Associate Director, Clinical QA

Job Description

This position is an integral part of the CQA team and provides oversight for and participates in, auditing services in support of Alkermes Clinical Programs by conducting clinical site, vendor qualification, internal systems and document audits to ensure compliance with cGCPs. The CQA Manager supports the department initiatives by leading CQA projects and assists with management of department resources.

This position must be able to quickly identify critical and high risk business and compliance issues and report immediately to CQA management and assist/lead investigations and/or corrections of such issues.

In addition to a travel requirement of ~40%, this person will also need to be onsite and local to our Waltham, MA office 3x a week.

Responsibilities

This position will :

• Schedule, personally conduct and/or supervise Good Clinical Practice (GCP) audit services by an external vendor/consultant and/or internal resources (auditors) which will support Clinical Development activities including but not limited to:
  • Audits of clinical vendors, clinical sites and clinical documents that will be submitted to regulatory authorities
  • Audits of clinical drug safety activities internally and externally/ vendors
  • Internal and external clinical development and drug safety systems
  • Work with contract auditors and CQA management to develop study specific audit plans
  • Review and assess internal and external audit reports to ensure they have met the audit plan and that recommendations and suggested Corrective Action Preventative Action Plans (CAPA) are adequate all to ensure compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Regulations, and Best Practices
• Oversee and/or Conduct other GCP related audits as indicated
• Collaborate with the appropriate Clinical Development team in preparation and follow-up to clinical site audits to ensure resolution of audit findings.
• Plan and conduct GLP, GCP clinical vendor audits
• When indicated collaborate with Clinical Development in a lessons learned debrief to identify the need for continuous improvement and for potential changes to work practices.
• Consult with Clinical Development and Drug Safety regarding perceived GCP related vendor performance issues and when indicated work with them to develop a corrective action plan.
• Provide review of follow-up corrective action of contracted vendor services
• When indicated perform or supervise remote vendor audits and provide follow-up as indicated
• Maintain the tracking system for all GCP audit activity and provide periodic metrics
• When requested provide global GCP training for clinical investigator meetings
• Assist management in the preparation and conduct of regulatory agency inspections

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Requirements include degree in Nursing, Health Science, related field and 10+ years auditing and/or compliance experience for relevant GCP or GVP related fields. With Advanced Degrees, less audit/compliance years will be considered
• Must have a working knowledge of US and International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) GCP regulations and guidelines.
• Must have good interpersonal skills and excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Must have knowledge of clinical safety and clinical trial management systems (e.g., ARISg, TrialWorks, and IMPACT) as well as standard tracking databases (e.g., TrackWise, LIMS).

Preferred Requirements:

• Ability to work with cross functional groups, and handle difficult people/situations under pressure.
• Ability to deal with competing timelines.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to prioritize work and handle multiple assignments.

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The annual base salary for this position ranges from $166,850 to $181,564. In addition, this position is eligible for an annual performance pay bonus. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, training, knowledge, and experience. Alkermes offers a competitive benefits package. Additional details can be found on our careers website:

About Us

Why join Team Alkermes?


Alkermes applies its decades of deep neuroscience expertise to develop medicines designed to help people living with complex and difficult-to-treat psychiatric and neurological disorders. A global biopharmaceutical company, headquartered in Ireland with U.S. locations in Massachusetts and Ohio, we seek to make a meaningful difference in the way people manage their diseases. We have a portfolio of proprietary commercial products for the treatment of alcohol dependence, opioid dependence, schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and narcolepsy, and a pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates in development for various psychiatric and neurological disorders.

We are proud to have been recognized as an employer of choice by many national organizations. In 2024 and 2025, we were certified as a Great Place to Work in the U.S. and named one of Massachusetts' Top Places to Work by the Boston Globe, a Best Place to Work in Greater Cincinnati by the Cincinnati Business Courier and recognized as a Best Place to Work in BioPharma by Fortune Magazine.


Alkermes, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any qualified applicant or employee because of race, creed, color, age, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression and identity, disability, genetic information, veteran status, military status, application for military service or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law. Alkermes also complies with all work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act and IRCA. Alkermes is an E-Verify employer.