Senior Manager, Contract Research Organisation (CRO)

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Company Description

Bicycle Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a novel class of medicines, referred to as Bicycle® molecules, for diseases that are underserved by existing therapeutics. Bicycle molecules are fully synthetic short peptides constrained with small molecule scaffolds to form two loops that stabilize their structural geometry. This constraint facilitates target binding with high affinity and selectivity, making Bicycle molecules attractive candidates for drug development. The company is evaluating zelenectide pevedotin (previously BT8009), a Bicycle® Toxin Conjugate (BTC®) targeting Nectin-4, a well-validated tumor antigen; BT5528, a BTC targeting EphA2, a historically undruggable target; and BT7480, a Bicycle Tumor-Targeted Immune Cell Agonist® (Bicycle TICA®) targeting Nectin-4 and agonizing CD137, in company-sponsored clinical trials. Additionally, the company is developing Bicycle® Radio Conjugates (BRC™) for radiopharmaceutical use and, through various partnerships, is exploring the use of Bicycle® technology to develop therapies for diseases beyond oncology.

Bicycle Therapeutics is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with many key functions and members of its leadership team located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Culture is key and all Bicycle employees actively embrace and role model our company values:

• We are Adventurous. We believe it's the way to deliver extraordinary results for our patients.
• We are Dedicated to our Mission. You can't change the world if you don't have determination.
• We are One Team. We only succeed when we work together.

Job Description

We have an exciting opportunity within the Laboratories and Facilities Department for an independent and motivated Contract Research Organisation (CRO) Senior Manager with a scientific and operations-based background. This role will help our Research and Innovation (R&I) teams to source and lead external collaborations, help with contract management, and support the team in their internal and external communications.

As the central point in the CRO network, you will be responsible for coordinating a CRO ecosystem that aligns with Bicycle's Research and Innovation (R&I) strategy. By linking internal teams to CROs, you will be in a key position to work across many stages of the Bicycle preclinical portfolio, as well as reaching into different scientific disciplines. Bringing previous operational experience to the company, you will be responsible for ensuring the appropriate contracting requirements are in place to support the delivery of production and testing cycles.

An essential component of the role is communication with internal and external teams to progress projects flexibly, efficiently and to high quality through externalizing chemical material procurement, and downstream in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo research. The role will be a business partner to R&I teams, enabling CRO-based operations and contracts. There will be a need to work alongside multiple stakeholders, ensuring alignment and understanding of key initiatives. In addition to direct liaison with R&I teams, other internal stakeholders include Lab Support and Compound Management to aid with compound storage and shipping requirements; Legal and Finance for contracting and POs support; and translational teams to ensure continuity across our R&I portfolio. You will be an excellent communicator, able to flexibly use and adapt styles to obtain the best outcomes for the company in a manner consistent with Bicycle values.

Key responsibilities

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders (science teams, Laboratories and Facilities, legal and finance teams) to drive the workflows for getting CDAs, MSAs, contracts, communication paths and purchase orders in place for the team to carry out externalized research.
• Develop and maintain relationships with our CRO partners, acting as Contract Owner and Point of Contact in negotiations and resolution-finding.
• Evaluate external providers for capabilities, quality, cost, throughput and timelines in a variety of research assays and methods, including chemical syntheses, in vitro and in vivo techniques and DMPK assays.
• Support the management of external research timelines and deliverables, including reporting of CRO performance to company leadership.

Qualifications

Essential:

• Previous experience in coordinating cross-functional work in biopharma industry.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail; ability to translate impact of decisions on budget and timelines.
• Demonstrated ability to work in teams or independently as needed and as relevant to complete work assignments and various tasks.
• Demonstrated ability of working with scientists, legal teams and vendors/CROs to develop statements of work, including follow up during project execution.
• Excellent and demonstratable communication and teamwork skills.
• Educated in chemical or life sciences Laboratory research experience in biopharma industry.

Desirable:

• Understanding and experience of handling budget and forecasting reports.
• Experience of creating and reporting key performance indicators to peers and leadership.

Additional Information

• State-of-the-art campus environment
• Competitive reward package
• 28 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays, plus option to buy up to 5 additional days
• Employer contribution to pension
• Life assurance cover 4x basic salary
• Private Medical Insurance, including optical and dental cover
• Health Cash Plan
• Cycle to work scheme

Bicycle Therapeutics is committed to building a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. We recognize that diverse and inclusive teams build a stronger and more innovative company. Therefore, all qualified applicants will be considered for employment, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status, marital status, or veteran status.