeks a strategic leader to grow its Clinical Trial Business Development portfolio. You will design outreach, build durable sponsor relationships, and partner with research leaders to align trials with scientific priorities.

You will build scalable processes, CRM, and a high-performing team while collaborating across operations, contracts, and finance to accelerate study start-ups and trial activation.