Study Startup Lead, Clinical Budget Operations

Ledger Run Inc.; Washington (District of Columbia); Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Ledger Run Inc. is seeking a Study Startup Lead, Clinical Budget Operations to lead budget configuration work and guide Clinical Budget Specialists supporting Ledger Run Payment Services customers. You will manage budgets globally, interpret CTAs and payment terms, and drive quality and delivery across the team.

The role emphasizes hands-on budgeting, mentoring, and cross-team coordination, with a focus on efficiency and scalable processes, including AI-enabled tooling like Claude.

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years of relevant experience in clinical trial budgets or related areas.
• Experience interpreting CTAs, site budgets, protocols, amendments, and payment terms.
• Strong understanding of global, country, and site-level budget structures.
• Ability to independently manage complex budget configuration with high accuracy.
• Experience mentoring or guiding others; people-management not required.
• Attention to detail, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to balance individual work with team leadership in a fast-paced setting.

Responsibilities

• Configure and maintain global, country-specific, and site-specific budgets and payee data within ClinRun.
• Interpret CTAs, budgets, amendments, and payment terms and translate into budget configuration.
• Manage workload and complete budget configuration tasks within quality and turnaround time.
• Provide day-to-day guidance to Clinical Budget Specialists and coordinate priorities.
• Escalate complex budget questions and configuration issues as the first point of contact.
• Perform quality-control reviews to ensure consistent budget configuration across the team.
• Coach and train team members and support onboarding of new Specialists.
• Collaborate with Payment Operations and other internal teams to resolve budget-related issues.
• Identify recurring errors and opportunities to reduce rework and improve quality.
• Develop and maintain clear, repeatable processes and work instructions.
• Explore automation and AI-enabled tooling to improve efficiency and quality.

Skills

Budget experience

CTAs interpretation

Budget structures

Mentoring

Attention to detail

Analytical thinking

Team leadership

Communication

AI tools (Claude)

Tools

Claude/AI tools

Job description

This is a remote role which can be performed from any location in the United States.

The Study Startup Lead, Clinical Budget Operations is a hands-on role responsible for both performing clinical budget configuration work and providing day-to-day leadership to Clinical Budget Specialists supporting Ledger Run Payment Services customers.
The Team Lead manages their own assigned budget workload while helping the broader team prioritize work, resolve complex budget questions, maintain quality, and meet delivery expectations. This role serves as a subject matter expert and helps identify better, faster, and more scalable ways to deliver budget services through process improvement, automation, and technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Configure and maintain global, country-specific, and site-specific budgets and associated payee information within ClinRun.

• Review and interpret CTAs, budgets, protocols, amendments, and payment terms and translate requirements into accurate budget configuration.

• Manage an assigned workload and complete budget configuration and maintenance activities within established quality and turnaround-time expectations.

• Provide day-to-day guidance to Clinical Budget Specialists and help coordinate workload, priorities, and deadlines across the team.

• Serve as a first point of escalation for complex budget questions and configuration issues.

• Perform quality-control reviews and help ensure consistent, accurate budget configuration across the team.

• Coach and train team members and support onboarding of new Specialists.

• Partner with Payment Operations and other internal teams to resolve budget-related issues that could impact site payments.

• Identify recurring errors, process gaps, and opportunities to reduce rework and improve quality.

• Help develop and maintain clear, repeatable processes and work instructions.

• Identify opportunities to simplify, standardize, and automate work, including appropriate use of AI-enabled tools such as Claude.

• Promote accountability, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement across the team.

• Drive and monitor team metrics for reporting to Leadership

Qualifications & Experience

• 6 years of relevant experience in clinical trial budgets, site payments, clinical operations, contracts, or a related area preferred.

• Strong experience interpreting CTAs, site budgets, protocols, amendments, and payment terms.

• Strong understanding of global, country, and site-level clinical trial budget structures.

• Demonstrated ability to independently manage complex budget configuration work with a high degree of accuracy.

• Experience mentoring, training, or providing day-to-day guidance to others preferred; formal people-management experience is not required.

• Strong attention to detail, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to balance individual work with team leadership responsibilities in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong organizational, communication, and collaboration skills.

• Comfortable learning new technology and adapting to changing processes.

• Curiosity and willingness to challenge manual or inefficient processes and find better ways of working.

• Experience with or interest in using AI-enabled tools such as Claude to improve efficiency and quality is a plus.