Director of Participant Strategy & Engagement

Job Title: Director of Participant Strategy & Engagement

Location: London Bridge (4 days on-site)

Term: Permanent, Full-time

Salary: Competitive + Benefits (Private Medical, Private Dental, Pension, 25 days Annual leave plus bank holidays & Many more)

Richmond Pharmacology is a leading Contract Research Organisation (CRO) specialising in early-phase clinical trials for pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, we strive to advance medical research and contribute to the development of life-changing therapies.

The Role:

The Director of Participant Strategy & Engagement is accountable for strategic and operational leadership of the participant lifecycle across clinical studies, ensuring Richmond meets its contractual recruitment targets within budget and timelines.  

The Director of Participant Strategy & Engagement ensures the integration and alignment of departments across the participant engagement lifecycle, from strategy, identification, attraction, engagement, enrolment, and retention, to deliver high-quality patient-centric care and maintain Richmond’s position as a leading global recruiting site for clinical trials. The job fosters collaboration between teams, drives continuous improvement, and ensures compliance with regulatory standards and best practices. 

Main duties and responsibilities

General Leadership: 

• Set strategic direction for the identification, attraction, engagement, enrolment, and retention of participants across all studies, and lead the execution of the strategy. 

• Accountable for the efficient and profitable operation of the departments under their accountability. 

• Accountable for the systems and processes underpinning the recruitment of participants, including a project to replace the current recruitment platform. 

Team Leadership: 

• Lead and mentor a multidisciplinary team, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment. 

• Create a proactive culture where all individuals are accountable and address issues early. 

• Set and monitor individual and team performance goals. 

• Develop and align plans with organisational goals and study pipelines, including connecting the processes, systems, accountability, and MI. 

• Lead cross-functional meetings and manage resources, including budgets. 

Operational Oversight: 

• Accountable for the entire participant engagement and recruitment budget, ensuring contracts are appropriately quoted to sponsors and delivered within the budget, including ensuring changes in contractual scope.   

• Monitor and report performance metrics (KPIs) and implement adjustments early if projections demonstrate targets will not be met, ensuring contractual targets are met or exceeded. 

• Build and analyse the participant flow of each clinical trial, illustrating the progress of participants through each stage of the trial, from recruitment to data analysis. For each cohort of each trial, state the losses and exclusions after randomisation, together with reasons (CONSORT criteria). 

• Proactively analyse reasons for screening failures to improve engagement and recruitment efforts.  

• Ensure teams understand protocols and regulations. 

• Lead training and quality improvement initiatives, ensuring individuals are skilled and processes are operating optimally. 

• Oversee participant databases and feedback systems. 

• Be accountable for participant complaints and escalations. 

Stakeholder Management 

• Be the most senior contact for internal and external stakeholders. 

• Build partnerships with organisations that can support our purpose, such as the NIHR, Healthcare Central London (HCL). 

• Engage with Key Opinion Leaders to build the company’s reputation and enlist support for our clinical trials. 

• Enhance the company’s and department’s reputation. 

Quality 

• Ensure a culture of quality within the organisation, supported by Continuous Process Improvement, by leading and overseeing waste elimination, process simplification, standardisation for consistency, and automation where possible. 

• Develop and maintain process maps for the accountable departments. 

• Lead and implement at least two significant quality improvement projects per year. 

• Proactively monitor industry regulations and trends, and competitors, to continuously learn and improve operational delivery. 

• Oversee Focus Groups and feedback processes. 

• Support the preparation, conduct and follow-up required for audits and inspections. 

• Ensure CRM and other digital tools within the areas of accountability comply with GDPR and PECR requirements. 

Qualifications and Experience:

• BSc or above in Life Sciences or a related subject, or relevant experience in a similar role.
• Strong understanding of regulatory requirements in clinical research. 

• Knowledge of population sciences, healthcare, or the NHS. 
  
• Strong leadership and strategic planning, including successfully coaching and mentoring multi-disciplined teams. 
• Extensive and recent clinical research experience in clinical trial recruitment. 

• Experience in recruiting from NHS sites.
  
• Experienced in managing budgets. 

Application:

If you are interested in the role, please register your details, including a copy of your CV.  Please note, while we try to respond to every candidate, the high volume of applications anticipated may make this impossible and we ask for your patience and understanding.