Participant Recruitment Lead

Hemispheric; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Hemispheric in Boston seeks an experienced Participant Recruitment Lead to own enrollment for healthy participants and patients with mental health conditions. You will drive the funnel from lead generation to screening and attendance, partnering with hospitals, clinics, and community groups. The role starts hybrid, with growth into team leadership as the site scales.

You will manage outreach, scheduling, and data operations, ensuring compliance and a high completion rate across studies.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of experience in participant recruitment, clinical operations, or related roles.
• Hands-on success in clinical recruitment and converting leads to enrolled participants.
• Experience closing partnerships with external organizations (hospitals, clinics, advocacy groups).
• Strong analytical skills with recruitment funnel metrics (conversion, no-show, cost).
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to direct creative work and give feedback.
• Hands-on builder mentality; comfortable doing work in early phase.
• Comfort working with sensitive populations, including mental health.
• Familiarity with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Own the participant recruitment process end-to-end and hit enrollment targets across healthy and patient populations.
• Execute the recruitment strategy defined at the company level into day-to-day ground operations.
• Identify and prioritize partner organizations to engage and own outreach to open relationships.
• Manage and grow existing partnerships; serve as primary point of contact.
• Coordinate scheduling and lab capacity to ensure efficient site operations.
• Screen and qualify participants based on study criteria; ensure eligibility and compliance.
• Own participant attendance, show rates, reminders, and proactive follow-ups to reduce no-shows.
• Maintain participant experience, support study execution, and coordinate with data operations.
• Grow the recruitment team as the site scales and maintain recruitment reporting infrastructure.
• Track performance, conversion rates, and cost per enrolled participant.

Skills

participant recruitment

clinical operations

lead generation

relationship management

analytical skills

communication skills

ownership

independence

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Participant Recruitment Lead to own the enrollment of both healthy participants and patients living with mental health conditions (such as PTSD) for observational research studies at our Boston site. This is a hands‑on, patient‑facing role: your job is to own the generation of leads and conversion into participants who are screened, scheduled, show up, and complete their sessions at our site. You will own the enrollment numbers for both populations. You will build this function from the ground up: in the early phase, you personally own the funnel end to end - qualifying leads, following up by phone, scheduling, and reducing no-shows - using whatever channels fit each population (for example: community outreach, referral relationships, and digital/social lead generation). As the function grows, you will have the opportunity to build and coach a team responsible for coordination and scheduling of particiapnts. This is a senior individual contributor role of strategic importance and a critical part of the site's core team, with strong cross‑functional leadership and a clear functional ownership.

In this position, you will

• :Own the participant recruitment process end-to-end and hit enrollment targets across both healthy and patient populations, reporting directly to the Site Hea
• dExecute the recruitment strategy defined at the company level, translating it into day-to-day operations on the groun
• dIdentify and prioritize partner organizations to engage: hospitals, clinics, physicians, patient advocacy groups, community organizations, etc., and own the outreach to open those relationship
• sManage and grow existing partnerships, serving as the primary point of contac
• tManage the day-to-day relationship with marketing and recruitment personnel for healthy participant lead generation, including briefing, reviewing, and approving conten
• tDevelop the social and digital outreach playbook based on business need - including organic social media outreach and sensitive population-appropriate messagin
• gAssume a more hands‑on role in the early phases
• :Screen and qualify participants based on study criteria, ensuring eligibility, compliance, and fi
• tCoordinate scheduling and lab capacity to ensure efficient and smooth site operation
• sOwn participant attendance and show rates confirmations, reminders, and proactive follow-ups to reduce no-show
• sEnsure a sensitive, professional, and compliant participant experience, especially when working with vulnerable population
• sSupport study execution: assist with session logistics, protocol adherence, and coordination between participants and the data operations team throughout the study lifecycl
• eMaintain ongoing communication with enrolled participants throughout the study to build rapport, address questions, and ensure completion rate
• sGrow the recruitment team as the site scales, including day-to-day oversight and performance trackin
• gOwn and maintain the participant CRM, intake funnel, and recruitment reporting infrastructure; track performance, conversion rates, and cost per enrolled participan
• tApply sensitivity and care when working with patient populations facing mental health challenges, and ensure the same across the recruitment team and any external collaborator
• sTrack and manage recruitment KPIs, driving continuous improvement in conversion and efficienc
• yCollaborate closely with site leadership, clinical coordination, data operations, and global stakeholders to ensure smooth participant flow and business succes

Our ideal candidate will hav

e:Clinical recruitment, human-subjects research, or healthcare-recruitment experience is required - this role personally owns the lead funnel and patient-facing outreach. Marketing experience is helpful but not required for the right candidat

• e.3–5+ years of experience in participant recruitment, clinical operations, or other high-touch, pipeline-driven rol
• esDemonstrated hands‑on success in clinical recruitment, participant recruitment for human-subjects research, or healthcare recruitment- including direct phone follow-up, scheduling, and conversion of leads to enrolled participan
• tsDemonstrated success closing partnerships and managing relationships with external organizations (hospitals, clinics, advocacy groups, community organizations, or simila
• r)Strong analytical skills and comfort working with recruitment funnel metrics: conversion rates, no-show rates, cost per enrolled participant, and lead-to-enrollment timi
• ngExcellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to direct creative work and give feedba
• ckHands‑on builder mentality - comfortable doing the work yourself in the early phase (calling leads, scheduling, follow-ups), and equally comfortable handing it off as the team gro
• wsComfort when working with sensitive populations, including individuals with mental health conditio
• nsStrong follow-through and conversion focus, with experience moving participants from initial interest through scheduling, attendance, and session completio
• n.Familiarity with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines and their application in a research or clinical study setti
• ngHigh degree of ownership, reliability, and ability to operate independently in ambigui
• tyQuick learning skills and the ability to get things done across multiple workstrea

Preferr

• ed:Prior experience scaling a clinical or research recruitment function through a growth ph
• aseLeadership experience and the ability to hire, onboard, and grow a t
• eamExperience with digital marketing / lead generation channels (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) for a brand, organization, or community - including posting, content planning, and engagem
• entFamiliarity with IRB-governed research and participant‑facing compliance requireme
• ntsEstablished network with hospitals, clinics, or patient advocacy organizations in the Greater Boston a
• reaPrior experience or established rapport in the mental health field – including work with patients, caregivers, or clinical teams in mental health setti
• ngsBackground as a Clinical Coordinator or in a similar clinical research coordination r

ole

This is a full-time position based in Boston (Charlestown), MA. The role will be hybrid initially while the office is being built out, and is fully onsite once the lab is operatio

nal.