About Astellas:
At Astellas we are a progressive health partner, delivering value and outcomes where needed.
We pursue innovative science, focussing initially on the areas of greatest potential and then developing solutions where patient need is high, often in rare or under-served disease areas and in life-threatening or life-limiting diseases and conditions.
We work directly with patients, doctors, and healthcare professionals on the front line to ensure that patient and clinical needs guide our development activities at every stage.
Our global vision for Patient Centricity is to support the development of innovative health solutions through a deep understanding of the patient experience.
At Astellas, Patient Centricity isn’t a buzzword - it’s a guiding principle for action. We believe all staff have a role to play in creating a patient-centric culture and integrating an awareness of the patient into our everyday working practices, regardless of our role, team or division.
We work closely with regulatory authorities and payers to find new ways to ensure access to new therapies. We deliver the latest insights and real-world evidence to inform the best decisions for patients and their care-givers, to ensure the medicines we develop continue to provide meaningful outcomes.
Beyond medicines, we support our stakeholder communities to drive initiatives that improve awareness, education, access and ultimately standards of care.
The Opportunity:
In this role, you will serve as the primary point of contact for vendors and R&D business partners within your designated therapeutic or functional areas, supporting a medium to large clinical trial portfolio.
You will collaborate cross-functionally with clinical development, vendor management, study teams, finance, legal, quality, and other internal stakeholders to strategically source and manage services essential to clinical trial execution.
Your expertise will help drive cost optimization, ensure quality and compliance, and support the development and implementation of value-maximizing sourcing strategies.
Hybrid working
At Astellas we recognize that our employees enjoy having balance between their professional and home lives. We are proud of our hybrid approach which empowers you to have flexibility on whether to work from home or in the office.
Key Activities:
- Leading “request for proposal/request for information processes”, vendor selection, contract negotiations, and ensuring optimal value through effective stakeholder communication.
- Strategically managing cross-functional collaboration to implement outsourcing strategies and contributing to key initiatives and governance forums.
- Developing and negotiating contracts (including master service agreements and service level agreements), managing change orders, and mitigating risk through strategic issue resolution.
- Acting as a subject matter expert in vendor governance and process improvement, ensuring business alignment and compliance.
- Utilizing digital tools and analytics to monitor performance and driving data-informed sourcing decisions.
Essential Knowledge & Experience:
- Significant experience in research, industry, or legal settings, with a strong background in clinical outsourcing, contracting, or finance within the pharmaceutical industry; higher experience required in lieu of a degree.
- Proven negotiation and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects, programs, and timelines effectively.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey objectives and maintain strong collaboration between internal stakeholders and external service providers.
- Demonstrated ability to build strong internal and external relationships, provide leadership and mentoring, drive strategic business initiatives, and proactively resolve issues to mitigate risk.
- Solid understanding of clinical development categories and financial principles, including cash flow neutrality, payment schedules, costing systems, and relational cost structures.
Preferred Experience:
- Previous experience in a contract research organization (CRO) environment, particularly in proposal development, business development, or clinical operations.
- Proven expertise in budget management and financial analysis to support clinical outsourcing strategies.
- Strong project management experience leading cross-functional teams and driving complex initiatives to completion.
- Deep knowledge of contracting and sourcing best practices, with familiarity in the clinical services marketplace (e.g., CROs, central laboratories, interactive voice response systems), and a successful track record in supplier relationship and performance management.
Education/Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in healthcare, legal, or finance or equivalent preferred
- Proficiency in business English is essential for effective cross-country collaboration.
Additional Information:
- This is a permanent, full-time position.
- This position is based in Warsaw (Poland)
- This position follows our hybrid working model. The role requires a blend of home and approx. one day per quarter in our Warsaw office.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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