What skills do you need to be a senior Clinical Trial Manager?

There's no disputing that a career within clinical trials is fulfilling. Whether you specialise in oncology, immuno-oncology, cardiology neurology, rare disease, diabetes, or any other therapeutic area, you are helping shape an industry and improve patients' lives.

While Covid-19 may have upended life globally, clinical trial activity has more than recovered and the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that 12,969 clinical trials in 2021 in the Americas alone. Any professional looking to work on cutting edge studies and accelerate the development of drugs and devices can expect promising job prospects. To do so, you'll need a certain set of skills, and we've listed a few that are essential if you're vying to become a Senior Clinical Trial Manager.

Client communication

If you're at the stage of applying for Senior Clinical Trial Manager roles, you'll understand the level of communication and collaboration that will be required of you. Professionals in this role are responsible for leading the Clinical Operations project team and collaborating with Project Managers and Business Development, whilst simultaneously developing successful working relationships with clients.

While strong client communication skills are highly sought after in any clinical research professional, as you become more integral to your team and actively take on more responsibility with regards to communication with other teams and clients, it's not hard to see why it's a must-have skill amongst Senior Clinical Trial Managers.

Analytical thinking

If you already have experience working within clinical trials, you'll recognise the significance of creating a culture of process improvement. To ensure that your team collectively delivers their best work, you'll maintain a focus on streamlining processes, thereby adding value to your business and meeting client needs.

An analytical mindset is vital because it not only ensures your team embraces new ideas and develops a growth mindset, but also, it equips you with the foresight needed to solve complex problems. Deloitte cover a few of these problems in its 2022 Global Health Care Outlook, taking a look at how the wider industry has been impacted by the pandemic and how advances in medical science, new digital technologies, the rise of data, empowered consumers, and the shift from disease care to prevention and well-being will bring about a paradigm shift. As a Senior Clinical Trial Managers, you'll be in the position to harness change, using your analytical mindset to reconnect broken pathways and oversee risk mitigation strategies, associated action plans and issue resolution.

Leadership

As a Senior Clinical Trial Manager, you'll be expected to perform a number of management activities, many of which you'll be familiar with. However, since you're stepping up to a more senior role, you'll become a more vital member of the management team. For those that you work closely with, you'll act as a mentor, imparting the knowledge and experience you've amassed throughout your career. This will include empowering leadership in your team and developing future clinical trial managers.

Adaptability is one of the secrets to becoming an effective leader in clinical research and this has become more apparent as we transition to a post-pandemic world. Your role is to provide direction and support to the Clinical Operations study team. However, an effective leader will understand that the level of direction and support will vary between team members depending on whether they have years of experience working at a CRO or if they're a clinical trial assistant straight out of education. Similarly, you may find that your management style will work best when tailored to the clinical study, altering it depending on the complexity and timeframe.

Join us and help deliver cutting edge medical and pharmaceutical research

Here at ICON, we want to be the Clinical Research Organisation that delivers excellence to our clients and patients at every touch-point. In short, to be the partner of choice in drug development. This is our vision, and we're passionate about making it happen because we know we have the power to improve patients' lives.

Being a people-driven organisation, we look for talented professionals who share our vision. If that sounds like you, browse our current clinical research jobs and find the role that's suited to you.