Associate Director, Patient Recruitment and Retention Execution Manager

About This Role

The Patient Recruitment and Retention Execution Manager leads a team responsible for delivering patient recruitment, retention, and site engagement solutions across Biogen's clinical trial portfolio. The role manages team performance, resource planning, and execution to ensure patient engagement strategies are implemented effectively and consistently. Key objectives include optimizing recruitment and retention outcomes, supporting study timelines, mitigating risks, and driving continuous process improvement. Reporting to the Director of Patient Insights & Recruitment, this position is a key leadership role within the Patient Insights and Recruitment organization, partnering closely with Clinical Development and cross-functional stakeholders to support successful trial delivery.

What You'll Do

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Recruitment & Retention Delivery Leads supporting study-level execution.
• Set team priorities, goals, performance expectations, and operating standards.
• Manage resource planning, workload allocation, onboarding, performance feedback, and employee development.
• Build team capability through best practice sharing, talent development, and consistent execution standards.
• Oversee delivery of patient recruitment, retention, and site engagement tactics across studies and programs.
• Ensure recruitment and retention strategies are translated into actionable plans, timelines, milestones, and risk mitigation activities.
• Monitor execution progress, identify delivery risks, optimize outcomes, and provide recommendations to study teams.
• Serve as the senior operational liaison for recruitment and retention activities, communicating status, insights, risks, and mitigation plans to leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Influence stakeholders and drive alignment, decision-making, and timely action without direct authority.
• Drive continuous improvement of processes, tools, governance, reporting, vendor oversight, and functional initiatives while demonstrating strong business acumen, accountability, and ownership of deliverables.

Who You Are

You are a proven people leader with deep expertise in patient recruitment and retention, and a track record of successfully executing strategies across complex clinical trials within biotech, pharma, CRO, or patient recruitment organizations. You are a strategic and operationally focused professional who excels at influencing stakeholders, leading teams and vendors, navigating ambiguity, and driving measurable results in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.

Required Skills

• B.A. or B.Sc. in a scientific discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of relevant experience in patient recruitment/retention within either CRO, patient recruitment vendor, or related pharma/biopharma environment.
• 5+ years of people management experience required, including experience coaching, developing, and managing performance of employees or equivalent leadership of a functional delivery team.
• Strong vendor oversight experience, including KPI monitoring, budget awareness, risk management, issue resolution, and escalation management.
• Demonstrated experience leading patient recruitment and retention execution across studies, programs, or disease areas, including complex or high-priority clinical trials.
• Scientifically and clinically astute, with strong project management, communication, stakeholder management, presentation, and business acumen.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority, lead through ambiguity, balance competing priorities, and drive decisions in a matrixed clinical development environment.

Preferred Skills

• Rare disease experience
• Neurology experience
• Global clinical trial experience