Senior CRO Contract & Escalation Lead

Syneos Health, Inc.; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 68,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company car / car allowance

Health benefits (Medical, Dental, and

Company match 401k

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Bonus eligibility

Paid time off (PTO) and sick time

Job summary

Syneos Health, Inc. in Oregon is seeking a Sr. Site Contract Lead to own CRO site contract escalations, manage intake and resolution, and guide first-pass negotiations with approved templates and fallback language.

You will build partnerships across CROs, Legal, Procurement and study teams; drive continuous improvement in negotiation processes; and ensure risk-aware decisions while supporting sponsor requirements.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary point of contact for CRO site contract escalations
• Own the intake, triage, and resolution of escalations from CRO partners, ensuring timely decisions and clear guidance
• Align on templates and approved fallback language with CRO partners
• Partner with CROs and stakeholders to maintain fit-for-purpose templates, playbooks, and fallback positions that enable efficient first-pass negotiations
• Enable CRO-led negotiation while owning sponsor-required exceptions
• Set clear decision pathways so CROs negotiate the majority of agreements using their expertise and approved positions
• Resolve complex legal and operational contracting issues
• Assess proposed contract deviations, recommend acceptable alternatives, and provide clear feedback to CROs; escalation to Legal for guidance when required
• Build strong partnerships across CROs, internal teams, and Legal stakeholders
• Collaborate with study teams, Legal, Procurement, and other stakeholders to align expectations, ensure consistent decisions, and keep negotiations progressing
• Identify trends and drive continuous improvement
• Analyze escalation drivers and cycle-time impacts; recommend solutions such as expanding fallback language, clarifying decision rights, updating templates, and targeting CRO training to reduce unnecessary escalations
• Maintain escalation governance and knowledge management
• Document decisions, rationale, and outcomes to build a usable knowledge base for CRO partners and internal stakeholders, supporting consistent, auditable negotiation approaches
• Provide leadership through influence and guidance
• Act as a trusted expert for CROs and internal teams by offering practical negotiation guidance, sharing best practices, and reinforcing the agreed escalation pathways
• Apply a risk-based approach to protect sponsor requirements
• Evaluate escalated terms for legal, financial, and operational risk; ensure alignment with applicable standards and requirements and appropriately involve Legal when risk or policy thresholds are exceeded
• At Syneos Health, we believe in providing an environment and culture in which Our People can thrive, develop and advance.

Job description

Syneos Health, Inc. in Oregon is seeking a Sr. Site Contract Lead to own CRO site contract escalations, manage intake and resolution, and guide first-pass negotiations with approved templates and fallback language.

You will build partnerships across CROs, Legal, Procurement and study teams; drive continuous improvement in negotiation processes; and ensure risk-aware decisions while supporting sponsor requirements.