CRO Supplier Manager

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a CRO Supplier Manager based in United States.

This is a strategic supplier-management role focused on building and growing partnerships across the outsourced life sciences R&D ecosystem. You will own relationships with CRO and CDMO partners from onboarding through long-term performance, spanning discovery, preclinical, clinical, and manufacturing services. The role combines deep life sciences expertise with relationship management, customer advisory, account mapping, and partner growth. You will help emerging biotech companies identify supplier partners that align with their scientific and operational needs. Working closely with Supplier Solutions, Customer Success, Product, and Data teams, you will also bring market insights back into the development of tools and offerings. This is a fully remote opportunity where scientific credibility, commercial judgment, and a strong understanding of emerging biotech environments are highly valued.

Accountabilities:

• Own day-to-day relationships with contracted CRO and CDMO partners across discovery, preclinical, clinical, and manufacturing service categories.
• Take ownership of the partner relationship following contract execution, guiding onboarding, generating early wins, and supporting sustained long-term performance.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to emerging biotech customers, helping them identify and engage supplier partners that are well suited to their specific needs.
• Build market credibility for the organization's CRO and CDMO supplier offering through knowledgeable, consultative engagement.
• Map supplier partner accounts against the biotech customer base and identify opportunities to create valuable connections between organizations.
• Develop and deliver partner reporting while tracking adoption, customer connections, and partner-growth KPIs.
• Communicate emerging biotech customer needs and pain points to Product and Data teams to help shape platform tools and data offerings.
• Collaborate closely with Supplier Solutions, Customer Success, and Product teams to improve supplier and customer outcomes.
• Escalate commercial negotiations involving pricing, rebates, and new partnerships to senior leadership responsible for deal-making and executive supplier relationships.
• Contribute to additional supplier, customer, and operational initiatives as needed.

Requirements:

• 10+ years of experience in life sciences, with hands-on ownership of outsourced R&D spend across multiple service categories.
• Broad experience across discovery and preclinical services, such as DMPK, toxicology, bioanalysis, in vivo pharmacology, translational sciences, or medicinal chemistry, with exposure to clinical-stage outsourcing.
• Demonstrated experience selecting, contracting with, and managing CROs and/or CDMOs, with strong knowledge of industry players, capabilities, and value propositions.
• Experience working within emerging or venture-stage biotech organizations is strongly preferred, particularly sponsor-side operational experience.
• Scientific literacy sufficient to engage credibly in technical discussions with customer teams and supplier scientists; a formal scientific education or laboratory/bench experience is a strong plus.
• Strong understanding of emerging biotech priorities, including managing burn rate, achieving milestones, moving quickly, and mitigating the risks associated with supplier selection.
• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and networking skills, with the ability to provide credible recommendations without taking an overly sales-driven approach.
• Commercial experience on the CRO or CDMO side is valuable when combined with sponsor-side operating experience.
• Strong judgment and the ability to navigate complex supplier landscapes, customer requirements, and business priorities.
• Comfortable working cross-functionally and translating technical and market insights into actionable recommendations.
• The role can provide support in developing the business and sales aspects; deep outsourced R&D knowledge and practical supplier-management judgment are the primary areas of expertise required.

Benefits:

• Remote work opportunity.
• Base salary of approximately $120,000-$125,000 USD based on the stated U.S. average base pay range.
• Total on-target earnings of approximately $190,000-$200,000 USD, combining base compensation with incentive/commission opportunity.
• Exempt position with compensation structured around a base salary plus performance-based incentive compensation.
• Opportunity to work across a broad CRO/CDMO ecosystem supporting emerging biotech organizations.
• Cross-functional collaboration with Supplier Solutions, Customer Success, Product, and Data teams.
• Opportunity to contribute to the development of supplier-related technology, data, and customer solutions.