Clinical Trial Investigator Grant Forecasting
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Fortrea
San Jose, CA, US
Summary
The role involves developing and maintaining investigator grant forecasts across the global clinical development portfolio to ensure accurate financial planning. You will partner with cross-functional teams to reconcile forecasts, explain variances, and support executive reporting through data-driven insights.
Job Description
Job Overview:
The Clinical Trial Investigator Grant Forecasting delivers the defined outcomes associated with maintaining and improving forecasts for investigator grants and related site-level clinical trial payments across the global clinical development portfolio. The role partners closely with Clinical Operations, Study Start-Up, R&D Finance, Budgeting and Contracts to ensure accurate, timely, and audit-ready forecasting that supports trial execution and financial planning.
Summary of Responsibilities:
- Delivers the activities associated with the development, continuous improvement, tracking and maintenance of investigator grant forecasting defined process by study, country, site, and milestone/event (e.g., Protocol Synopsis, Final Protocol, SOW and Ongoing)
- Translate protocol assumptions and operational plans (enrollment curves, visit schedules, screen failure rates, dropout rates, timelines) into payment and cash flow forecasts.
- Work with Clinical Operations to reconcile forecast vs. actuals, explain variances, and update assumptions on a regular cadence.
- Monitor and analyze payment drivers (site activation, patient visits, pass-throughs, amendments) to identify forecast risks and opportunities.
- Support the implementation of standardized forecasting methodologies, templates, and controls to improve consistency across studies.
- Ensure alignment between forecasting outputs and financial systems/processes (e.g., accruals, PO coverage, payment schedules, and month-end close needs).
- Support the creation of executive-ready dashboards and reporting (by program, study, region, vendor/CRO) highlighting burn rate, run-rate, and key forecast sensitivities.
- Contribute to scenario planning (e.g., enrollment acceleration/deceleration, country mix changes, protocol amendments) and quantify financial impact.
- Maintain documentation and data traceability to support internal controls, audits, and inspection readiness.
- Identify automation and process improvement opportunities (e.g., data integrations, modeling enhancements) and drive implementation with stakeholders.
- Support technology evaluations and requirements to build a more sustainable IG forecasting capability.
Qualifications (Minimum Required):
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Business, Life Sciences, Statistics, or related field.
- Demonstrated ability to build forecasts that tie operational assumptions to financial outcomes.
- Excel skills (scenario modeling) and comfort working with large, multi-study datasets.
- Strong communication skills to align cross-functional stakeholders on assumptions, risks, and updates.
- Detail-oriented, deadline-driven, and able to manage multiple studies/priorities simultaneously.
- Strong project management skills to balance assignments and prioritizations of work
- Fluent English level
Experience (Minimum Required):
- 3+ years of experience in clinical trial finance, forecasting, budgeting, grants/payments, or CRO financial management (study, program, or portfolio level).
- Experience with clinical payment/grant systems and/or clinical finance tools (e.g., investigator payment platforms, EDC/CTMS outputs, finance ERP integrations).
- Experience partnering with CROs on investigator grant processes and forecast updates.
- Power BI (or similar) reporting experience.
- Understanding of investigator grant contract structures and common payment terms (start-up fees, per-visit, milestone-based, pass-through handling).
- Knowledge of accrual concepts and monthly close cadence in a regulated environment.
Please, submit your English resume
Remote position
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Fortrea (Nasdaq: FTRE) is a leading global clinical research organization (CRO) dedicated to providing innovative clinical development solutions to the life sciences industry. With over 30 years of clinical research experience, Fortrea has evolved from Covance and Labcorp into a pureplay CRO built for biotech, biopharma, medical device and diagnostic innovators.
Fortrea collaborates with both emerging and established companies to deliver agile, fit-for-purpose full service (FSO), functional service (FSP) and hybrid solutions. Fortrea provides comprehensive Phase I-IV clinical trial management, clinical pharmacology, and consulting services, backed by deep experience in more than 20 therapeutic areas.
Operating in approximately 100 countries, our diverse and talented team brings scientific rigor, operational excellence, and a strong investigator site network to every trial. By combining the best of our legacy experience with forward-thinking innovation, Fortrea brings predictability to clinical trial execution and helps transform aspirations into outcomes.
Together, exceptional is possible.
Learn more at Fortrea.com
Company size
10,001+ employees
Industry
Biotechnology Research
Org type
Public Company
Headquarters
Research Triangle Park, NC