Job Summary

Lead end-to-end source-to-contract activities for assigned clinical outsourcing services.

Responsibilities

- Conduct market search and supplier landscaping to identify suitable vendors.

- Identify supply market trends, innovation opportunities, and risk signals in the clinical services landscape.

- Shape and contribute to the Clinical Outsourcing Services category strategy, including supplier positioning, market insights, and value opportunities.

- Drive supplier landscaping, competitive sourcing, and RFP strategies for critical business needs.

- Lead commercial evaluations, negotiation strategies, and contract alignment through signature.

- Provide strategic recommendations to stakeholders and leadership based on commercial, risk, and business analysis.

- Act as a trusted business partner to cross-functional stakeholders, challenging requirements constructively and ensuring early procurement involvement.

- Identify and mitigate sourcing, supplier, financial, operational, and continuity risks across initiatives.

- Support governance, decision-making, and documentation for sourcing recommendations and vendor selections.

- Contribute to the development and execution of the Clinical Outsourcing services category strategy.

- Strengthen supplier and stakeholder collaboration to enable effective delivery and long-term value.

- Contribute to preferred supplier strategies, process improvement, and procurement excellence.

- Coach colleagues or stakeholders on sourcing approaches, market dynamics, and procurement process discipline.

- Align sourcing activities with Business stakeholders, Legal, Controlling, and other relevant functions.

- Support supplier selection decisions with data-driven commercial and strategic insights.

- Ensure compliance with corporate SOPs and guidelines, group policy and procedures, as well as with legal, government and regulatory requirements where relevant.





- Monitor supplier performance and support supplier relationship management activities.

- Drive cost transparency, benchmarking, and value optimization across sourcing initiatives.

- Identify sourcing and vendor risks related to financial, operational and contractual and continuity aspects and drive forward mitigation actions to secure uninterrupted services.

- Maintain documentation, audit readiness, and sourcing decision trails.

- Contribute to process improvement in procurement and clinical outsourcing ways of working.

Scope of People Responsibility

- Ability to lead complex cross-functional sourcing initiatives.

- Acts as owner for sourcing initiatives with strong business partnering and stakeholder influence with the aim to meet the targets set.

- Ability to challenge constructively and align diverse stakeholders.

- Cooperation. Internally. Act as a strategic business partner across clinical and RD business stakeholders, Legal, Controlling, and other enabling functions to ensure outsourcing strategies are competitive, compliant, and aligned to business needs.

- Foster cross-functional collaboration and partnership with clinical and RD business stakeholders, Legal, Controlling, and other enabling function.

- Transparent communication to keep stakeholders informed.

- Prepare and present sourcing recommendations to cross-functional stakeholders and leadership.

- Externally. Strong relationships with external vendors and contract partners for timely, compliant service delivery as well as for vendor oversight activities.





- Coordination with external Legal/contract teams for review and execution.

- Engagement with external experts as needed to inform decisions and mitigate risk.

Education

- Degree in Business Administration, Economics or related disciplines or degree in natural science.

Work Experience

- 3+ years of procurement experience with a track record in RFx processes and supplier negotiations.

- Experience in clinical outsourcing and clinical service provider landscape is highly preferred.

- Proven ability to work effectively in international environments with cross-functional global stakeholders and complex governance structures.

- Knowledge of clinical development operations and service models (FSO, FSP).

- Understanding of compliance, quality, and contracting requirements in a regulated environment.

Job Specific Competencies Skills

- Strong written and spoken communication skills in English.

- Demonstrated ability to apply data analytics and AI-driven insights to sourcing decisions.

- Strategic sourcing and category management.

- Strong commercial judgment and negotiation capability.

- Strong business partnering and stakeholder influence.

- Ability to translate market and supplier insights into recommendations.

- Robust risk, financial, and contractual assessment capability.

- Executive-level communication and presentation skills.

- Decision-making in complex, regulated environments.

- Process improvement and procurement governance mindset.

- Project and timeline management.

- Communication and presentation skills.

- Data analysis and benchmarking.

- Conflict management and constructive challenge.

- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Disclaimer: This job posting has been aggregated from external source. Role details, content, and availability are subject to change. Applicants are advised to confirm the latest information directly on the company website before applying.

📌 Manager Sourcing (Mumbai)
🏢 Merck
📍 Mumbai