Senior Director, Portfolio Leadership

Cytel•United States,

About The Position

The Portfolio Leader, Solutions Architecture is a senior, commercially sharp, solution-oriented, client-facing strategic study solutions leader. The role is responsible for shaping, packaging, and delivering high-value solutions across Cytel’s services, with a focus on Biometrics Services. It bridges client needs, market opportunities, and Cytel’s capabilities to design scalable, differentiated solutions that drive revenue growth, profitability, and client impact. The role partners closely with Business Development, Strategic Account Management, and functional leaders to architect solutions, influence deals, and ensure seamless translation from opportunity to delivery. It also provides oversight of study portfolios, including delivery, quality, scope, finances, operational progress, and coordination across projects.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
Minimum of 10 years’ experience in the clinical research and/or clinical development services sector.
Specific experience in new business pursuit, portfolio delivery and oversight, and portfolio financial management.
Excellent knowledge of project management principles and methods.
Ability to oversee and motivate project teams in a fast-paced environment; strong client relationship management and portfolio oversight abilities.
Proficiency in written and spoken English.
Excellent communication and influencing skills, with high emotional and social intelligence.
Ability to build and maintain trust and confidence and communicate effectively with clients, external vendors, and internal team members.
Ability to remain calm and proactive under stress and act as an escalation point for assigned clients and project teams.
Good computer application skills, including MS Office Suite and project management tools.
Structured, organized, and systematic approach to problem-solving.
Ability to oversee and support study teams assigned to portfolios and help them succeed.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in a life science-related discipline or business management.

Responsibilities

Oversee delivery of the study portfolio; ensure client contracts are current with respect to scope and timelines, study teams follow appropriate SOPs, and required client-specific training is up to date.
Ensure clear understanding of project and program objectives from opportunity through closure, including ensuring study teams understand those objectives.
Act as the first point of escalation for study teams and clients; support or address quality issues through resolution and partner with Quality and other stakeholders to manage business impact.
Holistically review RFPs, proposals, and budgets; ensure deliverables align with client needs, collaborate with functional subject-matter experts, and ensure study teams understand and implement the delivery model after award.
Develop and manage the service catalogue and supporting materials; ensure the Proposals and Contracts team uses the latest proposal and budget tools and deploys current service capabilities tailored to each opportunity.
Oversee portfolio financial reviews, analyze trends, and mitigate issues as appropriate.
Ensure study teams complete Project Operational Progress meetings and documentation; analyze portfolio data and mitigate risks.
Maintain hands-on oversight of scope management, planning, resourcing, delivery to scope, and forecasting; partner with PFM to determine operational causes of financial performance indicators.
Partner with the Commercial team on current and future strategy and PBS capabilities to grow business within accounts or account segments.
Collaborate with Global Functional Heads to keep cost-efficient, impactful operating models current and deployed across the portfolio.
Oversee dependencies between projects in assigned portfolios and, when applicable, oversee creation of project-level plans to manage them.
Contribute to selecting candidates for open jobs and mentor new Project Managers or other Cytel staff as needed.
Initiate and contribute to PBS-related continuous improvement activities and projects.
Develop and implement a consistent approach to assigned portfolios, including client reporting.
Mentor study teams as appropriate.