Job Title: Director of Operations
Location: London Bridge, SE1
Term: Full-Time, Permanent
Salary: Competitive + Benefits (Private Medical, Private Dental, Pension, 25 days Annual leave plus bank holidays & Many more)
Richmond Pharmacology are an early phase Clinical Research Organisation (CRO), where we are conducting pioneering early phase healthy participants and patient participant trials. Our experienced and world-renowned team, our central London location and our global reach contribute to making Richmond Pharmacology an exciting and dynamic place to work.
Purpose of the job
The Director of Operations is accountable for a significant proportion of the operational activity required to deliver clinical trials at Richmond.
This role leads Clinical Operations, Laboratory Services, Data Science, Catering, Clinical Project Delivery, and Acute Clinical Management, ensuring these functions operate in a coordinated and aligned way to support high-quality project delivery.
The focus is to ensure that these operational areas run safely, compliantly, efficiently, and effectively, with engaged teams and a relentless focus on improving how work gets done.
This is a leadership role. The Director sets direction, creates clarity, and holds leaders accountable for delivering excellence across their areas, while working closely with other Directors to ensure end-to-end trial success.
Main duties and responsibilities
Operational Leadership and Performance
- Own performance and delivery across assigned operational functions
- Ensure operational delivery is efficient, coordinated, and aligned to study requirements
- Work in partnership with peers and seniors to enable end-to-end study delivery
- Reduce friction between functions and improve ways of working
- Ensure clear accountability for outcomes within and across functions
Participant Safety and Regulatory Compliance
- Ensure all operational areas meet the highest standards of participant safety
- Maintain regulatory compliance across all accountable functions
- Embed a culture where safety and quality are non-negotiable
- Ensure ongoing inspection readiness
Project Delivery
- Support the effective delivery of clinical trials through strong operational execution
- Improve predictability, timelines, and quality of delivery within accountable areas
- Reduce delays, rework, and operational inefficiencies
- Strengthen ownership and accountability at the project level
Functional Leadership
- Clinical Operations
- Laboratory Services
- Data Science (data management and statistics)
- Clinical Project Delivery
- Acute Clinical Management
- Catering
Provide leadership across the operational functions, ensuring each function is high performing, well-structured, and clearly aligned to shared goals, building strong collaboration across functions and with the wider organisation.
Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence
- Drive continuous improvement across operational processes and systems
- Identify and eliminate inefficiencies and duplication
- Use data and insight to prioritise improvements
- Promote smarter, simpler ways of working, including use of technology where appropriate
People Leadership and Capability
- Lead and develop a high-performing leadership team
- Set clear expectations and hold leaders accountable for delivery and behaviour
- Build capability and succession across functions
- Ensure teams are structured to deliver sustainably and effectively
Financial and Operational Efficiency
- Support strong financial performance through efficient operational delivery
- Contribute to budgeting and performance tracking across functions
- Ensure resources are deployed effectively without compromising quality or safety
Strategic Contribution
- Contribute to organisational strategy and growth plans
- Ensure operational capability supports increasingly complex and high-value studies
- Support Richmond’s ambition to be a partner of choice for early-phase clinical research
Skills and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Pharmacy, Medicine, or related discipline.
- Strong working knowledge of GCP and clinical trial regulations
- Strong background in data-driven decision-making and performance management.
- Minimum 15 years of progressive operations leadership experience, with at least 5 years in senior management roles.
- Senior leadership experience in clinical research
- Strong understanding of clinical trial delivery and regulatory requirements
- Proven ability to manage audits and regulatory inspections successfully
- Track record of reducing delays, rework, or inefficiencies
- Proven ability to lead and develop multidisciplinary teams
- Strong stakeholder management skills, including interaction with cross-functional teams, boards and regulatory bodies
- Ability to operate effectively in a matrix environment
- Data-driven and outcome-focused
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