Senior Director Business Development

MPA Recruitment; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

MPA Recruitment is seeking a Director of Business Development to drive sales and growth for our clinical research services on the West Coast. You will lead strategic account development, expand the client base in biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, and collaborate with internal teams to craft winning proposals.

Ideal candidates bring 5+ years in CRO sales/BD, a proven record building long-term relationships, and strong negotiation and project management skills.

Qualifications

• Degree in healthcare or life sciences.
• 5+ years CRO sales/BD experience.
• Experience selling clinical trial services (Phase I–IV).
• Strong CRO industry knowledge.
• Established pharmaceutical/biotech networks.
• Proven track record growing client relationships.
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and PM skills.
• Self-driven and organized; can manage multiple opportunities.
• Proficient in MS Office and Salesforce.

Responsibilities

• Drive sales of early-stage clinical services and revenue targets.
• Build and maintain pharmaceutical/biotech client relationships.
• Develop account plans and identify new business opportunities.
• Lead RFP/RFI responses, proposals, budgets, and feasibility discussions.
• Attend industry conferences and client meetings to generate opportunities.
• Manage and report on sales pipeline and key opportunities.
• Support commercial strategy, new services, and market intelligence.
• Ensure SOPs, GCP, and ICH compliance.

Skills

CRO sales

Business development

Account management

Proposal development

Client relationship building

Sales forecasting

Communication

Negotiation

Project management

CRM (Salesforce)

Education

Healthcare/Life sciences degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Salesforce CRM

Job description

MPA are recruiting a Director of Business Development for a clinical research company. This role will be responsible for driving sales and growth in their West Coast US territory.

West Coast network and experience in selling into biotech, and pharmaceutical companies is essential as the company continues to build and grow the region.

Responsibilities

• Drive sales of early-stage clinical services and achieve revenue targets.
• Build and maintain long-term pharmaceutical and biotech client relationships.
• Develop account plans and identify new business opportunities.
• Lead RFP/RFI responses, proposals, budgets, and feasibility discussions with internal teams.
• Attend industry conferences and client meetings to generate opportunities.
• Manage and report on the sales pipeline and key opportunities.
• Support commercial strategy, new service offerings, and market intelligence.
• Ensure compliance with SOPs, GCP, and ICH guidelines.

Qualifications

• Degree/diploma in healthcare, life sciences, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years’ CRO experience across sales, business development, technical, or project management functions.
• Experience selling clinical trial services, ideally Phase I–IV.
• Strong understanding of the CRO industry and drug development process.
• Established pharmaceutical and biotech client network.
• Proven track record developing and growing client relationships.
• Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, and project management skills.
• Self driven, organized, and comfortable managing multiple opportunities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and CRM systems such as Salesforce.