Manager, Business Development

Department: Marketing

Report to: Chief Strategy and Growth Officer

Position Status: Exempt, Regular Full-Time

JOB SUMMARY

ERA Health Research is seeking an experienced Manager of Business Development to support our next phase of growth. This role serves as the strategic and operational partner to the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer and is responsible for expanding sponsor relationships, strengthening referral and community networks, supporting therapeutic area growth, and helping the organization enter new markets. The ideal candidate understands clinical research operations, can communicate clearly with sponsors, physicians, and internal leaders, and brings a proactive approach to business development.  

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Sponsor and CRO Development

• Supports the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer in developing and managing sponsor/CRO relationships across pharma, device, and CROs.
• Identify and secure new sponsors/CROs that align with ERA’s strategic objectives for therapeutic expansion and revenue growth.
• Prepare and deliver capability presentations that highlight ERA’s multi-site network, operational strengths, and performance metrics.
• Monitor sponsor/CRO activity and forecast near-term and long-term business opportunities.

Strategic Market Expansion

• Participate in research and due diligence for new geographic markets, including site qualification, partnership assessments, and referral landscape analysis.
• Support the evaluation of hospital-based research partnerships and acute care trial opportunities.
• Assisting planning and supporting the launch of new therapeutic areas and expansion of cardiology, diabetes, metabolic disease, infectious disease, as well as device-based studies.

Conference and Industry Engagement

• Attend key national and regional conferences to represent ERA Health Research.
• Schedule and hold meetings with sponsors, CROs, drug and device manufacturers before and during conferences.
• Represent clearly and concisely ERA’s differentiation, capabilities, and strategic priorities.
• Gather competitive intelligence and report findings to the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer.

Community and Physician Referral Network Development

• Collaborate with recruiting supervisor to develop and maintain relationships with referring community physicians, specialists, urgent care groups, and hospital partners.
• Support outreach programs that generate eligible participant referrals and expand ERA’s network in key markets.
• Identify and support outreach to community groups to further awareness about clinical research and under-represented people groups.

Business Development Operations

• Track business development activity, sponsor leads, operational readiness, and capability updates across all sites.
• Support feasibility completion, site qualification, and study startup coordination for newly acquired opportunities.
• Work with site leadership to ensure readiness for therapeutic area expansion.

AI and Operational Efficiency

• Partner with internal teams to help deploy AI supported business development tools, including recruitment analytics, feasibility automation, sponsor dashboards, and patient matching.
• Identify new ways technology can streamline sponsor engagement, enrollment forecasting, and reporting.

Leadership Support

• Serve as the primary operational partner to the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer.
• Support strategic planning, quarterly growth reporting, conference planning, and sponsor pipeline reviews.
• Provide concise updates and recommendations based on sponsor feedback, market data, and internal performance metrics.

Team Collaboration

• Partner with recruiting teams to ensure sponsor expectations and enrollment forecasts are understood.
• Provide guidance to study recruiters when needed, and support the study marketing and recruitment planning meetings
• Work cross functionally with regulatory, operations, finance, and site management to support growth objectives.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Business, Public Health, Nursing, or related fields. Master’s degree preferred.
• Three to five years of experience in clinical research, business development, site operations, CRO relationships, or sponsor engagement.
• Strong understanding of clinical trial design, feasibility, enrollment pressures, and regulatory considerations.
• Proven ability to build professional relationships with sponsors, physicians, PIs, and clinical research teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly explain complex research capabilities.
• Comfortable traveling for conferences, sponsor visits, and site development work. Travel maybe to 30% of the time in total, more or less concentrated during specific periods.
• Experience using CRM tools, sponsor portals, or AI supported workflow tools is preferred.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and operate in a fast-paced environment.

Key competencies

• Strategic thinking
• Relationship building
• Clear and concise communication
• Initiative and problem solving
• Professional presence at conferences and sponsor meetings
• Adaptability in a rapidly growing multi-site research environment