Senior Clinical Project Manager

Actalent; Raleigh (NC); Remote; USD 147,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision coverage

401(k) with employer match

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a Senior Project Manager based in Raleigh, NC to lead oncology-focused clinical study projects within a full-service CRO. You will drive end-to-end delivery from startup to closeout, managing scope, budget, quality, and client relationships.

The role requires strong leadership, strategic planning, risk management and financial oversight across global trials, with travel supporting client meetings and bid defenses as needed.

Qualifications

• Extensive full-service CRO project management experience.
• Strong oncology project management experience, with emphasis on radiopharmaceuticals, CAR-T or cell therapy, and general oncology.
• Minimum of 7 years of clinical research experience or proven competencies equivalent to this level, including a minimum of 4 years of direct project management experience.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary contact and escalation point for assigned clinical study projects.
• Coordinate and oversee external vendors to deliver against timeline and budget.
• Manage study budget and drive change orders as needed.
• Collaborate with clinical operations to support trial delivery and activities.
• Oversee project profitability, billable hours, and forecasting.
• Develop robust project plans with timelines and risk management.
• Ensure quality management and inspection readiness (eTMF).
• Lead internal and client meetings, set scope and deliverables.
• Communicate protocol/study issues and implement corrective actions.
• Deliver formal presentations to diverse audiences and participate in bid defenses.

Skills

CRO project management

Oncology project management

Clinical research experience

Direct project management experience

Science/health degree

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in science/health

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

The Senior Project Manager plans, directs, coordinates, and delivers all activities for designated clinical study projects to ensure that objectives of quality, scope, cost, and time are consistently achieved. This role focuses on full-service clinical research organization (CRO) project management, with a strong emphasis on oncology studies, and requires a confident client-facing leader who can drive complex, global trials from start-up through closeout while maintaining rigorous quality and financial oversight.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact and primary escalation point for assigned clinical study projects, ensuring clear, timely, and professional communication with the client.
• Coordinate and oversee all functional services, including external vendors, to ensure delivery against the established project timeline and budget.
• Manage the overall study budget, ensuring projects remain within scope and that any out-of-scope activities are identified early, documented, and handled appropriately, including independently driving change orders to completion and execution with support as needed.
• Maintain close collaboration with clinical operations to support the delivery of clinical activities and, for projects of limited scope, assume responsibility for all clinical activities as needed.
• Manage the financial health of assigned studies, including oversight of project profitability, billable project hours, and compliance with on-time, accurate billing and forecasting to support business objectives.
• Develop robust and comprehensive project plans, including detailed timelines and proactive risk management and mitigation strategies, to guide all aspects of trial execution with consistency and quality.
• Ensure quality management for assigned projects, including maintaining eTMF inspection readiness and implementing quality notification incident forms and/or corrective and preventative action plans to address quality findings.
• Collaborate with all functional operations to support program delivery and review study documentation as necessary to ensure alignment and quality.
• Establish tracking metrics and performance indicators to monitor trial and team progress toward project goals and to identify risks or issues early.
• Prepare clear project status updates and progress reports for clients and Senior management, including reporting on key performance indicators and proposing solutions and improvement opportunities as they arise.
• Lead both internal and client-facing meetings, set expectations for the project team, and ensure alignment on scope, timelines, deliverables, and roles.
• Communicate effectively with clients and internal management to relay protocol and study issues, including any deviations, and implement appropriate actions in response.
• Conduct formal presentations to a wide variety of audiences, including colleagues, investigative site staff, and clients, and participate in bid defense meetings with strong presentation proficiency.
• Ensure implementation of study-specific training in collaboration with functional areas and monitor ongoing training compliance for the duration of each project.
• Support business development and marketing activities as appropriate, including traveling to bid defense and other client meetings as required.
• Perform other duties as assigned by management to support project and organizational objectives.
• Remain compliant with organizational requirements for training, time reporting, and other administrative duties.
• Provide ongoing feedback to functional team members, including contributing to annual performance reviews, and demonstrate leadership through mentorship, escalation handling, and influence without direct authority.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Extensive full-service CRO project management experience, with a clear track record of owning end-to-end delivery rather than only functional service provider (FSP) responsibilities.
• Strong oncology project management experience, with priority given to experience in radiopharmaceuticals, CAR-T or cell therapy, and general oncology, in that order.
• Minimum of 7 years of clinical research experience or proven competencies equivalent to this level, including a minimum of 4 years of direct project management experience.
• Bachelors degree in a science or health-related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience; advanced degree preferred (North America and EU).
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally, including overnight stays, to support client meetings, bid defenses, and study oversight.

Job Type & Location

Permanent position based out of Raleigh, NC.

Pay And Benefits

The pay range for this position is $147300.00 - $200000.00/yr.

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental & Vision Coverage - Generous employer contributions for employees and dependents, national Aetna plans, telehealth access, Delta Dental PPO options, and VSP vision coverage.
• 401(k) with Strong Employer Match - 4% employer match plus immediate 100% vesting through a Safe Harbor plan.
• Flexible Time Off - Exempt employees receive uncapped "My Time" (MTO), while non-exempt employees receive 20 days PTO annually, paid holidays, personal days, and volunteer time off.
• Family Planning & Parental Support - Infertility coverage, 8 weeks of paid maternity leave at 100% pay, 4 weeks of paid parental bonding leave, and up to $3,000 in adoption assistance per child.
• Company-Paid Life & Disability Insurance - Basic life insurance and AD&D up to 1.5x salary (maximum $500,000) plus short- and long-term disability coverage at 60% of pay.
• Health Savings Account (HSA) Contributions - Employees enrolled in the HDHP receive annual employer HSA contributions of $1,000 (individual) or $1,500 (family/employee-plus coverage).
• Wellness & Employee Assistance Programs - Free 24/7 support through Headspace, including mental health resources, counseling support, legal/financial assistance, work-life services, and access to over 3,000 wellness resources

Job Type & Location

Permanent position based out of Raleigh, NC.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 31, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a fully remote position.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service. The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation,