About this role
Senior Site Contracts Manager (Sponsor Dedicated /Remote – US Based) Syneos Health® is a leading fully-integrated life sciences services organization built to accelerate customer success. We partner with innovators at every point across the drug development and commercialization continuum, helping them navigate complexity, anticipate change and accelerate progress. Our Clinical Solutions team members act with a drug development mindset, applying their years of experience and deep expertise to truly understand customer needs and represent those in the solutions we shape.
Whether you join us in a Functional Service Provider partnership or a Full-Service environment, you’ll collaborate with passionate problem solvers, innovating as a team to help our customers achieve their goals. We are agile and driven to deliver – for one another, our customers, and, most importantly, for those in need. Discover what your 25,000 future colleagues already know: Why Syneos Health • We are passionate about developing our people, through career development and progression; supportive and engaged line management; technical and therapeutic area training; peer recognition and total rewards program. • We are committed to building an inclusive culture – where you can authentically be yourself.
Central to this is our purpose – Driven to Deliver – which captures the passion of our colleagues to show up each day and shape solutions that have the ability to dramatically impact someone’s life. • We are continuously building the company we all want to work for and our customers want to work with. Why? Because we know that when we bring together smart colleagues from across the world, we can shape the future of healthcare, driving impact for customers and defining the pace of patient progress.
Job Responsibilities Senior Site Contracts Manager (Sponsor-Dedicated) Remote – United States Are you a site contracts professional who thrives on negotiation, relationship building, and driving study startup timelines? Do you enjoy working directly with investigative sites and large academic medical centers while partnering with cross-functional stakeholders to deliver high-quality contracting and budget solutions. We are seeking a Senior Site Contracts Manager to join a high-performing Sponsor-Dedicated team supporting a leading pharmaceutical sponsor.
This role is responsible for leading site budget and contract negotiations, managing multiple projects across therapeutic areas, and serving as a strategic partner throughout the clinical trial startup process. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced clinical research contracts professional who enjoys balancing contract strategy, stakeholder engagement, financial negotiations, and operational execution to accelerate clinical trial delivery. WHAT YOU WILL DO As a Senior Site Contracts Manager, you will serve as a subject matter expert for site contracts and budgets, partnering with internal stakeholders and investigative sites to ensure timely execution of agreements that support clinical trial startup and study conduct.
Site Budget Development & Negotiation Develop, review, and negotiate site budgets from sponsor-approved templates. Lead end-to-end budget negotiations directly with investigative sites and study teams. Evaluate budget proposals and ensure alignment with sponsor expectations and Fair Market Value standards.
Support budget strategy discussions and provide recommendations to internal stakeholders. Manage budget-related escalations and facilitate resolution of complex negotiation issues. Site Contract Development & Negotiation Draft, review, negotiate, and finalize Clinical Trial Agreements (CTAs) and associated contract documents.
Lead negotiations directly with large academic institutions, academic medical centers, and investigative sites . Ensure contracts balance sponsor requirements with operational feasibility and compliance standards. Review proposed contract language and determine when legal or business escalations are required.
Support timely contract execution while minimizing operational and regulatory risk. Project Leadership & Study Delivery Independently manage multiple contracting projects simultaneously across various therapeutic areas. Prioritize deliverables and drive projects to completion while maintaining quality and timeline commitments.
Partner with Clinical Operations, Legal, Finance, and Study Start-Up teams to support study startup objectives. Identify and proactively escalate risks, delays, and issues that may impact contract execution. Provide strategic guidance and recommendations to stakeholders regarding contracting and budget matters.
Compliance & Risk Management Conduct due diligence activities, including FMV reviews and site justification assessments. Ensure compliance with sponsor SOPs, work instructions, policies, and applicable regulations. Maintain inspection-ready documentation and support audit readiness activities.
Apply sound risk assessment principles during contract review and negotiation. Systems, Reporting & Operational Excellence Maintain accurate contract and budget records within applicable systems and trackers. Ensure timely documentation and status updates for all assigned studies.
Utilize Excel and clinical systems to manage workflow, reporting, and study metrics. Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on quality, efficiency, and cycle-time reduction. Collaboration & Leadership Build strong working relationships with sponsors, investigative sites, and cross-functional teams.
Serve as a trusted resource for site contracting and budget negotiation expertise. Support training and mentoring activities as needed. Participate in sponsor meetings and cross-functional discussions to support study objectives.
Contribute to a collaborative, solutions-oriented team environment. WHO YOU ARE Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience. Minimum of 4 years of direct Site Contracts experience within a pharmaceutical company, CRO, or investigative site environment.
Minimum of 4 years of experience building and negotiating clinical trial budgets and contracts from established templates . Direct experience negotiating Clinical Trial Agreements (CTAs) and site budgets with investigative sites. Extensive experience negotiating directly with large academic institutions and academic medical centers.
Experience managing clinical trial contracting activities across multiple therapeutic areas. Demonstrated ability to independently prioritize workload, manage competing deadlines, and lead projects from initiation through completion. Strong understanding of: Clinical Trial Agreements (CTAs) Site budget development and negotiation Fair Market Value (FMV) principles Clinical trial startup processes Clinical study protocols and timelines Site-related milestones, including SIV readiness ICH-GCP guidelines and applicable clinical research regulations Strong negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to effectively manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, high-volume environment. Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel and clinical trial management systems. Preferred Qualifications Oncology therapeutic area experience strongly preferred.
Experience supporting Pharma and Vaccine studies. Experience working in a Sponsor-Dedicated model. Experience supporting studies across multiple therapeutic areas.
Strong project leadership and cross-functional collaboration skills. Experience leveraging AI tools in the contracts and budgets space. Experience supporting process improvement initiatives and operational excellence programs.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS OPPORTUNITY Work directly with a leading pharmaceutical sponsor in a dedicated partnership model. Lead complex negotiations with major academic medical centers and research institutions. Take ownership of high-visibility site contracting and budget activities.
Partner closely with Clinical Operations, Legal, Finance, and Study Start-Up teams. Support studies across multiple therapeutic areas with significant oncology exposure. Enjoy the flexibility of a fully remote US-based position.
Join a team focused on collaboration, innovation, and operational excellence. If you are an experienced Site Contracts professional with a proven track record of negotiating budgets and contracts, leading projects, and partnering directly with large academic institutions, we encourage you to apply and make an immediate impact on critical clinical development programs. At Syneos Health, we believe in providing an environment and culture in which Our People can thrive, develop and advance.
We reward and recognize our people by providing valuable benefits and a quality-of-life balance. The benefits for this position may include a company car or car allowance, Health benefits to include Medical, Dental and Vision, Company match 401k, eligibility to participate in Employee Stock Purchase Plan, Eligibility to earn commissions/bonus based on company and individual performance, and flexible paid time off (PTO) and sick time. Because certain states and municipalities have regulated paid sick time requirements, eligibility for paid sick time may vary depending on where you work.
Syneos complies with all applicable federal, state, and municipal paid sick time requirements. Salary Range: $79,800.00 - $139,600.00 The base salary range represents the anticipated low and high of the Syneos Health range for this position. Actual salary will vary based on various factors such as the candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role.
Get to know Syneos Health Over the past 5 years, we have worked with 94% of all Novel FDA Approved Drugs, 95% of EMA Authorized Products and over 200 Studies across 73,000 Sites and 675,000+ Trial patients. No matter what your role is, you’ll take the initiative and challenge the status quo with us in a highly competitive and ever-changing environment. Learn more about Syneos Health. http://www.syneoshealth.com Additional Information Tasks, duties, and responsibilities as listed in this job description are not exhaustive.
The Company, at its sole discretion and with no prior notice, may assign other tasks, duties, and job responsibilities. Equivalent experience, skills, and/or education will also be considered so qualifications of incumbents may differ from those listed in the Job Description. The Company, at its sole discretion, will determine what constitutes as equivalent to the qualifications described above.
Further, nothing contained herein should be construed to create an employment contract. Occasionally, required skills/experiences for jobs are expressed in brief terms. Any language contained herein is intended to fully comply with all obligations imposed by the legislation of each country in which it operates, including the implementation of the EU Equality Directive, in relation to the recruitment and employment of its employees.
The Company is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the provision of reasonable accommodations, when appropriate, to assist employees or applicants to perform the essential functions of the job.