{"id":2034500,"url":"https://alion.io/job/astrazeneca-study-start-up-associate-director-cell-therapy","title":"Study Start Up Associate Director - Cell Therapy","company":{"id":13195,"name":"AstraZeneca","domain":"astrazeneca.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/astra-zeneca","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":94,"open_postings":171,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.415,"repost_share":0.053,"time_to_fill_p50_days":14,"computed_at":"2026-10-12T06:55:09Z"}},"role":"Operations","role_family":"Operations","seniority":"head","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["Barcelona, Spain"],"countries":["ES"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":75000,"max_usd":166000,"period":"year","method":"global_role_cell_scaled_by_country","sample_n":1684},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"GCP","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-07T15:28:42Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-07","last_verified_at":"2026-10-13T02:01:34Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":5,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":5},"description":"Location: Barcelona - Spain (3 days working from the office and 2 days working from home)\nIntroduction to the role\nThe Study Start-Up Associate Director (SSU AD) is responsible for organizing, overseeing, and controlling the regulatory and ethics committee (EC) start-up processes for clinical trials conducted by Site Management & Monitoring (SMM) at the country level. This role ensures all start-up activities are executed according to agreed resources and timelines, and in full compliance with AstraZeneca procedures, international guidelines such as ICH-GCP, and all relevant local regulations. The SSU AD leads and manages the Study Start-Up (SSU) team, setting clear objectives, and conducting ongoing performance management and follow-up, reporting to Director Country Head or /Director Site Management & Monitoring. The SSU AD provides leadership and direction for regulatory and Ethics Committee submissions and coordinates other start-up related activities as locally agreed. The SSU AD is also accountable for driving continuous improvement in start-up processes and for establishing and maintaining high quality standards across all AstraZeneca internally managed studies.\nTypical Accountabilities\nAccountabilities for this role include:\nEnsure effective resource planning for new projects across assigned Therapeutic Areas within the local SMM team to allow timely staffing during the study start-up phase.\nOversee the performance development of the Study Start-Up (SSU) team, providing guidance and regular development activities as needed.\nDeliver ongoing coaching and support to the SSU team and assist Local Study Associate Directors (LSADs) and Local Study Teams during study start-up, ensuring optimal team capability.\nContribute to regional SMM initiatives and activities as appropriate, aligning start-up practices with broader organizational goals.\nEnsure that all activities performed by the SSU team at the country level are fully compliant with local policies, regulations, and the company code of ethics.\nProvide comprehensive project oversight for studies up to site activation, focusing on effective resourcing and smooth handover.\nOffer direction to LSADs and SSU team members regarding best practices during study start-up, resolving process issues as they arise.\nAct as a key escalation point to help resolve complex issues related to study start-up activities.\nServe as the local process owner for study start-up, maintaining guidelines, templates, procedural documents, and driving continual process improvement.\nDemonstrate excellent knowledge of the local clinical trial environment, working externally with stakeholders to influence and optimize start-up processes. \nNote: Some responsibilities may also be shared with SMM Directors. Where locally decided, additional responsibilities may include:\nSupporting LSADs with forecasting study timelines.\nProviding or supporting project oversight throughout the entire life cycle of studies.\nOverseeing the local feasibility process from initial assessment through to country selection and ensuring robust procedures for feasibility activities in the BioPharma portfolio.\nEducation, Qualifications, Skills and Experience\nEducation and experience:\nBachelor’s degree in related discipline, preferably in life science, or equivalent qualification aligned to the knowledge and skills of the role and ensures successful conduct of responsibilities and appropriate interactions with internal and or external stakeholders.\nPrevious experience in the pharmaceutical industry, preferably in Clinical Operations (CRA / Sr.CRA / LSAD) or other related fields.\nRelevant knowledge and ability to fulfil key responsibilities, including but not limited to:\nDrug development process and related GxP processes, International guidelines ICH-GCP, relevant country regulations, medical knowledge and ability to learn relevant AZ Therapeutic Areas, Clinical Study Management including study start-up and stakeholder partnering.\nRole-Required Skills:\nPersonal Effectiveness & Drives Accountability in Others\nLearning Agility\nFinancial, Technology & Process Competency\nActive Listening, Fluency in written & spoken business-level English\nAct with Integrity & high ethical standards • Effectively lead a team across in-person and virtual settings to deliver shared goals, demonstrates cultural awareness\nIdentify and champion more efficient delivery of quality clinical trials with optimised cost and time\nAbility to travel nationally/internationally as required\nCommunication & Teamwork - Influencing, Collaboration, Impactful Site conversations\nEffective, risk-based thinking - Plans & Aligns, Strategic thinking, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Effective Issue Management\nIMP Development & Regulation - Study vendor & Biosample oversight\nClinical Study Operations (GCP) & Quality Management - Study site selection & set-up\nDeliver Priorities Results & Impact - Project Management, Deliver Results.\nDate Posted\n07-oct-2026Closing Date\n20-oct-2026AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5649,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[{"language":"English","level":"All levels","optional":false}]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"Spain","iso":"ES","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Cell & Gene Therapy","Regenerative Medicine","Rare Disease Therapeutics","Cardiometabolic Therapeutics"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-07T15:28:42Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":89,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.889,"p_room":1,"age_days":4,"expected_fill_days":14,"reasons":["conf:1","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-12T06:55:09Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/astrazeneca-study-start-up-associate-director-cell-therapy","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/astrazeneca-study-start-up-associate-director-cell-therapy.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-13T03:12:49Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"assistant_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":657,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-14T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":13195},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=13195"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fastrazeneca-study-start-up-associate-director-cell-therapy"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fastrazeneca-study-start-up-associate-director-cell-therapy"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fastrazeneca-study-start-up-associate-director-cell-therapy"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/astrazeneca-study-start-up-associate-director-cell-therapy\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fastrazeneca-study-start-up-associate-director-cell-therapy"}]}