Associate Director, Patient Recruitment Partnerships

Care Access

6d•$115,000 - $145,000•Remote

About The Position

The Associate Director, Patient Recruitment Partnerships is a key driver of Care Access’s mission to expand access to clinical research by building and optimizing a high-performing ecosystem of Recruitment Vendors and Patient Advocacy Organizations. This role leads the full lifecycle of partner strategy—identifying, contracting, guiding, and evaluating partners to ensure they deliver high-quality patient referrals that accelerate enrollment across a diverse portfolio of trials. Operating at the intersection of strategy, analytics, and community engagement, the Associate Director, Patient Recruitment Partnerships develops scalable frameworks, ensures regulatory and compliance alignment, and cultivates mission-driven partnerships that expand reach, deepen community trust, and improve access for underserved populations. Through data-informed decision-making and cross-functional collaboration, this role strengthens Care Access’s ability to connect patients to opportunity and drive meaningful progress in clinical research.

Requirements

Strong understanding of clinical trial patient recruitment, including funnel dynamics, referral pathways, and barriers to enrollment.
Minimum of 6 years of proven experience managing Recruitment Partners and PAOs, including evaluation, contracting, onboarding, and performance oversight.
Working knowledge of GCP, IRB, HIPAA and regulatory standards governing recruitment materials, patient communications, and community engagement.
Proficiency with analytics and reporting tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) and strong data literacy to assess ROI, pacing, and partner performance.
Advanced Excel/Google Sheets skills and familiarity with CRM or patient-tracking platforms such as Salesforce or similar systems.
Ability to build trust-based relationships and collaborate effectively across internal teams and external partners.
Exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate insights, guide strategy, and influence decision-making across stakeholders.
Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt quickly to changing priorities.
Solid project management capability to manage multiple initiatives, timelines, and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.
Mission-driven mindset with empathy, a commitment to patient access, and a continuous-improvement approach to operational excellence.
Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Biology, Business, Healthcare, or related field preferred.

Nice To Haves

Master's in science, Public Health or related field preferred

Responsibilities

Builds and Leads the Recruitment Partner Ecosystem
Identifies, evaluates, and selects Patient Recruitment Partners and Patient Advocacy Organizations (PAOs) based on therapeutic expertise, reach, compliance, and operational maturity.
Leads RFP/RFI processes, negotiates MSAs, SOWs, budgets, and performance-based agreements in partnership with Patient Recruitment and Legal, and onboards mission-aligned partners to expand community reach and improve access for underserved populations.
In collaboration with Campaign Managers, defines and oversees the recruitment partner strategy across all trials, aligning partner efforts with study needs and enrollment goals.
Establishes performance and compliance expectations (GCP, IRB, HIPAA, SOPs, etc...), serves as the primary partner liaison, and provides ongoing guidance while overseeing financial management, ROI analysis, forecasting, and audit readiness.
Continuously identifies inefficiencies and implements scalable, automated processes to support sustainable organizational growth.
Manages Partner and PAO Performance, Accountability, and Operational Execution
Owns performance management across Recruitment Partners and PAOs to ensure delivery against contracted screening and enrollment commitments outlined in SOWs.
Monitors recruitment funnel metrics, referral quality, pacing, and conversion rates to identify risks, gaps, and optimization opportunities, and drives corrective actions when performance falls short.
Conducts regular performance and business reviews to enforce accountability, ensure adherence to scope, compliance, quality, and mission alignment, and validate partner value.
Serves as the primary point of contact, building trust-based relationships while proactively resolving issues, aligning expectations, and co-developing improvement plans.
Strengthens operational efficiency and scalability by refining SOPs, workflows, and playbooks, and implementing automation and process improvements as appropriate.
Leads Cross-Functional Recruitment Strategy and Alignment
Partners closely with Patient Recruitment, Clinical Operations, Marketing, and Analytics to develop, align, and execute recruitment strategies across trials.
Drives cross-functional planning, prioritization, and decision-making to ensure recruitment approaches support study needs, enrollment goals, and organizational priorities.
Synthesizes data, operational insights, and industry trends into clear strategic recommendations and communicates progress, risks, and opportunities to leadership and trial teams to continuously refine recruitment strategy and maximize partner effectiveness.
Partners with Analytics to build and refine forecasting models for patient acquisition and partner throughput.
Facilitates knowledge sharing across internal teams regarding partner best practices and market insights.
Demonstrates exceptional relationship-building skills and the ability to foster trust across diverse stakeholders.
Communicates clearly and confidently, tailoring messaging for vendors, PAOs, sites, and internal teams.
Shows cultural awareness and sensitivity when engaging with community-based organizations and patient groups.
Thrives in a fast-paced environment and maintains strong organization across multiple competing priorities.
Proactively anticipates issues before they escalate and takes ownership of resolving them.
Collaborates effectively across functions, ensuring cohesion and alignment in complex workstreams.
Adapts quickly to changing circumstances and applies flexible thinking to new or uncertain situations.
Demonstrates empathy and patient-centered thinking in all recruitment-related decision making.
Maintains awareness of competitive landscape to keep Care Access recruitment strategy differentiated.