Senior Director, Clinical Business Planning

The Opportunity

Revolution Medicines is focused on developing targeted therapies for patients with RAS-addicted cancers. The Senior Director, Clinical Business Operations and Strategy will lead the financial and business planning capabilities that support delivery of the global clinical development portfolio.

As a member of Clinical Operations, this leader will oversee study and departmental budgets, forecasting, workforce and resource planning, vendor financial management, and investigator site budgets and payments. Working closely with Clinical Operations leadership and Finance, the Senior Director will translate clinical development priorities into funded, achievable operating plans and provide clear recommendations on spending, capacity, and financial risk.

The role will lead and develop the Clinical Business Operations and Strategy team and partner with study teams, Global Vendor Outsourcing, Finance, Legal, and other development functions to maintain reliable financial information and support timely study delivery.  The lead will oversee a team that does the following:

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical budgeting and forecasting

• Lead annual budgeting, periodic reforecasting, and long-range financial planning for Clinical Operations, consolidating study, program, and departmental requirements to support the Corporate Finance planning cycle.

• Oversee study budget builds from protocol planning through closeout. Maintain documented assumptions for countries, sites, enrollment, patient visits, treatment duration, vendor scope, and internal resources.

• Maintain estimates to complete and total projected study costs; assess the financial impact of protocol amendments, enrollment changes, timeline shifts, and portfolio decisions.

• Lead regular budget reviews with study teams.

• Provide finance with latest understanding of study plans and the financial impacts.

• Explain actual and forecast variances, and recommend corrective actions or funding reallocations.

• Facilitate clinical inputs to monthly and quarterly accruals, expense forecasts, and reconciling work performed for Finance.

Clinical Operations resource planning

• Own the Clinical Operations capacity planning process, mapping employee, contractor, and outsourced resource needs to study milestones, workload, and portfolio priorities.

• Partner with functional leaders, Finance, and Human Resources on headcount plans, hiring timing, contractor utilization, and staffing costs. Recommend resource allocation within approved budgets and escalate capacity gaps.

• Evaluate alternative staffing and delivery models, identifying opportunities to improve utilization and manage costs while protecting study quality and timelines.

Vendor budgets and invoice oversight

• Oversee the financial performance of contract research organizations and other clinical vendors, including approved budgets, purchase order funding, invoiced amounts, accruals, and remaining obligations.

• Partner with Global Vendor Outsourcing and study teams to evaluate vendor proposals, cost assumptions, payment schedules, and change orders; assess affordability and forecast impact before commitments are approved.

• Establish invoice review and reconciliation processes that verify charges against contractual rates, authorized scope, milestones, and services confirmed by study teams. Resolve discrepancies with vendors and Accounts Payable.

• Monitor vendor spending and change order trends, identify potential overruns early, and lead financial escalations and recovery of credits or unused advances through final reconciliation.

Site budgets and payment forecasting

• Oversee investigator site budget financial review, including country and site assumptions, per-patient costs, startup fees, amendments, and closeout expenses. Partner with site contracting teams on consistent budget parameters and exception review.

• Forecast site costs and payment timing using site activation, enrollment, completed visits, treatment duration, and contractual payment schedules; update forecasts as study assumptions change.

• Oversee site payment providers and internal payment processes to support accurate, timely payments. Monitor outstanding obligations, invoice aging, advances, holdbacks, and reconciliation through study closeout.

• Ensure approved site budget and payment data are complete and consistent across systems; partner with Finance, Legal, and Compliance on fair market value review and applicable reporting requirements.

Business strategy and operational improvement

• Translate portfolio priorities into Clinical Operations business plans, investment proposals, and scenario analyses. Advise senior leadership on financial tradeoffs, resource constraints, and opportunities to improve study delivery.

• Establish portfolio reporting on forecast accuracy, spending variances, resource utilization, vendor budget performance, and payment timeliness; use findings to drive decisions and track corrective actions.

• Improve budgeting, resource planning, and financial oversight processes, including standard assumptions, review calendars, approval workflows, and integration of clinical and financial systems.

• Maintain clear accountability and supporting records for budget changes, financial approvals, and reconciliations in partnership with Finance and relevant control owners.

Team leadership and collaboration

• Build, mentor, and develop the Clinical Business Operations and Strategy team, setting clear responsibilities and performance expectations and planning capabilities for future portfolio needs.

• Serve as the senior Clinical Operations business partner to Finance and collaborate across Clinical Development, Biometrics, Safety, Regulatory, Quality, Legal, Procurement, and IT on shared planning assumptions and business issues.

Location and Travel

The ideal candidate is based in the Bay Area and available to work onsite in Redwood City as needed, up to approximately three days per week. Travel may be required, approximately 25%.

Required Skills, Experience and Education:

• BA or BS, plus 17+ years of experience or equivalent and 10+ years at a leadership role.  Advanced degree desirable: Masters(MBA), 15+ years experience and 8+ years leadership or Doctoral,  13+ years experience and 6+ years leadership.

• Progressive responsibility in clinical business operations, clinical financial management, or Clinical Operations within biotechnology or pharmaceutical organizations, including leadership of complex global clinical budgets.

• Expertise in the operational and financial drivers of large, multisite oncology trials across early and late development and postmarketing studies.

• Demonstrated ability to build and manage study and portfolio budgets, forecasts, accrual inputs, variance analyses, and financial scenarios in close partnership with Finance.

• Experience planning Clinical Operations headcount and capacity, allocating internal and external resources, and assessing the cost implications of changing portfolio demand.

• Strong understanding of CRO and vendor budgets, statements of work, change orders, invoice review, and financial reconciliation, together with global investigator site budgets and payment forecasting.

• Proven ability to lead teams, manage organizational change, establish scalable processes, and communicate financial recommendations to senior leaders and cross-functional partners.

• Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills, strong analytical judgment, and the ability to reconcile complex data while managing competing priorities.

• Excellent organizational and time management skills along with strong attention to detail. Proven ability to handle multiple tasks efficiently and effectively.

• Comfortable in a fast-paced company environment and able to adjust workload based upon changing priorities.

• Experience leading strategic change management initiatives across clinical operations or equivalent.

• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, with ability to interact with colleagues and partners at all levels of experience.

• Ability to produce, interpret and share complex performance information and communicate it to a wide variety of audiences.

• Experience with hiring, training, developing, mentoring, and motivating team members to the highest level of performance.

• An innovative, driven, and effective person with a "can do" attitude.

• A goal-oriented person who can plan for the long-term and execute stated objectives.

• Travel may be required (~25%).

Preferred Skills:

• Advanced degree in business, finance, life sciences, or a related field; experience in a growing biotechnology company or department.

• Experience with financial planning and enterprise resource planning systems, clinical trial management systems, site payment platforms, and reporting or visualization tools.

• Experience implementing budget and resource planning tools; proficiency with Smartsheet, PowerPoint, and other business reporting applications.

• Knowledge of international clinical trial operations and working familiarity with applicable ICH and Good Clinical Practice guidelines.

• Knowledge and/or familiarity with Ex-US region(s) clinical trial operations.

• Global Project Level Budget Builds.

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Smartsheet.

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