Clinical Operations Manager
Job Fit Check
Base Career helps you apply smarter for this job.
Key skills for this role
About the Role
This position will be based in Riyadh. This role is accountable for execution and oversight of local operational clinical trial activities in compliance with ICH/GCP and country regulations, our company's policies and procedures and with quality standards internally and externally.
Key Skills for This Role
Full Job Posting
Job Description
This position will be based in Riyadh.
This role is accountable for execution and oversight of local operational clinical trial activities in compliance with ICH/GCP and country regulations, our company's policies and procedures and with
quality standards internally and externally.
As the Clinical Operations Manager, you will have ownership, oversight, and impact on local regulatory and financial compliance.
CORE Competency Expectations
- Demonstrates proactive leadership and must be able to in/directly influence investigators, vendors, external partners, and country managers to deliver these commitments within specified timelines and budgets, with minimal oversight from the line manager.
- Skilled knowledge of budget and contract negotiations, the local ethics, legislation and regulatory environment and submission and approval processes, development of local Informed Consent as well as other site ready and ongoing study deliverables.
- Ability to proactively develop risk management and mitigation plans in the country and resolve issues locally. He/she is an independent decision maker with a clear understanding of the pros and cons of each decision and takes ownership of decisions.
- Extensive experience with clinical project management and coordination.
- Expertise of core clinical, regulatory, and financial systems, tools and metrics.
- Extensive knowledge of local regulatory environment and submission and approval processes.
- Strong coordination and organizational skills.
- Demonstrates leadership behaviors
Behavioral Competency Expectations
- Problem solving and Process Improvement is essential to this position.
- Ability to pro-actively identify issues and risks, analyze root cause, and propose solutions to problems and escalate to management as applicable. Specific examples of common problems include 1) Issues in budget / CTRA negotiations, 2) Quality and compliance issues, 3) Regulatory and legal issues, and 4) issues related to functional area deliverablesthat could jeopardize protocol milestones.
- Strong communication and leadership skills.
- Strong negotiation skills as well as excellent influencing and training/mentoring skills, both written and verbal.
- People management skills (also across countries) will be valued.
- Ability to focus on multiple deliverables and protocols simultaneously is essential.
- Ability to work effectively also in a remote virtual environment with a wide range of people and understanding of cultural differences.
- Fluency in both English and Arabic
- ****Experience Requirements****
Required
- 10 years of experience in clinical research with at least 7 years of experience in Startup activities in Saudi Arabia.
- ****Preferred****
- Additional Startup Experience in other Middle East Countries.
- ****Educational Requirements****
Required
- Bachelor's Degree (or comparable) in Business Finance/ Administration/ Life Science or
- equivalent Health Care related Degree.
- ****Preferred****
- Master's Degree (or comparable certification) in Business Finance/ Administration/ Life Science/ Project Management.
- ****Required Skills****
- Budgeting, Clinical Trial Compliance, Clinical Trial Documentation, Clinical Trial Management, Clinical Trials Monitoring, Clinical Trials Operations, Communication, Contract Agreements, ICH GCP Guidelines, Negotiation, Regulatory Compliance
- ****Preferred Skills****
Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities.
All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.
No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place.
Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific.
Please, no phone calls or emails.
VISA Sponsorship
****Travel Requirements****
06/22/2026
- A job posting is effective until 11 59 59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.
Apply for this job in 1 click
Skip the repetitive application forms
Install the Base Career Chrome Extension and autofill job applications across major job boards with your profile.
Trusted by over 500,000 job seekers on Base Career
More from this employer
More jobs at MSD Gulf
National Sales Manager - Vaccines - KSA
Riyadh, KSA
Job Description Role Purpose Drive sustainable growth of the Vaccines portfolio in the public sector by leading a high-performing sales team, shaping customer engagement strategies, and ensuring strong execution across n
Associate Brand Manager – Vaccines - KSA
Riyadh, KSA
Job Description Role Purpose Drive high-quality execution of brand strategies for the Vaccines portfolio in Saudi Arabia, contributing to strategy shaping while leading implementation excellence, enabling field teams, an
Vaccines Implementation Manager - East Region
Riyadh, KSA
Job Description This position will be based in the Eastern region. **As the Vaccines Implementation Manager, you will help drive the success of our company's Vaccines in the public sector by building strong customer part
Brand & Customer Manager KSA - CVM
, UAE
Job Description This role will be based in Riyadh The Brand & Customer Manager role represents a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact for patients in Saudi Arabia. The role is responsible for leading and coordi