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Vaccines
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Clinical Operations Leader- Vaccines

Swiftwater, Pennsylvania
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Every day, 2.5 million Sanofi vaccine doses reach patients worldwide - powered by bold ideas, cutting-edge science, and passionate people like you. Across every stage — from discovery to delivery — Sanofians are shaping the future of vaccines. In global R&D hubs, exceptional offices, and state-of-the-art manufacturing sites, we’re reimagining what’s possible. But science alone isn’t enough — it’s the extraordinary minds behind it that truly make the difference.

Job Title: Clinical Operations Leader- Vaccines

Location: Swiftwater, PA

About the Job

The Clinical Operations Leader (COL) is a key clinical leadership role within the assigned program/project.

The COL directs and manages clinical project operational activities in collaboration with the Global Clinical Development Strategy Expert (GCDSE) and the extended clinical team and is accountable for ensuring clinical project deliverables are on time and within budget.

The COL is the trusted and reliable chief liaison between the various platforms within Global Clinical Development (GCD) and acts as well as an interface with other enabling functions such as Global Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Finance, Medical, Global Immunology, especially in the context of issues resolution. Therefore, it involves working with multiple levels of personnel from many teams, in multiple regions, and with external stakeholders (e.g., advisory boards, CROs).

The COL is accountable for ensuring the deliverables of the clinical project via effective program/ project management and leadership skills in a manner that will optimize integrate and utilize the team’s resources and competencies.

The COL will support the clinical project strategy by providing expertise to develop the best clinical operational strategy for the success of the project. It requires an excellent understanding of project strategic objectives and clinical operational activities as well as appropriate interpersonal skills.

The COL ensures an effective cross functional communication, at project and clinical teams’ levels, and consolidates strategic communication at project level.

The COL supports innovation in clinical trial designs, entrepreneurial mindset such as the use of digital methodologies and tools, as well as in the organization within the extended clinical team.

The COL is a key role in risk management initiatives and coordinates crisis management within the project.

The chief accountability is to ensure reliable performance and productivity of Clinical project by leading and coordinating clinical project activities and services. Accountable for project deliverables within GCD, including the timelines, quality, and budget.

As a key leadership role within the assigned project, you will be working with multiple levels of personnel from many platforms, in multiple regions. It will require an excellent understanding of franchise strategic objectives and clinical operational strategy and activities as well as superior interpersonal skills. Obstacles to overcome include establishing relationships with multiple cross functional team members and being seen as a trusted, reliable liaison in the team.

We are an innovative global healthcare company that helps the world stay ahead of infectious diseases by delivering more than 500 million vaccine doses a year. Across different countries, our talented teams are exploring new technologies to protect people and promote healthy communities. We chase the miracles of science every single day, pursuing progress to make a real impact on millions of patients around the world.

Main Responsibilities:

  • Provides operational input into the clinical project strategy by providing expertise to develop the best clinical operational and scientific strategy for the successful conduct of the project.

  • Knowledgeable about and understands overall project and franchise strategy. In collaboration with the Global Clinical Development Strategy Expert (GCDSE), provides support for clinical project governance.

  • Develops, manages and drives the planning of the clinical project performed as part of the Clinical Development Plan, ensures its feasibility of execution and its execution. This also includes planning and driving the execution of the clinical sections of the required regulatory submissions (i.e. CTD, eBLA and others as appropriate).

  • Ensures the Clinical Development Plans and project plannings as well as their updates are communicated throughout the Extended Clinical Team and the R&D Project Team and ensures alignment with R&D global project strategy.

  • Accountable for Clinical project performance to ensure it meets expectation with respect to timelines, quality, and budget.

  • Contributes to ensure harmonization of activities (operational strategy) in between studies within a program as well as transversally and across clinical projects.

  • Monitors projects’ progress and performance against strategic objectives and key performance indicators.

  • Ensures proactive, timely reporting on progress of program management components of clinical trials, openly escalate issues that require input from and discussion with members of Clinical Management.

  • May be responsible for more than one clinical project, depending on project scope and individual experience.

Communication/Interfaces:

  • Consolidates strategic communication at project level and maintains cross functional communication.

  • Use clinical project analytics to communicate on issues/risks/alerts.

  • Acts as an interface between the Extended Clinical Team and other enabling functions such as Global Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Quality, Global Medical, Transformation and performance teams and Global immunology, especially in the context of issues resolution.

  • Ensures effective cross-regional communication to allow clinical teams to function efficiently to achieve global plans. Ensures top down/bottom-up communication.

  • In collaboration with the GCDSE, arranges scientific advisory boards, adjudication committees and experts’ committees; ensures set up, follow-up of communication and manages partnership/alliance with experts.

Leadership:

  • Is a R&D project team member for assigned projects. Actively engaged in decision-making process with other stakeholders in GCD, providing input as needed to Head, GCD and Global Heads of clinical platforms

  • Provides guidance on best practices and lessons learned for operational execution of clinical trials. Facilitates operational issue resolution. Leads risk management initiatives for the clinical project to minimize negative impacts to team deliverables.

  • Coordinates crisis management within clinical project and interface with Clinical platforms and beyond to define and implement action plan.

  • In collaboration with team member’s manager, mentors team members to develop enhanced leadership skills such as consensus-building and conflict resolution. Encourages and supports team member empowerment. Is a trusted liaison for clinical and other stakeholders across platforms and functions.

Budget:  

  • Ensures appropriate project level capacity/resource planning and management in conjunction with other functions within GCD.

  • Consolidates and review budget and resources allocation for his/her clinical project through transversal reviews and interact with Business Office, Functional Planners and R&D Finance to ensure the Clinical budget and planning is accurate.

  • Is accountable for tracking and monitoring the project budget with support of Business Office.

Learning/continuous improvement:

  • Supports innovation and entrepreneurial mindset such as clinical trial designs, digital methodologies and tools as well as organization within the clinical project.

  • Establishes culture of continuous learning and improvement in the clinical project. Identifies process issues requiring resolution at the project level and proposes solutions.

  • Identify opportunities for improving organizational processes to continue to drive organizational excellence.

  • Ensures that ‘lessons learned’ approach is built into the review and adoption of new approaches and methods.

  • Stays abreast of advances in his/her area of expertise.

About You

Experience:

  • Very strong project management experience is required. A proven track record of effectively leading multifunctional teams is needed. Transversal and strategic leadership capabilities. Strong interpersonal skills required to effectively collaborate with customers (physicians, scientists, and managers from various disciplines) and interfaces to set and manage expectations

Soft and technical skills:

  • Project Management Skills

  • Business acumen

  • Excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills (verbal & written)

  • Customer and quality focused capability to effectively handle large complicated global projects that integrates various disciplines.

  • Proactive with ability to drive decision making process

  • Innovative problem solving

  • People, Change and Influence management skills

  • Ability to set and manage expectations

  • Self-motivation, results driven, detail-oriented and good organizational skills

  • Ability to resolve conflict

  • Strong negotiations skills

Education:

  • At least master’s degree in relevant scientific and/or medical field with experience in clinical research in pharmaceutical industry

Languages:

  • English (fluent)

Why Choose Us?

  • Bring the miracles of science to life alongside a supportive, future-focused team.

  • Discover endless opportunities to grow your talent and drive your career, whether it’s through a promotion or lateral move, at home or internationally.

  • Enjoy a thoughtful, well-crafted rewards package that recognizes your contribution and amplifies your impact.

  • Take good care of yourself and your family, with a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits including high-quality healthcare, prevention and wellness programs and at least 14 weeks’ gender-neutral parental leave.

Sanofi Inc. and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employers committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.

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  • We’re problem-solvers and pioneers - united by the belief that everyone deserves a healthier future. We create best-in-class vaccines that prevent disease and protect lives.

  • Innovation drives us. From AI and mRNA to next-gen science, we push the boundaries to deliver first- and best-in-class vaccines for infectious diseases worldwide.

  • Growth happens here. With bold investments in R&D and world-class facilities, Sanofians across the entire vaccine lifecycle are shaping the future of global health.

  • We do what’s right. Sustainability and DE&I drive our positive global impact—because the diverse communities Sanofians represent are the patients we serve.

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For over a century, we’ve been pioneering breakthroughs that help protect millions from diseases like polio, influenza, RSV, and more. And we’re not stopping there.

Powered by groundbreaking technologies - mRNA platforms, recombinant proteins, and AI-driven insights - we’re pushing the boundaries of science.

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