Senior Director, Business Development - Full Service Clinical CRO

Job Description

Harvest Integrated Research Organization (HiRO) is a globally oriented, innovative boutique Contract Research Organization (CRO) dedicated to elevating cross-border clinical trial pathways. As an expanding global CRO, HiRO collaborates closely with biotech and pharmaceutical companies, aiming to efficiently bridge the gap between laboratory research and market commercialization. Our Team Members are curious and determined, always looking to transform challenges into opportunities. Our mission is to provide cutting-edge and capital-efficient solutions, with a high-level of client-centric service, ultimately benefiting patients worldwide.

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HiRO is seeking to add to our team an accomplished full-service CRO Business Development professional with a proven hunter mentality and demonstrated success originating and closing new clinical trial business.

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This is a hands-on, revenue-producing individual contributor role for someone who actively builds pipeline, opens doors, and converts new relationships into clinical trial awards. The primary focus is identifying, developing, and closing new business with emerging and mid-size biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

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The successful candidate will bring recent, direct experience selling full-service clinical development solutions within a CRO, an established network of biotech decision-makers, and demonstrated success selling Phase I–III clinical trial services. This individual will own opportunities from initial prospecting through RFP, bid defense, contract negotiation, and award.

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Job Title: Senior Director Business Development

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Location: US, Home based

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Work Type: Remote, with travel

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Primary Function

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The Senior Director of Business Development is a revenue-producing individual contributor responsible for originating, developing, and closing new clinical CRO business with biotechnology and pharmaceutical sponsors.

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The primary focus of this role is new-logo acquisition and revenue generation. The Senior Director will actively prospect for new opportunities, develop sponsor relationships, and own the business development lifecycle from qualification through RFP, bid defense, contract negotiation, and award.

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Working closely with Business Operations and global cross-functional clinical teams, this individual will develop competitive solutions aligned with sponsor needs while achieving or exceeding individual new-business revenue targets.

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Key Responsibilities

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• Prospect, originate, and close new full-service clinical trial opportunities with biotechnology and pharmaceutical sponsors.
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• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of qualified new-logo Phase I–III clinical development opportunities.
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• Conduct consistent, targeted outbound prospecting and strategic outreach to generate new sponsor relationships and opportunities.
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• Leverage an established network of biotech and pharmaceutical decision-makers to create introductions, meetings, qualified leads, RFPs, and project opportunities.
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• Personally own opportunities throughout the sales lifecycle, from initial prospecting and qualification through proposal development, bid defense, negotiation, and award.
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• Evaluate potential business leads to ensure alignment with the HiRO service capabilities, strategic focus, and operational capacity, assessing lead quality and feasibility before pursuing opportunities.
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• Connect operations teams with potential clients to translate business requirements into actionable solutions and foster strong relationships.
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• Partner with Clinical Operations, Business Operations, Medical, Regulatory, Biometrics, and other subject matter experts to develop competitive sponsor solutions.
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• Represent HiRO at targeted biotech, pharmaceutical, and clinical research conferences with defined prospecting and business-development objectives.
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• Lead the bid defense process by partnering cross-functionally to craft proposals tailored to client needs, ensuring seamless communication and preparation across teams, and delivering effective, client-focused bid defense presentations.
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• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of leads, opportunities, and client interactions in Salesforce to ensure data integrity and visibility across teams.
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• Achieve or exceed individual new-business and revenue targets through personally generated project awards.
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• Develop existing sponsor relationships to identify appropriate opportunities for expanded clinical development partnerships.
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Qualifications

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• Minimum 8 years of business development experience within the CRO industry, with recent experience selling full-service clinical development solutions.
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• Direct experience selling Phase I–III full-service and/or multi-service clinical trial solutions to biotechnology and pharmaceutical sponsors required.
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• Demonstrated success as an active new-business hunter, personally prospecting, originating, developing, and closing new sponsor opportunities.
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• Proven track record of generating new-logo revenue and clinical trial awards and meeting or exceeding individual sales quotas.
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• Established network of biotechnology and pharmaceutical clinical development decision-makers and buying stakeholders.
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• Experience managing the complete CRO sales lifecycle, including prospecting, opportunity qualification, RFP strategy, proposal development, bid defense, contract negotiation, and award.
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• Strong understanding of clinical development and the operational functions involved in delivering Phase I–III clinical trials.
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• Strong commercial judgment, negotiation, presentation, and executive-level communication skills.
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• Oncology CRO business development experience strongly preferred.
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• Experience within a boutique, mid-size, or growth-stage full-service CRO preferred.
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• Global clinical trial business development experience preferred; APAC experience is a plus.
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• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed.
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Education Required

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Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

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Language Skills

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Fluency in oral and written English.

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What We Offer:

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• A dynamic and innovative workplace that embraces new ideas.
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• Compensation package & base salary + commission structure.
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• Portfolio of experience in high growth modalities to build upon.
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• Supportive colleagues that are driven by their passion for our mission.
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• Opportunities for accelerated career advancement as the team grows.
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• We offer a comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
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We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all. HiRO does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits.

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At HiRO, we believe that curiosity drives innovation, hard work fuels success, and creativity inspire solutions. We’re looking for individuals who thrive on exploring new ideas and approaches. If you are passionate about your work and eager to contribute to a collaborative and inclusive environment, we want to hear from you.

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***This role is NOT open to agency solicitation - We will not review any candidates sent via unsolicited agency submission ***

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