R&D Procurement Manager

Aequor; Basking Ridge (NJ); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Aequor in New Jersey is seeking a Manager, R&D Procurement (Level II or III) to lead vendor contracts for clinical trials. The role involves negotiating terms, budgeting, and coordinating with DS teams, Legal, Quality and Finance, with onsite work 1–4 days per week and a contract through November 2027.

The position requires at least 5 years in clinical trial outsourcing or health sciences, strong problem-solving, and the ability to manage complex outsourcing models from RFP through contract

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years in clinical trial outsourcing, health sciences or related field.
• Experience with CRO contracts preferred.
• Excellent negotiation and communication skills.
• Ability to work cross-functionally across DS, Legal, Quality and Finance.

Responsibilities

• Assess, select, negotiate and execute clinical trial vendor contracts.
• Perform financial reconciliation and negotiation of vendor contracts prior to study termination and contract closure.
• Manage all outsourcing activities from vendor assessment, RFP, selection, budget, payment schedule & scope negotiation through to contract execution.
• Support internal customers to ensure vendors meet required service level and timelines.
• Develop bid analyses and contribute to sourcing strategy to reduce costs and improve quality.

Skills

Vendor negotiations

Clinical trial outsourcing

Cross-functional teamwork

Problem solving

Independent decision making

Education

Bachelor's in Life Sciences

Tools

MS Word

MS Excel

Job description

Duration: Contract till Nov 2027 with possibility to extend

Job Title: Manager, R&D Procurement (Level II or Level III) - based on years of experience.

Job Schedule: Manager highly prefers a local candidate to be based in NJ and come onsite 1-4 times a week as needed (average is onsite 2 days a week).

Interviewing: 1st Round: HM would have 30 min MS teams video screen; 2nd Round - 45 Min MS team video screen with 2-3 individuals including HM.

The purpose of this job is to work with DS teams to assess, select, negotiate and execute clinical trial vendor contracts. Performs financial reconciliation and negotiation of Vendor contracts prior to study termination and contract closure. Manages all aspects of sourcing and negotiating Vendor contracts to ensure that the contracts are cost effective. Provides oversight of Vendor contracts, change orders and works with the Vendor for resolution of all issues/ discrepancies

Expertise in complex outsourcing models supporting Clinical R&D and PhI to PhIV outsourced services (e.g., CRO, core labs, Biomarker, central labs); Must have strong problem-solving skills and is able to work in complex categories. Follow all processes, procedures and/or systems to improve organizational efficiencies and cost controls.

Procurement - Manages all Outsourcing activities from vendor assessment, RFP, selection, contract budget, payment schedule & scope negotiation through to contract execution. Supports internal customers to help ensure that vendors meet required service level.

Demonstrates expanded understanding of procurement principles, legal language, vendor selection criteria. May assist with the development of a sourcing strategy by spending category that reduces costs, reduces timelines and improves quality.Develops detailed bid analysis for the R&D functional group’s review. May be involved in other ad hoc special projects as they arise.

Communication - Leads contracts related communication with vendors. Respond to questions from internal staff regarding status of contracts. Interacts with vendors on standard administrative matters and contract terms. Appropriately escalates issues and conflicts. This position will work cross-functionally to execute the outsourcing process.

Contract Execution- Builds content of the contract, verifies the unitized budget against the needs, conducts rigorous negotiation of business terms with validation of rates from service providers. Making sure the payment schedules are cash neutral and in-line with deliverable timelines. Responsible for the negotiation, preparation, and execution of contracts on a timely basis. Management and oversight of clinical development contracting process, review and approval in accordance with company policies.

Negotiations - Advanced negotiation skills to drive cost savings. Thinking and acting strategically to drive continuous improvement.

Ensure optimal partnerships with internal stakeholders and outside vendors to deliver commitments with a high level of value, quality and performance.

Interpersonal skills - Manage and maintain collaborative relationships within R&D, Legal, Quality and Finance, as well as with external parties. Ability to eliminate barriers to resolve procurement and contract issues in a timely manner.

Skills:

Minimum 5 years in clinical trial outsourcing, health sciences or related field (clinical trials). *** US is globalizing and interfacing with other departments/functional areas based in Japan.

Advanced WORD and Excel skills - i.e. ability to modify/re-format documents in MS Word; create a final contract in MS Word; in MS excel - write formulas in excel and analyze data.

Must have good organizational skills; able to prioritize workload and tasks; excellent time management skills.

Must be able to work independently and make sound decisions.

Candidate will need to maintain and use a tracker (provided by ***) to keep status of the tasks/contract requests.

Must have experience with any of the PhI – PhIV clinical trial vendor contracts.

Experience with laboratory service agreements will be highly preferred. This individual will be working closely with the DS bio-analysis groups (part of translation medicine) and clinical pharmacology group.

Experience with CRO contracts is preferred/acceptable.

Must having outsourcing experience from pharma/bio-tech industry.

Education:

Bachelors Degree in Life Sciences preferred