Associate Director, Patient Recruitment Partnerships

Job Description

Job Description

About Care Access

Care Access is working to make the future of health better for all. With hundreds of research locations, mobile clinics, and clinicians across the globe, we bring world-class research and health services directly to communities that often face barriers to care. We are dedicated to ensuring that every person has the opportunity to understand their health, access the care they need, and contribute to the medical breakthroughs of tomorrow.

With programs like Future of Medicine , which makes advanced health screenings and research opportunities accessible to communities worldwide, and Difference Makers , which supports local leaders to expand their community health and wellbeing efforts, we put people at the heart of medical progress. Through partnerships, technology, and perseverance, we are reimagining how clinical research and health services reach the world. Together, we are building a future of health that is better and more accessible for all.

To learn more about Care Access, visit

How This Role Makes a Difference

The Associate Director, Patient Recruitment Partnerships is a key driver of Care Access's mission to expand access to clinical research by building and optimizing a high-performing ecosystem of Recruitment Vendors and Patient Advocacy Organizations. This role leads the full lifecycle of partner strategy—identifying, contracting, guiding, and evaluating partners to ensure they deliver high-quality patient referrals that accelerate enrollment across a diverse portfolio of trials.

Operating at the intersection of strategy, analytics, and community engagement, the Associate Director, Patient Recruitment Partnerships develops scalable frameworks, ensures regulatory and compliance alignment, and cultivates mission-driven partnerships that expand reach, deepen community trust, and improve access for underserved populations. Through data-informed decision-making and cross-functional collaboration, this role strengthens Care Access's ability to connect patients to opportunity and drive meaningful progress in clinical research.

How You'll Make An Impact

• Builds and Leads the Recruitment Partner Ecosystem

  • Identifies, evaluates, and selects Patient Recruitment Partners and Patient Advocacy Organizations (PAOs) based on therapeutic expertise, reach, compliance, and operational maturity.

  • Leads RFP/RFI processes, negotiates MSAs, SOWs, budgets, and performance-based agreements in partnership with Patient Recruitment and Legal, and onboards mission-aligned partners to expand community reach and improve access for underserved populations.

  • In collaboration with Campaign Managers, defines and oversees the recruitment partner strategy across all trials, aligning partner efforts with study needs and enrollment goals.

  • Establishes performance and compliance expectations (GCP, IRB, HIPAA, SOPs, etc...), serves as the primary partner liaison, and provides ongoing guidance while overseeing financial management, ROI analysis, forecasting, and audit readiness.

  • Continuously identifies inefficiencies and implements scalable, automated processes to support sustainable organizational growth.

• Manages Partner and PAO Performance, Accountability, and Operational Execution
  • Owns performance management across Recruitment Partners and PAOs to ensure delivery against contracted screening and enrollment commitments outlined in SOWs.
  • Monitors recruitment funnel metrics, referral quality, pacing, and conversion rates to identify risks, gaps, and optimization opportunities, and drives corrective actions when performance falls short.
  • Conducts regular performance and business reviews to enforce accountability, ensure adherence to scope, compliance, quality, and mission alignment, and validate partner value.
  • Serves as the primary point of contact, building trust-based relationships while proactively resolving issues, aligning expectations, and co-developing improvement plans.
  • Strengthens operational efficiency and scalability by refining SOPs, workflows, and playbooks, and implementing automation and process improvements as appropriate.
• Leads Cross-Functional Recruitment Strategy and Alignment
  • Partners closely with Patient Recruitment, Clinical Operations, Marketing, and Analytics to develop, align, and execute recruitment strategies across trials.
  • Drives cross-functional planning, prioritization, and decision-making to ensure recruitment approaches support study needs, enrollment goals, and organizational priorities.
  • Synthesizes data, operational insights, and industry trends into clear strategic recommendations and communicates progress, risks, and opportunities to leadership and trial teams to continuously refine recruitment strategy and maximize partner effectiveness.
• Partners with Analytics to build and refine forecasting models for patient acquisition and partner throughput.
• Facilitates knowledge sharing across internal teams regarding partner best practices and market insights.
• Demonstrates exceptional relationship-building skills and the ability to foster trust across diverse stakeholders.
• Communicates clearly and confidently, tailoring messaging for vendors, PAOs, sites, and internal teams.
• Shows cultural awareness and sensitivity when engaging with community-based organizations and patient groups.
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment and maintains strong organization across multiple competing priorities.
• Proactively anticipates issues before they escalate and takes ownership of resolving them.
• Collaborates effectively across functions, ensuring cohesion and alignment in complex workstreams.
• Adapts quickly to changing circumstances and applies flexible thinking to new or uncertain situations.
• Demonstrates empathy and patient-centered thinking in all recruitment-related decision making.
• Maintains awareness of competitive landscape to keep Care Access recruitment strategy differentiated.

The Expertise Required

• Strong understanding of clinical trial patient recruitment, including funnel dynamics, referral pathways, and barriers to enrollment.
• Minimum of 6 years of proven experience managing Recruitment Partners and PAOs, including evaluation, contracting, onboarding, and performance oversight.
• Working knowledge of GCP, IRB, HIPAA and regulatory standards governing recruitment materials, patient communications, and community engagement.
• Proficiency with analytics and reporting tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) and strong data literacy to assess ROI, pacing, and partner performance.
• Advanced Excel/Google Sheets skills and familiarity with CRM or patient-tracking platforms such as Salesforce or similar systems.
• Ability to build trust-based relationships and collaborate effectively across internal teams and external partners.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate insights, guide strategy, and influence decision-making across stakeholders.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt quickly to changing priorities.
• Solid project management capability to manage multiple initiatives, timelines, and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.
• Mission-driven mindset with empathy, a commitment to patient access, and a continuous-improvement approach to operational excellence.

Certifications/Licenses, Education, and Experience

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Biology, Business, Healthcare, or related field preferred. 
• Master's in science, Public Health or related field preferred

• Location : Remote within the United States. This role requires 100% of work to be performed in a remote office environment.
• Travel : This is a remote position with less than 20% travel requirements. Occasional planned travel may be required as part of the role.
• Physical demands associated with this position Include : The ability to use keyboards and other computer equipment.

The expected salary range for this role is $115,000 - $145,000 USD per year for full time team members.

• Paid Time Off (PTO) and Company Paid Holidays
• 100% Employer paid medical, dental, and vision insurance plan options
• Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Accounts
• Bi-weekly HSA employer contribution
• Company paid Short-Term Disability and Long-Term Disability
• 401(k) Retirement Plan, with Company Match

Diversity & Inclusion

We work with and serve people from diverse cultures and communities around the world. We are stronger and better when we build a team representing the communities we support. We maintain an inclusive culture where people from a broad range of backgrounds feel valued and respected as they contribute to our mission.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Care Access is unable to sponsor work visas at this time.

If you need an accommodation to apply for a role with Care Access, please reach out to: View email address on ziprecruiter.com

Mandatory Employer Disclosures:
Notice to Illinois applicants: Applicants are not obligated to disclose expunged juvenile records or adjudication, arrest, or conviction.
Notice to Connecticut applicants: Care Access may require applicants to submit to a urinalysis drug test in connection with an application for employment.
Notice to Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, and North Dakota applicants: Care Access complies with applicable laws prohibiting smoking in and around places of employment.
Notice to Massachusetts applicants: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Notice to Rhode Island applicants: Care Access complies with Rhode Island law prohibiting smoking in enclosed areas within places of employment. Care Access is also subject to is subject to Chapters 29–38 of Title 28 of the Rhode Island General Laws.
Notice to Maryland applicants: UNDER MARYLAND LAW, AN EMPLOYER MAY NOT REQUIRE OR DEMAND, AS A CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT, PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYMENT, OR CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT, THAT AN INDIVIDUAL SUBMIT TO OR TAKE A LIE DETECTOR OR SIMILAR TEST. AN EMPLOYER WHO VIOLATES THIS LAW IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR AND SUBJECT TO A FINE NOT EXCEEDING $100.