Group Chief Financial Officer — Global Clinical-Development Group

The mandate

A privately held pharmaceutical enterprise could receive pivotal data for its lead asset earlier than its present operating plan anticipates. Manufacturing validation, market access evidence, medical infrastructure and commercial systems require funding before certainty, while the remaining pipeline continues to consume capital. The board has planned a new Group CFO seat to make launch readiness financially credible without betting the enterprise on one outcome.

Approximately 575 employees and material partners span global clinical development, regulatory, medical, technical operations, market access and corporate functions from Boston. The CFO owns finance, treasury, tax, control, funding, capital allocation and board-committee reporting, working with the Group Chief Executive and relevant committee. Scientific and clinical decisions remain with authorised leaders; finance ensures their assumptions and consequences are explicit.

The opening deliverable is a probability-adjusted funding plan. The CFO will model positive, ambiguous, delayed and negative data, followed by regulatory and launch branches. Each scenario needs decision triggers, cash requirements, reversible commitments and runway. A single risk-adjusted number cannot tell the board when capital must be secured.

Clinical-development economics require study-level truth. Site activation, enrolment, monitoring, drug supply, central laboratories, imaging and vendors each have different cost drivers. The CFO will build forecast ownership around patients, countries and milestones, exposing change orders and rescue activity. Accruals should reconcile to operational evidence rather than vendor invoice timing.

Launch-readiness expenditure must be separated from speculative scale. Some investments protect timing or compliance; others add upside capacity. The CFO will classify them by necessity, lead time, reusability and cancellation value. The enterprise should know what can be deferred after adverse data and what would be unrecoverable.

Manufacturing and supply commitments require particular scrutiny. Validation batches, long-lead materials, inventory and contract capacity may precede approval. Finance will model expiry, yield, demand range, take-or-pay and alternative use. Saving cash by delaying a critical lot may destroy launch readiness; buying excessive stock may strand capital.

Market access plans will include evidence cost and price uncertainty. Payer research, health economics and outcomes work should link to priority decisions. The CFO will test gross-to-net, channel, assistance and international reference assumptions. Commercial optimism cannot fill missing evidence with an unsupported price.

Funding options may include equity, debt, partnerships or regional rights. The CFO will prepare the organisation before need becomes urgent, maintaining diligence-ready records and clear use of proceeds. Partner economics should reflect control, milestones, geography, development obligations and downside, not only headline upfront value.

Portfolio allocation must remain possible. The lead asset's importance should not exempt it from evidence gates, nor should its demands starve every other programme without decision. The CFO will present marginal capital choices across programmes and enabling capabilities. Sunk cost and accounting classification will not determine scientific value.

The control environment needs to mature ahead of external scrutiny. Contract approval, purchasing, close, equity accounting, tax, cyber-related finance controls and financial systems should scale without burdening scientists. The CFO will create clear thresholds and segregation, with rapid routes for genuine clinical urgency.

Board reporting will distinguish operational milestone, probability, cash and commitment. Forecast change should identify evidence and management action. Alternative performance measures and programme value claims require consistent definitions. The committee should see how much choice remains, not just the latest runway date.

The finance team needs launch and development capability. Business partners must understand trials, manufacturing and market access rather than act as budget controllers. The CFO will recruit selectively, develop successors and use specialist advisers where permanent capability is not justified.

Investor and stakeholder communication will remain disciplined. The CFO will not signal clinical outcomes through spending or financing commentary. Financial preparation can be discussed without implying evidence unavailable to the market. Confidentiality controls around trial data and transaction work are essential.

What you will own

• Enterprise finance, treasury, tax and control.
• Probability-based funding and runway scenarios.
• Clinical-study forecasting and vendor economics.
• Launch, manufacturing and market-access investment.
• Capital allocation and portfolio downside choices.
• Financing, partnerships and diligence readiness.
• Board reporting and external financial confidence.
• Finance talent and succession.

The first 12 months

Within 45 days, reconcile clinical accruals, commitments and cash, establish data-outcome scenarios and identify launch-critical decisions. Present funding options before they are required.

By month six, implement study-driver forecasts, approve staged launch commitments and strengthen control readiness. Prepare partnership and financing materials for defined triggers.

At twelve months, maintain at least 24 months of scenario-weighted liquidity or committed funding, improve quarterly cash forecast accuracy to within 5% and reduce unsupported clinical accrual adjustments by 75%. One hundred per cent of launch-critical commitments should have decision gates and cancellation economics, with no material control deficiency.

What the committee will inspect

• Funding branches tied to data and regulatory triggers.
• Clinical accruals supported by operational progress.
• Launch spend classified by necessity and reversibility.
• Manufacturing commitments reflecting expiry and downside.
• Portfolio capital remaining contestable.
• Finance communication not implying clinical knowledge.

The person

You bring 28+ years in finance, including Group CFO or major biotechnology/pharmaceutical CFO accountability. Your record includes late-stage clinical development, launch funding, manufacturing commitments, capital markets or partnerships and board-audit responsibility in the United States.

Candidates should demonstrate financing before a binary milestone and decisive downside action after changed data. Boston is the onsite base because finance must work directly with development and launch leaders. Public-company readiness experience is valuable even though the enterprise is privately held.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is USD 500,000–750,000 plus annual incentive and long-term participation tied to liquidity, capital allocation, launch readiness, control and finance leadership. The permanent onsite Boston appointment reports to the Group Chief Executive and relevant board committee. Planned hiring allows preparation before pivotal decisions.

Confidentiality

The enterprise, assets, trials, data milestones, suppliers, partners, funding and forecasts remain confidential. Further information follows conflicts and signed confidentiality. Applicants must not contact companies, investigators or capital providers to infer the client.