Overview
The Associate Director of Project Finance is a senior individual-contributor role responsible for supporting Project Finance leadership in driving financial excellence across revenue management, forecasting, and project-level performance analysis. This role partners closely with cross-functional leaders to deliver high-quality insights, ensure financial accuracy, and support strategic decision-making across the project portfolio.
The ideal candidate combines strong financial modeling and excel skills, exceptional attention to detail, and the ability to translate data into actionable business recommendations. This remote role requires someone who can operate autonomously, influence without authority, and proactively identify opportunities to enhance project financial outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
Deliver timely, actionable financial analysis—including revenue trends, profitability by project, utilization insights, and risk/opportunity assessments.
Prepare executive-level reporting and presentations for leadership review.
Translate complex financial data into clear narratives and recommendations for operational and strategic decisions.
Support leadership with ad hoc modeling, strategic initiatives, and process improvement projects.
Assist with developing best practices for project financial management, tools, and dashboards.
Qualifications - Required
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or related field.
7+ years of experience in project finance, FP&A, or similar analytical roles.
Clinical research experience.
Advanced financial modeling and Excel skills; proficiency with financial systems and BI tools.
Strong understanding of project-based revenue models (e.g., time & materials, fixed fee, milestone billing).
Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders without direct authority.
Highly organized, dependable, and capable of managing competing deadlines in a remote environment.
Qualifications - Preferred
Familiarity with ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Deltek, Workday).
Competencies
Strategic and analytical mindset
Strong business acumen
Problem-solving and critical thinking
Self-starter with high ownership
Ability to work cross-functionally
Executive-level communication
Continuous improvement orientation
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or related field
- 7+ years of experience in project finance, FP&A, or similar analytical roles
- Clinical research experience
- Advanced financial modeling and Excel skills
- Proficiency with financial systems and BI tools
- Strong understanding of project-based revenue models (time & materials, fixed fee, milestone billing)
- Excellent communication skills with ability to influence stakeholders without direct authority
- Highly organized, dependable, and capable of managing competing deadlines in a remote environment
- Familiarity with ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Deltek, Workday)
Cytel Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Cytel and has not been reviewed or approved by Cytel.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as comprehensive, spanning medical, dental, vision, life and disability, with FSAs/HSAs also available. Plan quality is often characterized as good to excellent, which lifts the perceived value of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with employer match is consistently part of the benefits package. The plan is also characterized as well managed, contributing to a sense of baseline retirement support.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Overall pay is characterized as decent-to-good and broadly competitive in parts of the business, with stronger alignment noted in senior technical tracks like biostatistics and programming. The total package is often framed as respectable rather than premium.
Cytel Insights
What We Do
Cytel enables decision-makers in the life sciences to unlock the full potential of their products. From navigating uncertainty to proving value, Cytel’s 30 years of global expertise in consulting, data-driven analytics, and industry-leading software helps biotech and pharmaceutical companies transform intelligence into confident decisions. We have an uncompromising commitment to scientific rigor and high standards of operational excellence, which are channeled through our locations in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Asia. Together, we enable our clients to deliver the therapies that propel humanity forward. Cytel employs a range of data science tools from biostatistics to machine learning to help executives in the life-sciences to make confident decisions powered by data. We are probably best known for being leaders in the field of adaptive clinical trial design, a subset of trial design that uses interim looks to enhance the patient safety and commercial value of pharmaceutical products. We also have specialists in Bayesian statistics, real world evidence, artificial intelligence, health economics, and a number of other research fields to ensure that academic and scientific findings can have impact on industry quickly and seamlessly. www.cytel.com
