Global Study Director – Haematology

Location: Oss | Amsterdam

Acerta Pharma will be relocating to Amsterdam, with the current move planned for early 2027. Until that time, the working arrangement will be as follows: employees will work 1–2 days per week from the Oss location, 1–2 days from the Amsterdam office, and the remaining days from home. This schedule results in an overall office presence of 60%.

The Global Study Director (GSD) is a business critical leadership role within our global Haematology organisation. As we continue to expand our portfolio en advance strong and promising pipeline toward registration and beyond, we are looking for an experienced study leader who can drive operational excellence while thinking strategically at program level.

This role is not limited to early or late phase development – our portfolio spans from early development through to late phase and registration studies. Therefore, we are open to candidates with experience across different phases. 

As a GSD you will lead high-priority, complex global clinical studies and play a pivotal role in shaping study delivery strategy, ensuring operational excellence, and demonstrating strong leadership within a highly collaborative and ambitious environment. We highly invest in talent development to drive performance and build meaningful, long-term careers. You will work closely with the Senior Global Program Director and be part of a strong global cross functional team with colleagues across multiple countries.

Your impact
As a Global Study Director, you are accountable for the end to end operational planning and delivery of complex global clinical studies within a program. 

You will:
•    Lead and inspire a cross functional Global Study Team
•    Drive operational strategy, not just execution
•    Ensure delivery against quality, timelines, budget and regulatory standards (ICH-GCP, SOP’s)
•    Act as the primary operational partner to the Senior GPD and Clinical Program Team
•    Provide mentorship and guidance to Global Study Associate Directors and other study team members
•    Contribute to program level initiatives and continuous improvement projects

Why this role:
Strategic Delivery - you think beyond the tasks list. You anticipate challenges, shape study strategy together with senior stakeholders, and translate program ambition into executable plans.

Leadership & ownership - you lead with confidence and communicate with impact. You are comfortable standing in front of senior stakeholders, challenging where needed, and driving decisions forward. 

Stakeholder management - you collaborate with Senior Global Program Directors, Medical Lead, Regulatory Affairs, Manufacturing, external partners and CRO’s.

Planning – you look ahead, manage risks proactively, and maintain control over complex timelines, budgets and vendors.

What do you bring?
We are looking for a clinical operations professional with visible career progression and increasing responsibility over time. You do not wait for problems to escalate – you anticipate, act and lead. In addition:

•    Extensive experience in clinical operations withing pharma and/or CRO
•    Strong experience leading global clinical studies (early and/or late phase)
•    Oncology experience required, Haematology experience is a bonus
•    Deep understanding of drug development from protocol to CSR
•    Strong knowledge of ICH-GCP and regulatory requirements
•    Experience managing CRO oversight and vendor partnerships
•    Proven ability to lead cross functional global teams
•    Strategic thinking capability and strong operational judgment
•    Excellent senior level communication skills in English

Skills & Capabilities:
•    Strong strategic and critical thinking abilities
•    Proven skillset and abilities to solve complex problems and make strong decisions
•    Demonstrated abilities in mentoring
•    Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
•    Ability to lead multiple challenging priorities
•    Experience in external provider oversight and management

What do we offer you?
•    A dynamic, innovative, international working environment, where you can be part of the development of new medicines that can make a difference to patients' lives.
•    The opportunity to work in a high professional, diverse, close-knit team, where you can learn a lot from each other and count on one another. There is a great atmosphere which we believe is important for working as a team.
•    The opportunity to further develop yourself, for example, into a position offering even more responsibility. 
•    Good salary and secondary benefits including 8% holiday allowance, 27 holidays on a full-time basis. Additional: office closure between X-mas and New Year + Good Friday. 
•    Collective pension with a fixed percentage personal contribution
•    Bonus scheme. 
•    Vitality of our colleagues is important to us, which is why you can exercise at a discount or make use of our bicycle plan. 

Location & office presence
Hybrid working model
Until our move to Amsterdam, currently scheduled for early 2027 (60% office based)
•    1-2 days per week in Oss
•    1-2 days per week in Amsterdam
•    Remaining days remote

After relocation:
•    60% office based in our new Amsterdam office
•    40% remote

About AstraZeneca Oncology R&D, Amsterdam
At AstraZeneca Amsterdam, we bring together two research groups, in haemato-oncology and next-generation cell therapy research. Together, they form our Oncology R&D hub in the Netherlands, working closely with colleagues in the US, Canada, Spain and the UK, to develop innovative treatments for patients with cancer.

Our hematology R&D group was born as Acerta Pharma, one of the Netherlands’ greatest biotech success stories. Its small-molecule BTK inhibitor has been approved by both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) and Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL). In Amsterdam approximately 100 colleagues continue the development of new therapies for haematological malignancies under the AstraZeneca brand name.

AstraZeneca’s Cell Therapy R&D team focuses on developing next-generation T-cell receptor (TCR) therapies targeting neoantigens in solid tumours. With a team of around 75 scientists, we work on both fully individualised and shared neo-antigen approaches, with the aim of improving outcomes for patients with cancer.

Our oncology research and development hub is anchored by our new state-of-the-art laboratories in OneHelix and the adjacent Plus Ultra Amsterdam building, both located on the Amsterdam University Medical Centre (Amsterdam UMC) campus. Our hub is firmly positioned at the heart of the Dutch research community, creating new opportunities for our people and science as we work to transform the lives of patients.

Apply:
If you have any questions about this vacancy, our Recruitment Team (Karin Raadschelders en Caroline van Oppen)are happy to answer your questions. You can contact them via info@werkenbijacertapharma.nl or by phone on +31(0)85 - 047 0244.

This position will remain online until an offer has been accepted.

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.