Outsourcing Manager, DCRI

School of Medicine Established in 1930, Duke University School of Medicine is the youngest of the nation's top medical schools. Ranked sixth among medical schools in the nation, the School takes pride in being an inclusive community of outstanding learners, investigators, clinicians, and staff where interdisciplinary collaboration is embraced and great ideas accelerate translation of fundamental scientific discoveries to improve human health locally and around the globe. Composed of more than 2,500 faculty physicians and researchers, more than 1,300 students, and more than 6,000 staff, the Duke University School of Medicine along with the Duke University School of Nursing, Duke University Health System and the Private Diagnostic Clinic (PDC) comprise Duke Health. a world-class academic medical center. The Health System encompasses Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Duke Primary Care, Duke Home and Hospice, Duke Health and Wellness, and multiple affiliations.

Occupational Summary

Develop and provide Vendor Procurement & Management Services for DCRI clinical project teams and other functional groups in support of Sponsor-Funded Research Projects, particularly multi-trial research programs with complex vendor scope.  Proactively identify and negotiate contract opportunities to leverage the buying power of DCRI to lower the cost of research services. Coordinate and maintain key internal and external stakeholder relationships and work closely with DCRI project leaders on vendor management processes for delivery of key project milestones.

** NOTE: This position may have an opportunity to work remotely.  All Duke University and Duke Health remote workers must reside in one of the following states or districts:  Arizona; California; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Illinois; Maryland; Massachusetts; Montana; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Virginia or Washington, DC.

Work Performed

Vendor Procurement & Negotiation

• Serve as point of contact for DCRI vendors as well as for DCRI project leaders and business development staff to satisfy research project requirements. 

• Maintain a definitive list of QA/RC approved suppliers for DCRI research services and follow defined processes to evaluate and integrate new suppliers onto the DCRI procurement listing.

• Capture and disseminate knowledge about DCRI experience with suppliers for project-specific scope.

• Develop vendor Request for Information (RFI) as needed by project teams, coordinate RFI response, lead the RFI evaluation, and communicate RFI summary to the project team.

• Prepare requests for proposals (RFPs) within project requirements, evaluate bids and proposals, and make award decisions in collaboration with DCRI project team leaders/project operations leadership.

• Field potential new vendor calls, evaluate their skill sets and offerings against DCRI needs, and set up face-to-face capabilities presentations as needed by clinical research projects.  Provide a summary of the presentation to the project team/Vendor Management leadership to determine if the vendor could be considered as approved service provider to the DCRI.

• Support in development of DCRI vendor management processes and appropriate training for internal customers regarding procurement and vendor management processes.

Vendor Management and Performance Management  

• Develop benchmarks and reporting to measure supplier performance in collaboration with project leaders.

• Further evaluate supplier performance through review of reports and customer feedback; resolve issues and implement solutions to address negative supplier performance. Escalate as appropriate to Vendor Management/Project Operations leadership for critical issues.

• Review vendor contracts for accuracy and completeness. Assist project team leaders in evaluating vendor contracts to ensure supplier compliance; analyze supplier change requests to existing contracts, and approve changes or revisions.

• Assist the PL in monitoring overall financial payments to large and preferred suppliers.

• Develop and disseminate lessons learned regarding best practices for maintaining productive relationships with DCRI suppliers.

• Track metrics on the amount of saved through negotiating vendor contracts; report on those metrics routinely to vendor management leadership.

Vendor Contracting and Intake process

• Initiate contract requests to DCRI Contracts/Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) for project-specific vendor scope. 

• Work with Duke’s Procurement office to ensure we are providing competitive bids and/or sole source justifications as required.

Minimum Qualifications  Education

Bachelor's Degree in business, legal, science or other related discipline

Experience

• Five years’ experience in research and development arena (pharmaceutical company, CRO, etc.) with a minimum of 3 years’ experience in vendor management and/ or project management experience. 

• The ability work independently with little oversight regarding day-to-day responsibilities.

• Experience in managing key internal and external stakeholders effectively by frequently soliciting input and gathering and incorporating feedback into processes as appropriate

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including public speaking.

• Excellent interpersonal skills and leadership skills.

• Excellent organizational, time management, planning, prioritization, facilitation, negotiation, analytical and problem-solving skills. 

Minimum Qualifications
Education

Bachelor's Degree in business, science or other related discipline.

Experience

Five years experience in industry business development and/or research and development arena (pharmaceutical company, CRO, etc.) with a minimum of two years experience in clinical research proposal generation handling at least 4 large, multi centered proposals with over $20M in direct costs. Prefer experience inreview and negotiation too. OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.