Clinical Research Engagement Lead (CREL) - Central Region (New Orleans, LA)

Overview As a Clinical Research Engagement Lead (CREL) at Roche, you will act as the ultimate strategic partner and primary face of Roche Clinical Operations within your market. This is not a traditional coordination role—you are the champion of a "ONE Roche" approach, wielding clinical operational expertise and deep Disease Area (DA) knowledge to build elite, high-trust partnerships with clinical trial sites. The opportunity is to bridge the gap between strategy and execution across the entire trial lifecycle—from early development to late-stage delivery—ensuring our clinical assets are executed with maximum speed, efficiency, and clinical quality. Responsibilities Strategic Planning & Alignment: Develop and execute country-level site engagement strategies aligned with internal priorities, make strategic investment decisions regarding Principal Investigators and clinical sites, negotiate site budgets, track clinical grant payments, and forecast site-level resource needs. Early Feasibility & Study Set-Up: Conduct early strategic landscaping and site engagement during the protocol concept and study set‑up phases, identify optimal sites, evaluate country feasibility, accelerate recruitment, drive study start‑up metrics, and utilize enrollment forecasting tools. Relationship Management & Site Support: Build deep multi‑stakeholder relationships at strategic sites, act as a site champion and primary point of contact, and address site needs. Issue Escalation & Performance Oversight: Serve as the local escalation point for study challenges, monitor investigator performance, support motivational site visits, and manage sensitive communications during premature site closures. Cross‑Functional Collaboration & Reporting: Partner seamlessly with internal teams (e.g., Medical Affairs, Study Start‑Up) and CROs, maintain meticulous documentation of site visits, and keep consistent communication. Portfolio Oversight & Compliance: Manage assigned studies by overseeing CRO performance, mitigating operational risks, ensuring eTMF completeness, and maintaining inspection readiness. Digital Clinical Trial: Drive adoption of DCT and digital solutions with sites (eConsent, eSource, Remote Data Entry, etc.) and actively review digital tools to address challenges. Qualifications Degree (MD, PhD, MA/MS, BA/BS) in life sciences or equivalent. Minimum 5+ years of relevant clinical research or clinical operations experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or related industry; sponsor experience preferred. Experience in end‑to‑end product development and expert understanding of ICH/GCP. Proven track record in managing site relationships and overseeing complex clinical trials. Exceptional interpersonal, cross‑functional, negotiation, and influencing skills. Ability and willingness to travel domestically between 30‑50% depending on business or site needs. Preferred Qualifications Postgraduate or master’s degree (valued but not required). Prior experience working directly with local trial sites and a strong existing network within the regional healthcare ecosystem. Highly experienced in early and late‑phase oncology. Highly experienced across multiple disciplines/TAs in non‑oncology. Location & Compensation Applicant should reside within 30 miles of a major airport and within 50 miles of the primary location. Relocation benefits are not available for this posting. Expected salary range: $103,300 – $191,900 based on the primary location of New Orleans, LA, with discretionary annual bonus potential and benefits detailed below. Equal Opportunity Statement Genentech, a member of the Roche group, is an equal opportunity employer. The company prohibits unlawful discrimination and provides reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities. #J-18808-Ljbffr