Senior Director, Head of US Site Management

Bayer AG; Whippany (NJ); On-site; USD 224,000 - 336,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care

Vision

Dental

Retirement

PTO

Sick leave

Job summary

Bayer AG in Whippany, NJ seeks a Senior Director, Head of US Site Management to lead US site-facing trial activities across the development portfolio, driving site management, monitoring, and study start-up to accelerate timelines and improve enrollment.

The role requires strategic leadership, strong regulatory knowledge, and the ability to build partnerships with internal groups to ensure compliant execution, data quality, and inspection readiness across US operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, healthcare, or a related field required.
• Advanced degree preferred (PhD, MBA, or master’s).
• Experience leading US site management, monitoring, and study start-up in complex portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and strengthen US site management, monitoring, and study start-up capabilities across applicable clinical programs.
• Develop and execute US site strategies to optimize site activation, enrollment, retention, monitoring, and study performance.
• Establish scalable monitoring models aligned to regulatory expectations.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership for US site-facing activities across start-up, management, monitoring, enrollment optimization, and partnerships.
• Partner with Global Clinical Customer Engagement & Operations and other functions to ensure seamless program execution.
• Identify risks and drive corrective actions for site-level operations, quality, budget, and timelines.

Skills

Site management

Monitoring

Study start-up

Enrollment optimization

Strategic partnerships

Regulatory inspections

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in life sciences/healthcare

Advanced degree (PhD, MBA, or master’s)

Job description

Senior Director, Head of US Site Management

The Senior Director, Head of US Site Management, leads all US site-facing clinical trial activities across the development portfolio. This operational leadership role is responsible for US Site Management & Monitoring, Clinical Trial Optimization & Strategic Partnership functions, providing strategic leadership for study start-up, site management, and monitoring to drive predictable execution, accelerate timelines, improve enrollment performance, ensure high-quality data, and establish strategic site partnerships. As a member of the Clinical Customer Engagement & Operations senior leadership team, this role also supports strategic initiatives across the development organization.

YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build, lead, and continuously strengthen US site management, monitoring, and study start-up capabilities across applicable clinical programs;
• Develop and execute US site strategies that optimize site selection, activation, enrollment, retention, monitoring, and overall study performance;
• Establish consistent, scalable monitoring models, including fit-for-purpose risk-based monitoring approaches aligned to study needs and regulatory expectations;
• Provide strategic and operational leadership for US site-facing activities, ensuring disciplined execution across study start-up, site management, monitoring, enrollment optimization, and strategic partnerships;
• Partner closely with Global Clinical Customer Engagement & Operations, Clinical Development, Data Management, Development Services, Quality, Regulatory, Medical Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Market Access, Legal, Procurement, Finance, Human Resources, and other enabling functions to ensure seamless program and trial execution;
• Identify, assess, and mitigate site-level operational, quality, compliance, budget, timeline, and resourcing risks, driving timely escalation, corrective actions, and sustainable solutions;
• Establish scalable processes, operating models, metrics, KPIs, and dashboards to monitor performance, improve site delivery, enhance transparency, and support data-driven decision-making;
• Define and oversee vendor strategy, vendor oversight, risk management, performance expectations, and governance models for site management, monitoring, and study start-up activities;
• Provide expert operational insight into feasibility, country and site strategy, monitoring strategy, enrollment planning, budget planning, and resource allocation;
• Create, implement, and continuously improve standard operating procedures, work instructions, documentation standards, and inspection-readiness practices;
• Participate in regulatory authority inspections and sponsor audits and oversee site audit activities in partnership with Quality;
• Ensure compliance with ICH-GCP, applicable regulatory requirements, internal standards, local requirements, and inspection-readiness expectations;
• Assess opportunities to transform site management and monitoring capabilities through AI, automation, digital tools, process simplification, and innovation;
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with investigative sites, site networks, CROs, vendors, academic institutions, research networks, patient associations, and other external partners;
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing, inclusive US Site Management organization, including line managers and internal or external site management roles such as CRAs, CLMs, COSs, and related operational staff;
• Travel for this role is as required. Travel could be up to 50% domestic and international.

WHO YOU ARE

Bayer seeks an incumbent who possesses the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, healthcare, or a related field required;
• Experienced clinical operations leader with demonstrated ability to lead US site management, monitoring, study start-up, enrollment optimization, and strategic site partnership activities across complex development portfolios and matrixed organizations;
• Deep expertise in US study start-up, site management, monitoring, feasibility, enrollment optimization, and clinical trial execution;
• Strong knowledge of clinical operations, drug development processes, ICH-GCP, applicable legal and regulatory requirements, compliance expectations, inspection readiness, and local country requirements;
• Experience developing operating models, vendor strategies, oversight frameworks, metrics, dashboards, and risk-management approaches;
• Experience supporting regulatory authority inspections, sponsor audits, site audits, audit responses, and remediation activities;
• Strategic thinking with the ability to translate portfolio and enterprise priorities into US site-facing operational strategies;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify risk, evaluate options, interpret performance data, and implement practical solutions;
• Visible, motivational, and collaborative leadership style with the ability to lead through change, complexity, ambiguity, and transformation;
• Strong people leadership skills, including talent assessment, coaching, development, succession planning, and building resilient, inclusive teams;
• Ability to drive accountability, empower decision-making, and foster disciplined, customer-focused, quality-driven ways of working;
• Excellent communication, influencing, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills across internal and external audiences;
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across functions, organizational levels, geographies, and strategic partnerships;
• Innovation mindset with ability to assess and implement AI, automation, digital tools, and process improvements that enhance clinical trial execution;
• Commitment to high standards of quality, compliance, inspection readiness, operational performance, and continuous improvement.

Preferred qualifications

• Advanced degree such as PhD, MBA, or master’s degree;
• Minimum of 12 years of experience in site management, clinical operations, clinical development, or related pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or healthcare leadership roles; or advanced degree with 10+ years of relevant experience.

Employees can expect to be paid a salary between $224,240.00 - $336,360.00. Additional compensation may include a bonus or commission (if relevant). Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, sick leave, etc.

This salary range is merely an estimate and may vary based on an applicant’s location, market data/ranges, an applicant’s skills and prior relevant experience, certain degrees and certifications, and other relevant factors.

This posting will be available for application until at least 10/09/2026

Bayer is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans

Bayer is a E-Verify Employer.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement: Notice for U.S. Visitors: All information on this site is subject to compliance with local rule and regulations as they may vary from time to time and across different geographies, including, without limitation, U.S. Executive Orders.

Location: United States : New Jersey : Whippany || United States : Residence Based : Residence Based