Senior Director, Clinical Finance

About the role

The Senior Director, Clinical Finance is a strategic finance leader responsible for driving the company's financial planning processes, guiding senior leadership through financial implications of business strategy, and partnering with the R&D organization to negotiate and execute cost-effective vendor contracts that achieve our development goals. This role manages forecasting, budgeting, management reporting, and financial modeling, while leading and developing a high-performing team. The ideal candidate is a collaborative business partner with strong analytical capabilities and the ability to operate in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Financial Planning, Analysis and Reporting

• Partners with Clinical Development Operations to understand study needs, site selection priorities, enrollment timelines, and budget assumptions.
• Prepares and maintains budgets and forecasts for assigned clinical studies, monitoring financial performance against plan.
• Oversees the development of clinical site budget parameters and reviews clinical site budget escalations.
• Contributes to the quarterly financial statement review, the annual budget and quarterly updates to the company forecast model.
• Reviews and approves purchase requisitions and contracts for budget adherence, spending authorization compliance, and inclusion of appropriate financial terms and conditions.
• Performs financial analysis of potential business transactions to facilitate decision making and execution.
• Informs leadership of any observations and proactively provides insightful suggestions for improvement.
• Deploys in-depth knowledge of the functional area, business strategies, and the company's goals.

Procurement, Clinical Outsourcing and Vendor Management

• Leads procurement strategy, contract negotiation, vendor governance, and process oversight, and collaborates with R&D SMEs on supplier selection, to ensure cost-effective, compliant purchasing decisions aligned with business objectives for assigned clinical studies.
• Ensures procurement process, systems and documentation comply with Nektar's policies and procedures.
• Identifies, selects, engages, and manages third-party vendors in partnership with subject matter experts for assigned clinical studies.
• Manages vendor performance against agreed upon expectations for assigned clinical studies.
• Participates in vendor governance committees for assigned clinical studies.
• Leads negotiation of key clinical CRO contractual terms within assigned areas of responsibility with business partners and Legal for assigned clinical studies.
• Oversees clinical site contracting team and activities.

Team Leadership & Process Excellence

• Leads, mentors, and grows a high-performing team; provides coaching, oversight, and professional development.
• Drives automation and reporting enhancements to improve accuracy, efficiency, and real-time visibility.
• Partners with Accounting on month-end close, accruals, and overall financial accuracy.
• Fosters a culture of data-driven decision making.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in a Finance or Business discipline is required.
• Advanced degree (e.g., MBA) required. Equivalent experience may be accepted.

Professional Experience

• Minimum 15 years financial planning experience, preferably in biotech or pharmaceutical industry, required.
• 12 years management experience may be required.

Skills & Competencies

• Expertise in clinical study and clinical site cost budgeting and forecasting is required.
• Exceptional financial modeling and analytical skills.
• Leads by example, models collaborative behavior by soliciting opinions. Is also willing to make key decisions and is effective in getting the team behind the decisions.
• Excellent project management and leadership skills are essential with strong oral and written communication skills.
• In-depth knowledge of the functional area and business strategies.
• Proven track record of successfully interacting with internal and external executive levels, including formal presentations. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required.
• Must be a demonstrated self-starter and team player with strong interpersonal skills.
• Excellent computer and analytical skills, including strong Excel and modeling skills are essential.
• Experience with Microsoft Copilot, Smartsheet planning or ERP systems is highly desired.