Description
At ICON Strategic Solutions, you will work in a sponsor-dedicated model, supported by ICON's global expertise.
The Manager, R&D Business Operations provides operational and analytical support to R&D business functions, with primary responsibility for the creation, generation, and management of purchase orders following contract execution.
Key Responsibilities:
- Create, generate, and manage purchase orders in Ariba/SAP following full contract execution, ensuring alignment with contract terms, budgets, and approved scopes of work in compliance with company policies and service level standard turnaround times.
- Translate contractual payment terms, milestones, and fee structures into accurate and compliant purchase order structures.
- Review executed agreements to ensure proper financial setup, including funding allocations, payment schedules, and budget tracking.
- Process and manage change orders, PO amendments, closures, and funding adjustments in accordance with contract modifications.
- Partner with R&D, Finance, and Strategic Sourcing to ensure timely PO issuance and resolution of system or budget discrepancies.
- Monitor purchase order lifecycle activities, including invoice matching, goods receipt confirmations, accrual support, and PO reconciliation.
- Ensure compliance with internal financial controls, delegation of authority policies, and procurement procedures prior to PO release.
- Serve as system subject matter expert (SME) for Ariba/SAP purchase order workflows and provide guidance to internal stakeholders.
- Train business partners on purchase requisition and PO processes, including proper documentation and system requirements.
- Facilitate weekly or monthly operational status meetings related to PO issuance, budget tracking, and financial metrics as appropriate.
- Generate reports and dashboards to track PO cycle times, open commitments, spend against budget, and operational KPIs.
- Support month-end and year-end close activities, including accrual validation and financial reconciliation.
Your Profile:
- Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
- Minimum 5 years of experience in pharmaceutical/biotech business operations, procurement operations, finance operations, or contract-to-PO management.
- Demonstrated experience creating and managing purchase orders within enterprise systems (e.g., SAP, Ariba).
- Strong understanding of procure-to-pay (P2P) processes, including requisitioning, PO generation, invoice matching, and accruals.
- Experience working cross-functionally with R&D, Finance, Strategic Sourcing, Legal, and Accounts Payable.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret contract financial terms and translate them into operational system requirements.
- Working knowledge of pharmaceutical/biotech regulatory and compliance considerations impacting vendor payments and financial controls.
- Ability to identify financial discrepancies or operational risks and escalate appropriately.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple purchase orders, vendors, and deadlines simultaneously.
Rewards & Benefits
- Competitive base salary and performance-related incentives
- Health and wellbeing programmes including medical, dental, and vision coverage where applicable
- Retirement and pension plans
- Life assurance and disability coverage
- Employee assistance programmes and wellbeing resources
- Learning and development opportunities through structured training and career pathways