Senior Partner – Transformation — Clinical Data Organisation

The mandate

A specialist advisory firm has won important clinical-data transformation work with biotechnology and pharmaceutical sponsors, but the market is changing faster than its offer. Clients no longer want multi-year data strategies that sit beside active studies. They want shorter database-to-decision cycles, controlled adoption of cloud and automation, and evidence that a new operating model can withstand inspection. Technology providers often frame the answer around platform migration; clinical organisations know that protocol complexity, review behaviour, standards and decision rights can matter more than infrastructure.

The firm has strong statisticians, clinical-operations advisers, data architects and quality specialists, yet they are deployed through separate practices. On large programmes, clients can receive competing recommendations on standardisation, data products and validation. Commercial proposals promise enterprise transformation before teams have identified the study decisions to improve. The regional partner council has approved a new senior-partner seat to create a coherent proposition and carry outcome accountability from diagnostic through implementation.

The Senior Partner – Transformation will lead the firm’s most consequential clinical-data assignments and build an integrated capability of approximately 150 professionals and material partners. The mandate spans study-data flow, operating model, standards, platforms, automation, validation, quality and change. It is deliberately not a systems-integrator role. The successful partner must be able to tell a sponsor when protocol design, governance or behaviour—not a new tool—is the primary constraint.

The role is based on site in Zurich and reports to the Global Managing Partner and regional partner council. It is an advisory appointment subject to partnership, conflict and independence requirements. European and transatlantic client travel will be significant, and hands-on presence during diagnostic, design and difficult implementation decisions is expected.

Why this seat is open

This is a new and urgent role created after the council declined to renew a broad technology alliance that had begun to shape advice around one vendor’s platform. Existing partners will continue to serve their clients, but the firm needs a leader whose standing spans clinical, statistical, data and technology communities and who can rebuild an independent market proposition quickly.

What you will own

• Define the transformation offer around specific study and portfolio decisions, including data availability, cleaning, review, analysis, submission reuse and traceability outcomes.
• Lead an approximately 150-person multidisciplinary capability across clinical data management, statistics, engineering, quality, architecture and organisation change.
• Originate and serve as accountable partner on complex sponsor transformations, remaining involved through operating decisions, validation and realised outcomes.
• Establish diagnostic methods that separate protocol-driven complexity, source and vendor delay, standards gaps, review behaviour, platform constraint and organisation bottlenecks.
• Set independent principles for technology and automation recommendations, documenting client data rights, validation needs, model limitations and vendor conflicts.
• Design implementation governance that preserves statistical, medical and quality authority while ending avoidable hand-offs and duplicate review.
• Create outcome and benefit measures that connect cycle time and rework to evidence quality, study milestones and cost without rewarding premature database closure.
• Build successors and expert leaders who can win and deliver work, and form selective technology relationships without allowing alliance economics to determine advice.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Review current engagements, contractual commitments and lost proposals. Interview sponsor leaders and front-line users to locate the credibility gap. Publish the independent proposition, set quality-review and conflict rules, and intervene in any live programme where platform work has overtaken study outcomes.
• Months 4–9: Integrate the core capability, appoint offer and delivery leaders and win two lighthouse assignments with explicit decision and evidence measures. Create reusable diagnostics and validation patterns, not generic target-state decks. Reframe alliance relationships around interoperability, client control and documented selection criteria.
• Months 10–12: Deliver measurable study-flow improvement in at least one lighthouse programme without an adverse quality outcome. Establish a qualified pipeline, referenceable results and a sustainable delivery margin. Demonstrate partner and expert succession, and close any service line that cannot meet the new evidence standard.

What the board will measure

• Client outcomes such as shorter data-to-review intervals, reduced query or reconciliation rework and timely decision packages, accompanied by stable or improved quality evidence.
• Revenue growth and gross margin from the defined clinical-data transformation offer, excluding simple reclassification of existing technology work.
• Repeat or expanded sponsor assignments after implementation milestones, supported by senior-client references and user adoption evidence.
• Recommendations shown to be independent of vendor incentives, with conflicts identified, managed and disclosed before platform selection.
• Delivery quality across validated systems and regulated processes, including inspection, audit and deviation outcomes attributable to the change.
• A bench of partners and experts able to originate, diagnose and deliver without the Senior Partner personally occupying every critical role.

The person

You are a senior partner, practice leader, chief data or clinical-operations executive with at least 28 years across biopharma development and advisory work. You have led a transformation affecting a portfolio of at least 20 active studies or an equivalent regulated-data estate, and carried commercial or P&L responsibility of at least CHF 100 million. You have led at least 100 professionals across multiple disciplines.

You can work credibly with chief medical officers, heads of biometrics, clinical operations, quality, technology and regulators. You understand database lock, statistical-analysis readiness, standards, lineage and validated change at a decision-making level. You have challenged a technology-led programme when its case did not reflect study flow and can show what changed in operating performance as a result.

The firm will consider candidates from specialist advisory, major professional services, biotechnology, biopharma or regulated clinical-technology organisations. Operating candidates must demonstrate repeatable client origination and advisory judgement; consultants must demonstrate implementation responsibility and not simply strategic design. Experience with automation or machine learning is relevant only where accompanied by sound validation, human oversight and data-rights governance.

The position is based in Zurich with extensive client travel. Candidates must be comfortable entering a partnership, sharing economics and relationships, and developing leaders who may ultimately succeed them. They must also protect client confidentiality and avoid importing restricted methods or materials from their current organisation.

Compensation and terms

The indicative base or drawings are CHF 500,000–700,000, plus annual incentive and long-term participation under the firm’s partnership model. Assessment will balance profitable growth, client outcomes, delivery quality, independent advice and successor development. Partnership capital, deferred compensation, notice and any post-employment restrictions will be reviewed during reciprocal diligence.

Confidentiality

The firm, clients, technology relationships and live assignments are confidential. Identifying materials will be released only after fit is established and reciprocal protections are completed. Candidates must not disclose sponsor data, proprietary methods or restricted commercial information from a current employer during the process.

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