Senior Director, Real World Evidence

Overview

In this Senior Director role, you will lead real-world evidence (RWE) initiatives and scientific oversight for retrospective and non-interventional studies, shaping evidence generation for pharmaceutical clients. You’ll build and mentor a North American RWE team, drive proposals with the business development group, and raise Cytel’s profile through conferences, publications, and white papers. You will translate complex epidemiology into actionable insight while ensuring quality, timeliness, and profitability. This role is central to Cytel’s mission to inform drug development with rigorous real-world data and analytics.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior scientific oversight for RWE projects using retrospective EHR or claims data, including comparative effectiveness, treatment patterns, and cost studies
• Develop and execute evidence generation plans for pharmaceutical clients
• Lead growth with subject matter experts and business developers, including leading proposals
• Serve as thought leader and SME in real-world evidence and represent Cytel externally
• Oversee team performance, career development, and P&L for the RWE group in North America
• Provide scientific direction in complex epidemiology studies
• Manage resources, budget, and project timelines to meet utilization goals
• Foster teamwork, diversity, and efficient conflict resolution
• Hire, train, and mentor staff; develop internship and training programs
• Identify opportunities to improve business processes for speed and quality

Key requirements

• 10+ years in consulting, clinical trials, or health research environments
• Previous people management experience (5+ years)
• Proven record leading RWE studies and advanced epidemiological methods (e.g., target trial emulation)
• Understanding of regulatory and reimbursement guidance on RWE methods
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to manage multiple tasks with attention to detail
• Financial and business acumen and experience with project management and accounting principles
• Experience with EHR/claims data, causal inference, and Bayesian methods (with support from senior biostatistician)
• Knowledge of biopharmaceutical R&D processes

• strong leadership and mentorship
• excellent communication (verbal and written)
• influencing and stakeholder management
• RWE study design (retrospective, non-interventional)
• target trial emulation
• causal inference methods

…