Study Director Community Lead

Summary
Role type: Hybrid Woking, #LI-Hybrid
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Relocation Support: This role is based in Barcelona, Spain. Novartis is unable to offer relocation support: please only apply if accessible.

Lead a global community of Study Leaders from our Barcelona hub to deliver high quality clinical trials—faster, smarter, together. You’ll coach and enable Study Leaders across Novartis hubs, strengthen standards and ways of working, and build a trusted, resilient, high performing community. You will guide study planning and decision making, remove obstacles, and drive timely, quality, and compliant execution of Global Clinical Operations (GCO) supported studies. We’re looking for someone with significant experience leading complex global trials, proven people leadership and stakeholder management, and strength in operational planning and risk/issue management. Join us to develop talent, scale best practices, and make a measurable impact for patients.
About the Role

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead a community of Study Leaders, fostering collaboration, trust, and shared learning across end-to-end study activities.
Oversee the execution and delivery of a diverse clinical study portfolio within the assigned community by trial type.
Drive continuous improvement and innovation in trial operations to elevate study efficiency, quality, and outcomes.
Coach and develop Study Leaders, strengthening capabilities and therapeutic understanding.
Optimize resource allocation by assessing workload, priorities, and community needs in partnership with Study & Site Operations (SSO) leadership.
Ensure robust risk management, inspection readiness, and adherence to global standards and regulatory expectations.
Build strong cross‑functional partnerships with global teams and vendors to support seamless study execution.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Timely, efficient, and high-quality delivery of assigned studies and study-related activities within budget, and in compliance with quality standards
Proactive, iterative operational planning with effective contingencies and embedded risk management mindset in the Clinical Trial Team (CTT)
Sustainable and measurable improvements (Speed, Cost, Quality) of type of clinical trials with the assigned community
Team's satisfaction, retention and development.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, healthcare, or a clinically relevant discipline; an advanced degree is strongly preferred.
At least eight years of recent experience in clinical research or drug development across Phase I–IV studies.
Minimum five years of experience delivering medium to highly complex clinical studies in a global matrix environment.
At least five years of people leadership experience, ideally managing teams across multiple countries.
At least 5 years of recent contribution to and accomplishment in all aspects of conducting clinical studies of medium to highly complexity and of high priority (e.g., planning, executing, reporting, and publishing) in a global/matrix environment in pharmaceutical industry or a contract research organization, including expert knowledge of international standards International Council for Harmonization Good Clinical Practice (ICH GCP), health authorities (Food & Drug Administration / European Medicines Agency (FDA/EMA)), local/National Health Authorities regulations
Proven ability to lead virtual teams and build high‑performing, capability‑driven groups.
Demonstrated experience developing effective relationships with internal and external partners.
Strong project leadership, planning, and problem‑solving skills, with a track record of driving process improvements.

LANGUAGE

Fluent English communication skills, with strong ability to present complex information clearly.

Why Novartis?
Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives and our vision is to become the most valued and trusted medicines company in the world. How can we achieve this? With our people. It is our associates that drive us each day to reach our ambitions. Be a part of this mission and join us! Learn more here: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

You’ll receive: You can find everything you need to know about our benefits and rewards in the Novartis Life Handbook. https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams' representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Join our Novartis Network: If this role is not suitable to your experience or career goals but you wish to stay connected to hear more about Novartis and our career opportunities, join the Novartis Network here: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network

Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

Benefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.
Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)

Division
Development
Business Unit
Development
Location
Spain
Site
Barcelona Gran Vía
Company / Legal Entity
ES06 (FCRS = ES006) Novartis Farmacéutica, S.A.
Functional Area
Research & Development
Job Type
Full time
Employment Type
Regular
Shift Work
No
VIDEO

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams' representative of the patients and communities we serve.