Research Manager / Recruitment and Panel Operations

Darwin Research Group; Scottsdale (AZ); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Darwin Research Group is seeking a Research Manager to lead and scale recruitment capabilities and manage all panel operations across syndicated research, custom projects, and client-facing advisory panels.

You will own the full recruitment lifecycle, from sourcing executives to building proprietary OSC panels, and you will formalize workflows, SOPs, and quality standards to drive scalable, high-impact pharma research.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in market research, recruitment, healthcare intelligence, or consulting.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams and engaging senior healthcare leaders.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end recruitment lifecycle for IDIs, surveys, and advisory panels.
• Formalize SOPs for recruitment and panel operations workflows.
• Oversee panel health, growth, and engagement across target segments.
• Lead and mentor recruitment and panel operations team.
• Partner with Operations to integrate recruitment workflows into broader processes.
• Identify industry opportunities and support client advisory panel logistics.

Skills

Market research

Recruitment

Healthcare intelligence

Leadership

C-Suite engagement

Process improvement

Project management

Tools

Monday.com

CRM platforms

Job description

Darwin Research Group is seeking a Research Manager to lead and scale our recruitment capabilities and manage all aspects of panel operations across our syndicated research, custom projects, and client-facing advisory panels. This is a critical role as Darwin transitions to a systematic, panel-driven intelligence model that will power our products and serve our pharma clients at scale.

You will own the full recruitment lifecycle, from sourcing and vetting executive-level healthcare stakeholders to building and maintaining proprietary panels of Organized Systems of Care (OSC) leaders. You will manage a team and will be responsible for formalizing the workflows, SOPs, and quality standards that will define how Darwin recruits and engages decision-makers across organized systems of care, payers, GPOs, PBMs, federal systems, and the broader healthcare ecosystem.

This role is well-suited for someone who is process-driven, comfortable engaging C-Suite and cross-functional healthcare leaders, and energized by building something from the ground up

Key Responsibiliti

es1. Recruitment Strategy and Panel Manageme

• ntOwn the end-to-end recruitment lifecycle for all IDIs, surveys, and advisory panels, including targeting, outreach, screening, scheduling, and panelist managemen
• t.Formalize and maintain SOPs for all recruitment and panel operations workflows, ensuring consistency, scalability, and quality across the tea
• m.Oversee the health, growth, and engagement of Darwin's executive panel, maintaining a robust pipeline of C-Suite and cross-functional healthcare leaders across all target segment
• s.Establish and enforce vetting protocols to ensure all participants meet the qualifications required for pharmaceutical market researc
• h.Design and manage project-specific screeners for IDIs and surveys in coordination with the research tea
• m.Manage outreach volume, conversion rates, and panel KPIs in Monday.com, reporting to leadershi

p.2. Advisory Panel Development for Pharma Clien

• tsBuild and manage client-facing advisory panels composed of OSC leaders, including health system executives, pharmacy directors, clinical leaders, and payers, on behalf of Darwin's pharma client
• s.Design advisory panel structures tailored to each client's commercial objectives, including panel composition, engagement cadence, and session format
• s.Serve as the primary operational point of contact for advisory panel logistics, ensuring panelists are recruited, vetted, briefed, and engaged to the standard Darwin's pharma clients expec
• t.Develop and maintain the processes and agreements required to manage advisory panelist relationships compliantly and professionall

y.3. Custom and Syndicated Research Suppo

• rtManage recruitment execution for all custom qualitative and quantitative projects from kickoff through field close, ensuring timelines, sample targets, and quality standards are me
• t.Support syndicated research projects by maintaining continuous panel access to the health system, oncology, VA and federal, and broader healthcare segments Darwin cover
• s.Coordinate with the Research Director and research team on project-specific recruitment requirements, discussion guide logistics, and scheduling need
• s.Oversee field monitoring for surveys, including daily response rate tracking, reminder deployment, and quality control in SurveyMonke

y.4. Team Leadership and Developme

• ntDirectly manage team members responsible for recruitment outreach, screening, and schedulin
• g.Provide hands-on coaching and mentorship on outreach strategy, professional communication with healthcare leaders, screener design, and recruitment best practice
• s.Conduct regular performance reviews and support career development for direct report
• s.Onboard new team members to Darwin's recruitment workflows, SOPs, and platform tool

s.5. Operational Excellen

• cePartner with the Operations team to integrate recruitment workflows into Darwin's broader production schedule and Monday.com infrastructur
• e.Maintain clean, complete, and current panel records in Monday.com, enforcing the record standards established in Darwin's Operations documentatio
• n.Identify and implement process improvements as Darwin's recruitment model scale
• s.Ensure honoraria fulfillment, panel agreements, and data privacy practices are executed in compliance with Darwin's data security and consent standard

s.6. Marketing and Brand Amplificati

onThis is a secondary responsibility that complements the core role. When recruitment and panel operations are running well, this person contributes to Darwin's external presence in the following way

• s.Identify key industry conferences and thought leaders for the Sales team and CEO to engage with, ensuring Darwin's presence at the most influential industry event
• s.Identify and secure OSC and healthcare thought leaders for the CEO to interview on the Darwin podcast; repurpose insights into marketing briefs and white paper
• s.Support the amplification of Darwin's research and profile on LinkedIn and other professional platforms as bandwidth allow

Qualificati

• onsExperience: 5 or more years of experience in market research, recruitment, healthcare intelligence, or consulting. Experience in the pharmaceutical or OSC space is strongly preferr
• ed.Leadership: Proven experience managing teams and a demonstrated commitment to mentoring early-career professiona
• ls.Subject Matter Expertise: Comfortable engaging C-Suite and cross-functional healthcare leaders directly, with the ability to represent Darwin credibly in those interactio
• ns.Process-Driven: A track record of building SOPs or formalizing previously informal workflows in a fast-moving environme
• nt.Technical Proficiency: Experience with CRM or recruitment management platforms, ideally Monday.com, to track outreach, manage panelist relationships, and maintain a clean and functional panel databa
• se.Project Management: Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects across recruitment, panel operations, and client advisory wo
• rk.Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skil