Director of Clinical Trials

The Opportunity

1Day Sooner advances trials, technologies, and policies by representing people who participate in medical studies to fight infectious disease. Our Cooperative Participant Organization (CPO) launched in September 2025 to support the world’s most impactful trials and those who want to participate in them. Since starting from four pilot collaborations, the organization has more than doubled supporting study teams and initiatives at major universities across the globe including University of Oxford, Johns Hopkins University, and Malawi Liverpool Wellcome including work on Shigella, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis. 

The Director of Clinical Trials will set the program’s strategy and scope, ensure the success of its collaborations, and lead a team of 2–3 staff, expected to include a research lead, volunteer coordinator, and one or more clinical operations leads. This is a senior, hands-on role combining portfolio leadership, scientific judgment, external partnership management, and team development with some direct work with trials and trial teams.

Key Information

• How to apply: Fill out our Airtable application form. 
• Role type: Full-time, remote – 1Day Sooner has no offices. Travel up to 10% of the time. 
• Reports to: Josh Morrison, CEO
• Location & work eligibility: We are open to candidates globally. If located outside the US, you would be employed through an international Employer of Record (EOR).
• Compensation: Depending on background and experience, we expect salary to fall in the range of $130,000 – $200,000 for someone hired within the US; elsewhere the salary may be adjusted depending on local benefits and employment regulations but is expected to be equitable to this range in the local currency.
• Benefits: 
  • Option A — US: Our benefits package includes: generous health and wellness benefits through an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) for you and your family; 401(k) match up to 6%; 15 vacation days plus federal holidays and an office closure between Christmas and New Year’s; 15 fully paid sick days; 5 paid days of professional development leave; parental and bereavement leave; and a professional development stipend.
  • Option B — International (EOR): Benefits depend on local requirements and the package available through the employer of record. 
• Trial period: Per our standard practice for external hiring, the position includes an initial 4-month trial period. During that period, the employee receives 1.25x their normal salary (as compensation for the uncertainty of future employment) until a decision is made whether to bring the employee on permanently. There would be a formal check-in at 4 weeks and 8 weeks, with the 8-week check-in serving as the most likely time we would make a long-term commitment. If we decide to discontinue employment, there would be an additional 8 weeks’ notice at the trial-period compensation level.
• Start date: Candidates must be able to start before or during January 2027.

Position Responsibilities

• Set objectives and high-level goals for the CPO program together with the President, then work with full autonomy to determine how to achieve them.
• Oversee and expand a portfolio of collaborations with high-impact studies, including allocating staff time, managing resources, and developing budgets to support each collaboration.
• Ensure that for each of our collaborators, the CPO improves at least one of their quality, speed, or cost.
• Oversee internal research, including 1Day Sooner-led studies and trials, and ensure they meet a high standard of quality and rigor.
• Build trusted relationships with investigators, research institutions, subject-matter experts, and other external stakeholders; represent the CPO and provide scientific input.
• Monitor global clinical trial regulation and infectious disease research to identify studies or trial opportunities that could materially advance intervention development or generate unusually high public-health value.
• Develop internal tools and scalable resources for staff, volunteers, collaborators, and study participants; manage an annual discretionary program budget of approximately $200,000.
• Contribute to scientific and ethics publications related to research projects and high-impact studies.
• Manage, coach, and support the career development of direct reports, including staff responsible for volunteer coordination and clinical operations.
• Coordinate closely with colleagues working in policy, fundraising, and communications.

What Success Might Look Like

• By week 8: Become familiar with all existing collaborations and their disease areas; review internal projects and study plans;  identify at least one internal resource or scalable tool to support the CPO team, our volunteers, or our collaborators. 
• By month 6: Set and make progress towards key quarterly goals; add 2-4 new collaborators, 
• Throughout: Direct reports are well supported, collaborators receive reliable and high-quality assistance, and the program is operating with clear priorities.

What We’re Looking For

You don’t need to check every box, but strong candidates will have many of the following:

• Mission-driven: You are motivated by 1Day’s mission, vision, and values and excited about speeding and supporting the world’s most impactful clinical trials and those interested in participating in them.
• 10+ years of professional experience in clinical trial research, research operations, or science-driven nonprofit work.
• Program and people leadership: Experience setting priorities, managing a portfolio of work, allocating resources, and developing staff in an ambiguous or fast-changing environment.
• External collaboration: A record of building and expanding relationships within the research community, especially with academic institutions, and working effectively across geographic and cultural boundaries.
• Scientific judgment: Ability to independently research and synthesize evidence across disciplines such as engineering, virology, vaccinology, global health, and pandemic preparedness.
• Scientific communication: Ability to write scientific abstracts and papers and to translate technical information for study participants, colleagues, journalists, and public audiences through formats such as blog posts and social media.

Bonus (not required):

• Experience in patient advocacy organizations. 
• Experience in a small organization (under 50 people). 
• Experience on clinical trial study teams.

If this sounds like you, please apply now!

Equal opportunity & accommodations

Consistent with federal, state, and local law, we are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, Veteran status, or other protected category. Please let us know what accommodations you might need when applying or if asked to interview by emailing jobs@1daysooner.org.

Further resources/reference documents:

You can learn more about our Cooperative Participant Organization (CPO) here including case studies of what our collaborator support can look like.