An executive search for a clinical research organization.
A US-based clinical research organization (CRO) needed a Director of Quality Control. CORE® led the executive recruitment in the Philippines, and the new director was working 42 days after the client signed off on the requisition.
Senior clinical quality leaders are scarce in the Philippines, and the best of them are courted by global employers. Here is how the search was framed, run and brought to a close.
Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, the director sets the direction for clinical trial quality and oversees it in daily operations.
The job combines quality, compliance and people management, so the right person needed both technical depth and the ability to lead a team.
Minimum experience the client set for each area. The areas overlap.
The count began when the client approved the requisition and ended on the director’s first day.
Study the local market and align with the client on what the role needs.
Look under comparable titles and neighboring career paths.
Test candidates on quality expertise and on leadership.
Shortlisted candidates meet the client and work through a case study.
Agree the offer, secure acceptance and prepare for the start date.
Four conditions shaped this CRO leadership hiring effort before any candidate was contacted.
Director-level clinical quality is a field that is still maturing in the Philippines. A search of major job platforms surfaced about 60 profiles with both clinical operations and quality experience at director level. On closer review, only a few had run clinical trial quality end to end.
The client wanted an advanced degree, hands-on time as a Clinical Research Associate, people leadership and FDA inspection experience in one person. Very few candidates had all four.
Top local talent is regularly recruited by multinational pharmaceutical firms and CROs for global positions, backed by salaries and executive benefits that few employers can equal.
Working as a senior leader inside an international organization, the director had to suit the client’s leadership approach and culture as well as the technical profile. That fit often decides whether a senior hire stays.
A simple picture of the pool described above. The bars are not drawn to scale.
The recruitment team answered each condition with a specific action, from researching the market to supporting the first day.
The clinical research executive search closed with a Director of Quality Control in seat.
The client gained a quality leader who fit a demanding brief in a market where few people do. Early market research and agreed priorities gave the client a realistic view from the start. Support through the offer and onboarding meant the first day came on a schedule the client could plan around.
Few professionals in the Philippines bring clinical quality expertise, field experience and director-level leadership together, and many already hold global offers. CORE® studied that market before approaching anyone and agreed the priorities with the client. It assessed candidates for technical and leadership strength and stayed alongside the process from offer to first day. The new Director of Quality Control began work 42 days after the requisition was approved.
Research into titles, career paths, certifications, rival employers and pay gave the client a realistic view from the start.
Each candidate was assessed for technical quality skills and for leadership before the client saw a profile.
The recruitment team handled interviews, the offer, negotiation and the move into onboarding until the director started.
Planning a clinical research executive search for a Philippine team? Talk to CORE® about the experience the role needs, your target start date and how the search would be scoped and tracked.
Discuss your leadership requirementScope: this study describes one director-level search. It does not forecast the timeline or result of any other search, since each role depends on its own requirements.
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