Vice President, Sponsor Research Division

CenExel

19h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Vice President, Sponsor Research Division (SRD) leads CenExel’s sponsor services model. The Sponsor Research Division offers functional support, partnering with CROs and sponsors to execute defined services post-award. Sales delivers opportunities to bid, while SRD develops the full proposal package. This includes coordinating internal resources, identifying and engaging vendors, and aligning with CRO partners to ensure a comprehensive, competitive submission and bid defense; SRD identifies and owns overall project execution when contracted, ensuring feasibility accuracy, operational alignment, and high-quality delivery in collaboration with CRO partners and CenExel sites. The VP is responsible for building a scalable, process-driven organization that delivers predictable performance, strong sponsor experience, and margin discipline. This role requires a strategic builder who can design structure, processes, and teams to support growth while maintaining clarity around scope, accountability, and handoffs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
12+ years of clinical research experience with sponsor- and CRO-facing leadership.
Experience building or scaling FSP, sponsor services, or CRO-partnered execution models.
Strong understanding of CRO, sponsor, and site-network operating models.
Proven ability to design structure, process, and governance for scale.
Executive-level communication and relationship management skills.
Highly analytical, disciplined, and execution-focused mindset.
Must be able to effectively communicate verbally and in writing.

Responsibilities

Defines and scales CenExel’s Sponsor Research Division.
Establishes clear activation criteria, scope definition, and handoff from Sales to SRD.
Develops repeatable processes to support CRO-partnered execution across studies Sponsor & CRO Partnership.
Serves as the executive owner for sponsor and CRO relationships when SRD services are engaged.
Partners with CROs to execute contracted services aligned with study requirements and site capabilities.
Ensures accountability, performance transparency, and issue escalation across partners.
Supports bids, feasibility, and bid defenses when SRD services are contemplated or required.
Ensures awarded studies are operationally executable.
Drives consistent execution once services are activated, from startup through closeout.
Builds and implements KPIs tied to SRD scope, timelines, quality, and financial performance.
Standardizes workflows to ensure consistency across sites and CRO partners.
Drives continuous improvement to increase efficiency, scalability, and margins.
Acts as the primary liaison between Sales, CROs, Sponsors, Site Operations, Finance, and Regulatory.
Maintains clear role definition to avoid overlap while ensuring tight coordination.
Supports integration of SRD services across newly onboarded sponsors or sites.
Builds and leads a high-performing SRD team aligned for delivery.
Establishes clear roles, accountability, and development pathways.
Fosters a results-driven culture focused on execution quality and sponsor satisfaction.
Supports and ensures strictest adherence to best practices, FDA Code of Federal Regulations, ICH (International Conference on Harmonization), GCP (Good Clinical Practices), CenExel standard operating procedures, site working Practices, protocol, and company guidelines and policies.
Assumes other duties and responsibilities as assigned. The above responsibilities are a general description of the level and nature of the work assigned to this classification and are not to be considered as all inclusive.