Preclinical Strategy & Operations Leader

Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 124,000 - 186,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Job summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is seeking a Manager Preclinical Research Strategy and Operations in Boston to drive operational excellence across Preclinical Sciences. You will partner with Procurement, Legal, Outsourced Contracting, Lab Operations, and Records Management to support business operations and enable efficient execution of departmental priorities.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, agile, able to manage multiple priorities, and experienced in change management, driving efficiencies

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Life Sciences, Operations, or related field.
• 5+ years in strategic/ business operations, project management, or related function.
• Cross-function collaboration with research, procurement, legal, and lab ops teams.
• Experience with Coupa, Icertis, Science Exchange.
• Strong organizational and detail-oriented skills.
• Experience with operational process improvement and change management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leadership to support strategic and operational initiatives across Preclinical Sciences.
• Coordinate with Procurement, Legal, Outsourced Contracting, Lab Operations, and Records Management.
• Drive end-to-end processes for vendor engagement and contracting workflows.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and cross-functional collaboration.
• Lead change management activities for new processes, systems, or priorities.
• Track deliverables, timelines, dependencies, and actions across stakeholders.
• Support vendor and contract processes with Procurement, Legal, and outsourcing teams.
• Collaborate with Lab Operations for business continuity and planning.
• Ensure documentation, records management, and compliance across departments.

Skills

Cross-functional coordination

Process improvement

Change management

Vendor management

Documentation management

Stakeholder communication

Project tracking

MS Office & BI tools

Digital tooling & dashboards

SOP development

Biotech/Pharma experience

Procurement workflows

Outsourced contracting

Lab operations experience

Records retention & compliance

Continuous improvement

Ambiguity navigation

Facilitation & governance

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or Life Sciences or related field

Tools

Coupa

Icertis

Science Exchange

Job description

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is seeking a Manager Preclinical Research Strategy and Operations in Boston to drive operational excellence across Preclinical Sciences. You will partner with Procurement, Legal, Outsourced Contracting, Lab Operations, and Records Management to support business operations and enable efficient execution of departmental priorities.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, agile, able to manage multiple priorities, and experienced in change management, driving efficiencies