ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation united by a mission to bring new medicines and treatments to patients faster.
As a values-driven organisation, integrity, collaboration, agility, and inclusion are at the heart of how we work and interact with each other, customers, patients and suppliers.
Location: Flexible/Remote
Our client is seeking an experienced Global Study Associate Director (GSAD) to lead the delivery of global clinical studies within a fast-paced drug development environment. This is a high-impact role responsible for overseeing cross-functional study teams and ensuring studies are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.
Key Responsibilities- Lead and coordinate global cross-functional study teams to successfully deliver clinical studies.
- Drive study timelines, quality, budget management, and milestone achievement.
- Act as the primary point of contact between study teams, programme teams, CROs, and external vendors.
- Oversee outsourced study activities and ensure appropriate vendor oversight is maintained.
- Lead study planning, risk management, issue resolution, and escalation activities.
- Monitor study performance using project management and reporting tools, identifying risks and implementing mitigation plans.
- Ensure Trial Master File (TMF) completeness and inspection readiness throughout the study lifecycle.
- Manage study budgets, forecasting, and financial reporting.
- Support audits and regulatory inspections as the study operations lead.
- Contribute to process improvements and provide mentorship to less experienced colleagues.
- Degree in Life Sciences, Clinical Research, or a related discipline.
- Minimum 7 years' clinical research experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
- At least 2 years' project management experience leading global clinical studies.
- Strong understanding of ICH-GCP, clinical trial regulations, and study management processes.
- Proven experience managing studies across the full clinical trial lifecycle.
- Demonstrated leadership skills with the ability to influence and manage cross-functional teams.
- Excellent stakeholder management, communication, problem-solving, and organisational skills.
- Experience managing study budgets, timelines, vendors, and risk mitigation activities.
- Proficiency with clinical trial management systems and project management tools.
- Advanced degree (Master's or higher).
- Formal Project Management certification.
- Extensive global study management experience across multiple phases of clinical development.
This is an excellent opportunity to join a leading organisation and play a pivotal role in the successful delivery of global clinical development programmes.
Employment with ICON is contingent upon having the legal right to work in the country where the role is based.
Rewards & Benefits
ICON offers a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and career development.
Benefits may include:
- Competitive base salary and performance related incentives
- Health and wellbeing programmes including medical, dental, and vision coverage where applicable
- Retirement and pension plans
- Life assurance and disability coverage
- Employee assistance programmes and wellbeing resources
- Learning and development opportunities through structured training and career pathways
Benefits may vary depending on role and location.
Visit our careers site to read more about the benefits ICON offers.
Inclusion and Accessibility
ICON is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building an inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.
If you require reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know or submit a request here.
Are you a current ICON Employee? Please click here to apply
Skills Required
- Degree in Life Sciences, Clinical Research, or a related discipline
- At least 7 years of clinical research experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry
- At least 2 years of project management experience leading global clinical studies
- Strong understanding of ICH-GCP, clinical trial regulations, and study management processes
- Experience managing studies across the full clinical trial lifecycle
- Leadership experience influencing and managing cross-functional teams
- Strong stakeholder management, communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills
- Experience managing study budgets, timelines, vendors, and risk mitigation activities
- Proficiency with clinical trial management systems and project management tools
- Advanced degree at the Master's level or higher
- Formal project management certification
- Extensive global study management experience across multiple clinical development phases
ICON plc Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about ICON plc and has not been reviewed or approved by ICON plc.
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Healthcare Strength — Benefits are described as comprehensive, with medical coverage and wellness initiatives highlighted. Larger sites are also associated with added wellness supports such as onsite fitness options and access to an employee assistance program.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off and flexibility provisions are positioned as a meaningful part of the total package, including vacation/annual leave and flexible work scheduling. Flexibility is sometimes cited as helping offset long hours in certain roles.
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Retirement Support — Retirement and savings support is presented as a core component of the benefits package, including offerings such as pension arrangements in some locations and a U.S. 401(k) plan with company match. Financial planning resources are also emphasized as part of broader security benefits.
ICON plc Insights
What We Do
Since our foundation in Dublin, Ireland in 1990, our mission has been to help our clients to accelerate the development of drugs and devices that save lives and improve quality of life. We do this by delivering best in class information, solutions and performance, with an unyielding focus on quality at all times. We offer a full range of consulting, development and commercialisation services from a global network of offices in 53 countries. We focus our innovation on the factors that are critical to our clients – reducing time to market, reducing cost, and increasing quality – and our global team of experts has extensive experience in a broad range of therapeutic areas.
