Associate Director, Clinical Trial Recruitment

Axsome Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company leading a new era in the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) conditions. We deliver scientific breakthroughs by identifying critical gaps in care and develop differentiated products with a focus on novel mechanisms of action that enable meaningful advancements in patient outcomes. Our industry-leading neuroscience portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for major depressive disorder, agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease, excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea, and migraine, as well as multiple novel product candidates addressing a broad range of serious neurological and psychiatric conditions that impact over 150 million people in the United States. Together, we are on a mission to solve some of the brain’s biggest problems so patients and their loved ones can flourish. For more information, please visit us at www.axsome.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

About This Role:

Axsome Therapeutics is seeking an Associate Director, Clinical Trial Recruitment, with extensive experience in clinical trial recruitment and retention, leading teams, and site engagement. This leadership role will drive strategic recruitment and retention initiatives across Axsome’s portfolio of clinical studies. The Associate Director, Clinical Trial Recruitment will collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify potential challenges and execute solutions. This role will also be responsible for the oversight and development of the Clinical Trial Recruitment Team.

This role is based at Axsome’s HQ in New York City with an on-site requirement of at least three days per week. We are unable to consider candidates who are looking for fully remote roles. 

Job Responsibilities and Duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The Associate Director remains available to execute technical recruitment and retention role responsibilities including but not limited to, creating and reviewing study-specific recruitment materials, managing central recruitment campaigns, outreach to underperforming study sites, monitoring enrollment metrics, and communicating feedback to clinical team
• Develop and lead strategic initiatives for trial-specific patient recruitment and retention efforts for all clinical studies during study start-up. Develop recruitment and retention plan for all active studies, outlining planned strategies, risks, and solutions
• Identify and evaluate recruitment vendors that offer innovative solutions or approaches and oversee the selection and oversight in collaboration with the clinical team
• Establish application of best practices and lessons learned across all clinical studies
• Track, analyze, and present data from central recruitment campaigns. Provide forecasted recruitment metrics and ROI when presenting proposed central campaign budget to clinical study teams
• Liaise with clinical sites to evaluate site-specific recruitment initiatives and determine the potential, ROI, along with clinical team
• Initiate recruitment and retention knowledge sharing opportunities across cross-functional teams
• Provide mentorship to direct reports, conduct performance reviews, and assist with goal setting
• Maintain oversight of the Clinical Trial Recruitment Team, delegating studies to team members
• Identify potential areas of inefficiencies and implement process improvements
• Own the revision and/or development process of applicable SOPs and Work Instructions
• Track interactions with site study teams, alerting the clinical team of successes and potential risks
• Participate in Booster Visits to drive recruitment and retention discussions, as applicable
• Develop and manage the recruitment and retention budget for new clinical studies, maintain budget oversight on all clinical studies
• Meet with the cross-departmental team leads to discuss successes, areas of improvement, and team building opportunities
• Collaborate with Corporate Communications, Patient Advocacy, and/or Legal to identify potential synergies across departments to drive clinical recruitment strategies; develop and trademark study logos and brands, as appropriate; and proactively survey competitive landscape that may impact clinical trial recruitment
• Create standardized recruitment and retention processes that apply to study start-up, active studies, and study close-out

Requirements / Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required, master’s degree a plus. Degree in life sciences, health care or related discipline required
• 8+ years of experience in patient recruitment discipline in a biotech/pharmaceutical company, clinical research organization (CRO), or patient recruitment vendor required
• Digital marketing experience required
• Experience managing direct reports and teams
• Experience developing and managing recruitment and retention strategies on Phase I-IV studies
• Ability to work on site Monday, Tuesday & Thursday. We are unable to consider candidates who are looking for fully remote roles

Experience, Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge and understanding of FDA, GCP and ICH guidelines
• Knowledge and understanding of other Clinical Trial Operations functions, previous experience in Clinical Trial Coordinator a plus
• Knowledge of Clinical Trial Systems such as ePro, CTMS, Recruitment & Retention portals, etc.
• Must have strong organization and communication skills, be a team player yet function independently and comfortable interacting with vendors, investigational sites, and advocacy groups
• Experience creating recruitment materials and managing digital ad campaigns
• Experience tracking and managing project budgets
• Comfortable multi-tasking in a fast-paced small company environment and able to adjust workload based upon changing priorities
• Excellent team player: willingness and ability to fill functional gaps in a growing organization
• Experience providing mentorship and engaging in knowledge-sharing opportunities with cross-collaborative teams
• Ability to proactively identify potential problems and propose solutions
• Experience developing team onboarding materials and providing training to team members
• Experience managing performance and development of direct reports
• Experience authoring and developing SOPs and Work Instructions

The anticipated salary range for this role is $160,000 - $185,000. The salary offer will be based on a variety of factors, including experience, qualifications, internal equity and location. Axsome offers a competitive employment package that includes an annual bonus, significant equity and a generous benefits package.

Axsome is committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Axsome Therapeutics does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or third-party recruitment agencies and will not pay placement fees for unsolicited candidates that are sent to hiring managers, the HR team or other Axsome team members. Only approved vendors who have been explicitly asked to support a specific search will receive access to our Applicant Tracking System to submit candidates for consideration.