Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Clinical Trial Business Development Director

Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree (MBA, MPH, or life sciences) strongly preferred.
  • 8-10+ years of experience in clinical research business development, sponsor relations, or clinical operations, ideally within an academic medical center, CRO, or pharma/biotech setting.
  • Deep understanding of the clinical trial lifecycle, sponsor/CRO relationships, contracting, and regulatory processes.
  • Proven track record cultivating and closing relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors.
  • Demonstrated experience building and scaling teams, with prior people-management experience preferred.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and execute a comprehensive strategy to grow clinical trial volume and quality across disease areas.
  • Partner with principal investigators and clinical operations leaders to assess trial opportunities.
  • Build and promote the institution's reputation as a top-tier clinical trial site through collaboration and marketing efforts.
  • Represent the institution at industry conferences and networking events to enhance visibility.
  • Cultivate and manage strategic, long-term relationships with pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors.
  • Negotiate study agreements and budgets in alignment with institutional policies.
  • Design and implement proactive outreach strategies to evaluate trials aligned with institutional priorities.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical/vision, and dental coverage.
  • Flexible spending accounts and life/disability insurance.
  • Retirement savings plans with employer contributions.
  • Tuition reimbursement for continued education.
  • Paid vacation (12-22 days per year) and sick leave (12-25 days per year).
  • Thirteen paid holidays and up to four weeks of paid parental leave.
Full Job Description
Overview

The Director of Clinical Trial Business Development is a strategic leadership role responsible for growing the institution's clinical trials portfolio, strengthening its reputation as a preferred site for efficient, high-quality trial execution, and building durable relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors. This individual will design and execute outreach strategies to proactively identify and secure clinical trials that align with the institution's scientific and therapeutic priorities, while also building a scalable business development function to support long-term growth.

Responsibilities
  • Develop and execute a comprehensive strategy to grow clinical trial volume and quality across disease areas, establishing metrics and dashboards to track pipeline, activation timelines, accrual performance, and alignment with institutional research priorities.
  • Partner with principal investigators, department chairs, and clinical operations leaders to assess capacity, feasibility, and strategic fit for incoming trial opportunities.
  • Build and promote the institution's reputation as a top-tier clinical trial site by collaborating with clinical operations, regulatory, and contracting teams to reduce study start-up timelines, and by developing marketing materials, capability presentations, and case studies for sponsors.
  • Represent the institution at industry conferences, sponsor meetings, and networking events to strengthen visibility within the pharma/biotech ecosystem.
  • Cultivate and manage strategic, long-term relationships with pharmaceutical, biotech, and CRO sponsors, serving as primary point of contact for key accounts from initial engagement through contract execution.
  • Negotiate study agreements and budgets in collaboration with contracts, legal, and finance teams, ensuring alignment with institutional policies and sponsor expectations.
  • Design and implement proactive outreach strategies to scout and evaluate trials aligned with institutional scientific priorities and patient population, supported by ongoing market intelligence and competitive analysis of the clinical trials landscape.
  • Collaborate with scientific leadership to translate research priorities into targeted business development criteria for trial selection.
  • Develop and present a phased 2 - 3 year plan to expand the Clinical Trial Business Development function, including role definitions, hiring timelines, budget requirements, and performance metrics for new positions (e.g., Business
  • Development Manager, Program/Operations Manager).
  • Build internal processes, CRM systems, and reporting infrastructure to support a growing team and expand trial portfolio.
  • Mentor and, upon hire, directly manage Business Development and Program/Operations Managers, fostering a high-performing, collaborative team culture.
  • Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree (MBA, MPH, or life sciences) strongly preferred.
  • 8-10+ years of experience in clinical research business development, sponsor relations, or clinical operations, ideally within an academic medical center, CRO, or pharma/biotech setting.
  • Deep understanding of the clinical trial lifecycle, sponsor/CRO relationships, contracting, and regulatory processes.
  • Proven track record cultivating and closing relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Demonstrated experience building and scaling teams, with prior people-management experience preferred.
  • Strong strategic planning, negotiation, market analysis, and CRM/pipeline management skills.
  • Willingness to travel for conferences, sponsor meetings, and industry events (approximately 25-40%).

The annual base salary range for this position is from $156,832 to $261,352, and pay offered will be based on experience and qualifications.

 

This position may be eligible for a sign-on bonus.Although Fred Hutch is not sponsoring most H-1B visas at this time, candidates who already hold an H-1B sponsored by another organization and are currently in the U.S. may be eligible for this position.Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center offers employees a comprehensive benefits package designed to enhance health, well-being, and financial security. Benefits include medical/vision, dental, flexible spending accounts, life, disability, retirement, family life support, employee assistance program, onsite health clinic, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation (12-22 days per year), paid sick leave (12-25 days per year), paid holidays (13 days per year), and paid parental leave (up to 4 weeks).

About Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is a non-profit research institute dedicated to the prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases. It was founded in 1975 by Dr. William Hutchinson in honor of his brother Fred, who died of lung cancer at the age of 45. The center is located in Seattle, Washington and employs over 3,000 scientists, physicians, and staff. It is one of the largest and most respected cancer research centers in the world, and has made significant contributions to the development of bone marrow transplantation and other cancer treatments.
Learn more about Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Size
3,000 employees
Industry
Founded
1975

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

More Pharmaceuticals & Biotech Jobs

Find similar Clinical Trial Business Development Director jobs: