Director, Sourcing & Procurement

Overview of Role

The Director, Sourcing & Procurement – R&D Clinical Operations and Supplies will serve as business partner supporting sourcing strategy, contracting, and governance activities across Summit’s Clinical Operations organization and global clinical trial portfolio. This individual will report to the Head of Procurement. The role is responsible for supporting the selection, contracting, and oversight of key clinical service providers, including CROs, central laboratories, imaging vendors, eCOA and other eClinical technology providers, patient recruitment and retention suppliers, investigator payment providers, specialty service vendors, and clinical trial supply partners. The position may also support clinical supply and logistics-related procurement activities, helping ensure the timely and cost-effective delivery of materials and services required to execute global clinical studies. The breadth of this role provides significant exposure across the end-to-end clinical development lifecycle and the opportunity to influence sourcing strategy, supplier performance, and operational execution across the clinical portfolio.

 
Working closely with Clinical Operations, R&D, Clinical Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, and other cross-functional stakeholders, this individual will help drive vendor strategy, optimize study-related spending, improve sourcing and contracting processes, mitigate supplier risks, and establish effective governance models with critical suppliers. As Summit continues to grow and expand its clinical development portfolio, this role will have opportunities to support additional R&D and Commercial procurement categories and contribute to broader procurement transformation, process improvement, and vendor management initiatives across the organization. 
 

Role And Responsibilities 

• Serve as a lead/procurement business partner to Clinical Operations, providing strategic sourcing and commercial guidance throughout study planning, startup, execution, and closeout. 

• Develop and execute category and supplier strategies across Clinical Operations, Clinical Trial Supplies, and related R&D categories, balancing quality, compliance, service continuity, speed, and total cost. 

• Lead end-to-end competitive sourcing activities across CROs, central laboratories, imaging, eCOA and eClinical technology, IRT/RTSM, patient recruitment and retention, investigator payments, specialty clinical services, logistics, and clinical trial supply vendors. 

• Partner with Clinical Operations, R&D, and Clinical Supply Chain to translate study requirements, timelines, enrollment assumptions, and supply needs into effective sourcing plans and fit-for-purpose vendor solutions. 

• Provide commercial insights, market intelligence, benchmarking, bid analysis, and supplier recommendations to support study feasibility, budgeting, vendor selection, and executive decision-making. 

• Lead negotiation and review of MSAs, SOWs, work orders, rate cards, pricing models, service levels, and other commercial terms in collaboration with Legal, Finance, and business stakeholders. 

• Support financial oversight of outsourced clinical services by reviewing study budgets, change orders, scope modifications, forecasts, and supplier invoices to improve cost transparency, challenge unsupported charges, and identify savings or cost-avoidance opportunities. 

• Establish and facilitate vendor governance for strategic clinical and supply partners, including business reviews, performance scorecards, KPIs and SLAs, issue escalation, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement plans. 

• Proactively identify and help resolve supplier risks affecting study execution, including performance concerns, capacity constraints, timeline impacts, supply continuity, logistics dependencies, quality events, and contract compliance. 

• Contribute as a procurement generalist to broader enterprise priorities, including process standardization, sourcing tools, spend analytics, supplier rationalization, AI and automation projects, and other procurement transformation initiatives. 

Experience, Education and Specialized Knowledge and Skills

• Minimum BA/BS degree or relevant graduate degree preferred
• Minimum of 10+ years of experience in a Procurement/Vendor Management or Finance environment in a pharmaceutical, CRO/ biotech company or worked in a clinical R&D operations setting with a CRO/Sponsor company
• Good understanding of the drug development R&D process is important
• In-depth understanding of clinical trial-related execution of large global studies, including CROs, central labs, imaging, drug supply, CMC vendors, and ancillary suppliers. Oncology experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of GCP, ICH, and regulatory expectations governing outsourced clinical activities
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task, prioritize, and independently solve problems in a rapidly changing environment
• Proficient user of standard MS Office suite (e.g., Word, Excel), experience using electronic document management systems (e.g. Veeva Vault, etc.), and document review tools desirable
• Strong computer and database skills and experience with procurement or contract management systems (e.g., Ariba, Coupa, etc.)
• Attention to detail, accuracy and confidentiality with clear and concise oral and written communication skills
• Excellent organizational skills
• Critical thinking, problem solving, ability to work independently
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally, manage competing priorities, and operate in a fast-paced, high growth organization