Senior Director, Biospecimen Management

Bristol-Myers Squibb; United States; Hybrid; USD 210,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Bristol Myers Squibb is building a world-class Consent, Biospecimen & Imaging (CBI) organization within Global Development Operations to drive excellence across biospecimen management in support of R&D objectives.

The Senior Director will lead a global biospecimen management function, partnering with ED and CBI leaders to deliver high-quality operations, strategic initiatives, and regulatory compliant practices across trials.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant scientific or clinical discipline (required).
• Master's or Doctoral degree preferred.
• 10+ years of global experience in clinical drug development with biospecimen management.
• 7+ years of leadership experience managing global, cross-functional teams.
• Experience with central laboratories, data management, and clinical trial operations.
• Experience with corporate drug development and submissions in clinical development.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing Biospecimen Management team across global sites.
• Ensure high-quality biospecimen management across the clinical trial portfolio.
• Manage vendor relationships and drive performance against contracts.
• Contribute to strategic planning and process improvements within CBI.
• Oversee regulatory, GCP/ICH compliance and ethical biospecimen practices.
• Coordinate capacity planning and resource allocation for 100+ studies.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Biospecimen management

Regulatory & compliance

Vendor management

Portfolio management

Program leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in a scientific/clinical discipline

Master's or Doctoral degree preferred

Job description

At Bristol Myers Squibb, our employees often ask, \"Who are you working for?\"-a question that fuels collaboration, accountability, and urgency in our work. Our purpose-driven culture inspires us to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines to prevail over serious diseases. We offer uniquely interesting and meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and a supportive environment that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility, and comprehensive benefits. This is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it.

Senior Director, Biospecimen Management

About the Role

Bristol Myers Squibb is building a world-class Consent, Biospecimen & Imaging (CBI) organization within Global Development Operations, designed to drive excellence and innovation across end-to-end biospecimen management in support of both Research and Development objectives.

The Senior Director, Biospecimen Management is a senior leadership role reporting directly to the Executive Director, Consent, Biospecimen & Imaging Management Head. This individual will serve as a strategic and operational leader responsible for delivering high-quality, efficient biospecimen management across all BMS-sponsored clinical trials - while contributing to the broader evolution and optimization of CBI's cross-functional capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Performance

• Lead and develop a high-performing Biospecimen Management team, with full accountability for team performance, career growth, and talent development
• Oversee biospecimen management leads supporting trials across all therapeutic areas, ensuring consistent quality and delivery
• Demonstrate exemplary leadership across large, geographically distributed on-site and remote teams
• Champion team dynamics and cross-functional relationship building in a collaborative, inclusive environment

Operational Excellence

• Drive high-quality, efficient biospecimen management support across the full BMS clinical trial portfolio
• Act as the primary escalation point for study- and portfolio-level risks or issues related to biospecimen collections
• Manage internal timelines to ensure alignment with vendor and clinical study milestones, maintaining open communication and proactively resolving or escalating vendor issues
• Define, track, and report on key performance metrics related to biospecimen management capacity and operational effectiveness

Strategy & Innovation

• Partner with the ED and CBI leadership team on strategic planning, process improvement, and service development initiatives
• Lead internal and external initiatives to advance operational quality, close gaps, and introduce new capabilities aligned with the CBI mission
• Lead cross-functional efforts to innovate and improve biospecimen operations at scale
• Contribute to the delivery of IT capabilities that enhance operational effectiveness, biospecimen tracking, and reconciliation

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

• Build and sustain partnerships across a large, diverse stakeholder network - understanding their needs and ensuring operational processes are designed to meet them
• Manage and develop relationships with biospecimen management vendors; ensure vendor performance standards are met and maintained
• Serve as a functional subject matter expert during internal audits and vendor visits

Regulatory & Scientific Expertise

• Maintain current knowledge of relevant regulatory guidance, GCP/ICH standards, and external industry trends as they pertain to biospecimen management
• Apply scientific knowledge of safety, pharmacokinetics, genetics, and biomarker research to optimize biospecimen processing and sampling plans for clinical trials
• Ensure regulatory and ethical aspects of biospecimen collection are embedded across all operational processes

Resource & Portfolio Management

• Ensure appropriate resourcing across the book of work (BOW), including capacity planning across a portfolio of 100+ clinical studies
• Apply strong skills in project prioritization, financial planning, and portfolio management to deliver operational objectives at scale

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant scientific or clinical discipline (required)
• Master's or Doctoral degree (preferred)

Experience

• 10+ years of global experience in clinical drug development, clinical research, or a related field - with biospecimen management experience required
• 7+ years of leadership experience managing global, cross-functional teams
• Extensive drug development experience from pre-clinical through clinical testing, with a strong emphasis on the operational, regulatory, and ethical dimensions of biospecimen collection
• Demonstrated experience working with central laboratories, data management, and clinical trial operations organizations
• Prior experience with corporate drug development and submissions, particularly in clinical development and translational medicine
• Experience managing and developing relationships with biospecimen manage