Vendor Scoping Lead

About the role

ICON Strategic Solutions is hiring a Vendor Scoping Lead in Madrid, working in a sponsor-dedicated model within the GDO portfolio. Reporting to the Head of Vendor Scoping Management, the role covers end-to-end scoping, budgeting and vendor selection for clinical and non-clinical studies, ensuring study budgets are accurate, competitive and delivered on time so that study start-up and governance approvals can proceed.

Key responsibilities

• Manage project scoping of Development and local/regional studies with project teams throughout the project lifecycle
• Align scope and analyse GDO vendor budgets, and support the identification of vendor needs with internal customers
• Help the study team prepare scenarios for governance interactions and obtain timely approvals
• Prepare detailed request for proposal documents where applicable, and negotiate budgets with service providers, including clinical trial budgets up to more than 100 million euros
• Work with the Contract Services team to turn approved scope and budget into executed contracts, balancing time, cost and quality against global business objectives and the outsourcing strategy
• Take part in evaluating existing preferred service providers and maintain a list of qualified providers, including a catalogue of available services
• Represent the study team directly with counterparts and service providers, and ensure compliance with the client's Code of Conduct, quality documents, guidelines, policies and applicable laws
• Support the development of VSM business procedures and the execution of the Development outsourcing strategy

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in life sciences, business administration, finance or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• 5+ years of experience in drug development with direct exposure to clinical scoping, outsourcing or vendor management
• Minimum 4 years in clinical operations, vendor management, procurement or financial analysis in a pharmaceutical or CRO environment
• Demonstrated experience supporting vendor scope negotiations and budget discussions with clinical service providers
• Legal right to work in the country where the role is based

Required skills

• Familiarity with clinical trial outsourcing models and governance requirements
• Solid understanding of clinical trial budgeting and RFP processes
• Advanced cost modelling and scenario analysis, and vendor landscape intelligence and benchmarking
• Fluency in English (written and oral); additional languages are an asset

What we offer

• Competitive base salary and performance-related incentives
• Health and wellbeing programmes, including medical, dental and vision coverage where applicable
• Retirement and pension plans, life assurance and disability coverage
• Employee assistance programmes and learning and development opportunities