Manager, Oncology Research Contracts & Agreements

Ochsner Clinic Foundation • New Orleans, LA

16d • Onsite

About The Position

The Contracts Manager – Oncology Clinical Trials provides strategic and operational leadership for the review, negotiation, execution, and management of research agreements supporting oncology clinical trials and related research activities. This role is responsible for accelerating contract execution timelines, reducing legal bottlenecks, ensuring institutional protection, and supporting rapid activation of oncology studies across industry-sponsored, cooperative group, investigator-initiated, translational, and federally funded research. The Contracts Manager serves as the dedicated oncology subject matter expert for clinical trial agreements and partners closely with legal counsel, research finance, investigators, sponsors, and operational leadership to ensure efficient and compliant agreement management.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required in Business, Healthcare Administration, Legal Studies, Finance, or related field.
• 4+ years experience in medical, academic, legal, or research contract environment.
• 2+ years reviewing, drafting, negotiating, or administering research-related contracts.
• Strong knowledge of contract terminology and negotiation principles.

Nice To Haves

• Oncology clinical research experience strongly preferred.
• Experience negotiating Clinical Trial Agreements preferred.
• Academic medical center / cancer center experience preferred.
• Knowledge of startup workflows, sponsor operations, and FDA-regulated research.

Responsibilities

• Review and negotiate complex research contracts including: Clinical Trial Agreements (CTAs), Confidential Disclosure Agreements (CDAs/NDAs), Investigator-Initiated Trial agreements, Subaward agreements, Data Use Agreements, Material Transfer Agreements (when applicable), Federal and foundation research contracts.
• Negotiate terms to balance institutional protection with startup speed.
• Manage oncology contract pipeline to support rapid study activation.
• Identify delays impacting execution and proactively resolve barriers.
• Prioritize agreements tied to enrollment windows, strategic studies, and high-value opportunities.
• Reduce time from receipt to signature.
• Ensure contract language complies with applicable laws, health system rules, payer requirements, and institutional standards.
• Partner with legal counsel on indemnification, subject injury, intellectual property, publication rights, confidentiality, data ownership, and liability terms.
• Escalate unusual or high-risk provisions.
• Track the research agreement process and communicate status proactively to investigators, sponsors, leadership, and startup teams.
• Provide timely guidance and responses to faculty and staff regarding research agreements and administrative issues.
• Serve as trusted operational advisor for contract expectations and timelines.
• Maintain accurate records and reports of processed contracts and related metrics.
• Build dashboards for turnaround times, aging agreements, barriers, sponsor responsiveness, and workload volume.
• Standardize templates, fallback clauses, and workflows to improve efficiency.
• Collaborate with legal officers, finance leaders, regulatory teams, and oncology leadership to support growth goals and operational excellence.
• Support expansion of industry trials, early phase program, and external collaborations.
• Apply independent judgment and expertise to resolve complex contract-related matters.
• Balance urgency, risk tolerance, sponsor leverage, and operational realities.
• Remains knowledgeable on current federal, state and local laws, accreditation standards or regulatory agency requirements that apply to the assigned area of responsibility and ensures compliance with all such laws, regulations and standards.
• Complies with the employer's Compliance & Privacy Program and Standards of Conduct, including the immediate reporting of any known or suspected unethical or questionable behaviors or conduct; patient/employee safety, patient privacy, and/or other compliance-related concerns.

Benefits

• Ochsner is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any legally protected class, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager