Senior Manager, Clinical Vendor Contracts & Alliance Management, Clinical Operations

Senior Manager, Clinical Vendor Contracts & Alliance Management, Clinical Operations

Who we are:

At Agios, we are fueled by connections to transform rare diseases. We foster an inclusive, collaborative culture - one that sparks bold thinking and strengthens our connections with each other and with the rare disease communities we serve. We embrace diverse backgrounds with respect, active listening, and a commitment to inclusion - because our differences shape how we hire, collaborate, and innovate. Our team's proven track record of executional excellence, combined with our depth of expertise and dedication, enables us to develop innovative medicines that reflect the priorities of rare disease communities. Our commitment is more than scientific - it's deeply personal, grounded in the meaningful connections we have built. To learn more, visit and follow Agios on LinkedIn and X.

The impact you will make:

Agios Pharmaceuticals is searching for a Senior Manager, Clinical Vendor Contracts and Alliance Management, to join our growing Clinical Business Operations team, part of the larger Clinical Operations team. We want someone who cares about this important work and is driven to connect to our mission of helping our patient communities. The Senior Manager, Clinical Vendor Contracts and Alliance Management is responsible for relationship management, strategic insight, tactical support and execution of end-to-end outsourcing activities required to successfully execute clinical studies in a fast-paced and dynamic environment. They will partner cross-functionally to lead the selection, contracting, and ongoing management of the vendors who help make our trials successful.

What you will do:

• Leveraging vendor knowledge and experience, individual will lead vendor selection activities through collaboration with Clinical Operations and the larger study team. Includes, but is not limited to contributing to service needs discussions in Clinical Trial Working Group (CTWG), identifying vendors, gathering business needs, and leading RFPs, bid defense meetings, scoring and award discussions.
• Lead contract reviews, negotiate terms, budgets, and payment schedules, and executing contracts through he company's Contract Management System.
• Manage contracting activities including preparation, finalization, and administration of CDAs, Service Agreements, Work Orders, Change Orders, and Amendments for assigned studies and/or program(s).
• Facilitate study kickoff meeting preparation and participate to clarify timelines, statements-of-work, roles and responsibilities, and budgets.
• Management of vendor relationships, ensuring Agios expected outcomes are met or exceeded, and plans are discussed and implemented when expectations are not met.
• Monitor the outsourcing environment to keep current of providers and industry trends and suggest new vendors and/or services where opportunities arise and strategy aligns.
• Identify, lead, and participate in Clinical Business Operations and other Clinical Operations process improvement projects
• Collaborate with QA and compliance to ensure quality management of vendors.
  • Initiate qualification requests, participation in qualification kick off meetings, and participation in follow-up meetings and mitigation discussions where needed.
  • Work with QA and compliance on quality issue management activities including participation in meetings and ownership of applicable actions.
• Management and oversight of study budgets for assigned studies including:
  • Creating and maintaining established tools/trackers for management and oversight of study budgets for contract tracking purposes, and tracking budget to actual metrics
  • Proposing trade-offs within the study budget portfolio
  • Scheduling and leading study team financial reviews
  • Contribute to annual budget review and Long-Range Planning (LRP) discussions
• Mentor and/or manage junior team members in outsourcing and educate clinical team in budget management practices

What you bring:

• Bachelor's degree required. MBA or advanced degree preferred
• At least eight (8) years' experience in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry with 3 to 5 years of direct experience in clinical vendor selection and budget/contract negotiation across early and late phase clinical studies in both the US and internationally
• At least two (2) years' experience mentoring and/or managing team
• Experience and proven proficiency with study budget and project management
• Excellent understanding of the broad landscape of vendors involved in successful delivery of clinical studies
• Proven experience in negotiations, vendor management and conflict resolution
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to think on your feet and act with a consistent sense of urgency
• Attention to detail, and excellent organizational skills with the ability to multi-task, prioritize needs and manage a high volume of tasks within tight clinical deadlines
• Clinical Operations/Development experience with a thorough understanding of relevant regulatory requirements such as GCP, relevant ICH standards, and FDA/EMA guidelines.
• Excellent communication (oral and written) and presentation skills.
• Ability to create and collaborate with vendors and internal stakeholders
• Ability to work both independently and in a team environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office

Concerned that you don't check off every box in the requirements listed above? Please apply anyway! At Agios, we value each other's differences and recognize that teams thrive when everyone brings their unique experiences to the table. We are dedicated to building an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible environment where all employees can bring their whole selves to work. If you're excited about this role but your previous experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another opening!

Work Location:

Location Agnostic: Work location for this role is based on employee's individual preference. This role has the ability to be either remote in the US or hybrid in our Cambridge Headquarters. Hybrid schedules vary but are generally less than 3 days per week onsite and hybrid employees are expected to live within commutable distance of our Cambridge Headquarters. Remote employees work entirely from home except for attending Company sponsored events/ meetings. For employees who choose to work remotely, travel may be required for certain company events commensurate to the above job description.

What we will give you:

• Deliberate Development. Your professional growth as one of our top priorities.
• Flexibility. We're all about individual needs. We embrace different perspectives, work styles, health and wellness approaches, care of families and productivity. When you're at your best, we're at our best.
• Premium benefits package. We invest in the health, wellbeing, and security of our people with a premium benefits package that is well-rounded and flexible to help meet the varied personal and professional needs of every member of our team. For more detail on the benefits we offer at Agios, visit the Inside Agios section of our website.
• Competitive and equitable performance-based compensation. This includes base salary and both short- and long-term incentives that are connected to our business strategy and vary based on individual and company performance.
  • The current base salary range for this position is expected to be between $131,000 and $196,000 annualized; final salary will be determined based on various factors including, but not limited to, years of relevant experience, job knowledge, skills and proficiency, degree/education, and internal comparators.
• Psychological safety. We support an environment of fearlessness. We want you to share your ideas, speak candidly and take data-informed risks to help push the boundaries.
• Commitment to diversity. We strive to foster a welcoming workplace where everyone can thrive. We're continuously looking to improve the inclusivity of our workforce.
• Commitment to community. We're an active participant in the communities that surround us - the communities where we live, and the community of people and their loved ones in need of better treatment options for conditions that are often overlooked.

Interested in learning more about what makes our culture unique? Visit the Inside Agios section of our website.