Clinical Operations Manager - Finance

Job Description

This role is accountable for performance and compliance for assigned protocols in a country in 
compliance with ICH/GCP and country regulations, Company policies and procedures, quality 
standards and adverse event reporting requirements internally and externally.
Under the oversight of the Sr. COM (Clinical Operations Manager) Head COMs or CRD, the person is responsible for 
budget/finance aspects, for execution and oversight of clinical trial country submissions and 
approvals and to ensure Site Ready.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
• Ownership of country and site budgets. Development, negotiation and completion of Clinical 
Trial Research Agreements (CTRA).
• Oversees and tracks clinical research-related payments. Payment reconciliation at study closeout. Oversees FCPA, DPS/OFAC, and maintenance of financial systems. Financial forecasting in 
conjunction with Sr.COM /other roles.
• Manages country deliverables, timelines and results for assigned protocols to meet country 
commitments. Responsible for quality and compliance in assigned protocols in country.
• Contributes to the development of local SOPs. Oversees CTCs as applicable.
• Coordinates and liaises with CRM, CTC, CRA, (Finance and Legal if appropriate) to ensure 
country deliverables are obtained for submissions, budgets, CTRAs and local milestones. 
Collaborates closely with Headquarter to align country timelines for assigned protocols. 
Enters and updates country information in clinical and finance systems.
• Ownership of financial compliance.
• Required to in/directly influence investigators, external partners and country operations and 
adheres to budget targets and agreed payment timelines.
• Works in partnership internally with GCTO country operations, finance, legal and regional operations, HQ functional areas and externally with vendors and sites, IRB/IECs. Through continual interaction with local clinical team/s successfully delivers financial contracts within fair market value.
• Contribute or lead initiatives and projects adding value to the business, as appropriate/required.
• Contributes strongly to COM team and other Country Operations roles knowledge by acting as 
process Subject Matter Expert (SME), sharing best practices, making recommendations for 
continuous improvement and providing training as appropriate/required.
• Contributes to COM team knowledge by acting as buddy/mentor and sharing best practices as 
appropriate/required.

Core competencies:
• Expertise of core clinical systems, tools and metrics 
• Excellent verbal and written influencing and training/mentoring skills, in local language and 
English 
• Strong coordination and organizational skills 
• Skilled knowledge of budget and contract negotiations,
submission and approval processes, and understanding of how these impact study start-up. 
• Ability to indirectly influence investigators, vendors, external partners and country managers to 
address and resolve issues, with minimal support from the Sr.COM or manager. 
• Ability to make decisions independently with limited oversight from Sr.COM or manager. 
• Ability to proactively develop risk management and mitigation plans in the country and resolve 
issues locally. 
• Ability to lead a team of CTCs as applicable

Behavioural Competency Expectations: 
• Problem solving is essential to this position. Requires the ability to pro-actively identify issues 
and risks, analyze root cause, and propose solutions to problems and escalate to management 
as applicable. Specific examples of common problems include: 1) Issues in budget / CTRA 
negotiations, 2) Quality and compliance issues, 3) Regulatory and legal issues, and 4) issues 
related to functional area deliverables that could jeopardize protocol milestones. 
• Effective and efficient time management, organizational and interpersonal skills, conflict 
management and problem-solving skills.
• High sense of accountability and urgency in order to properly prioritize deliverables
• Strong communication, leadership, and negotiation skills as well as excellent influencing and 
training/mentoring skills, both written and verbal, in local language and English. 
• Ability to focus on multiple deliverables and protocols simultaneously is essential. Requires that 
the individual has ability to work effectively also in a remote virtual environment with a wide 
range of people. 
• Positive mindset, growth mindset, capable of working independently and being self-driven
• Able to directly influence site staff
 

Experience Requirements: 
Required: 
• 5 years of experience in clinical research or combined experience in Clinical Research and 
Finance/Business
Educational Requirements: 
Required: 
• Bachelor's Degree in Business Finance/ Administration/ Life Science or equivalent Health Care 
related experience

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Shift:

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 Preferred Skills:

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