Associate Director, Clinical Research Lead - Immunology & Neurodegeneration Cardiometabolic Health (Southcentral or Midwest)

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Purpose: 

The Clinical Research Lead (CRL) is a strategic, field-based scientific leader responsible for driving the execution of Lilly clinical trials through exceptional investigator engagement and site performance management. This role is pivotal in ensuring Lilly’s portfolio is prioritized at high-performing sites and that trials are delivered with quality, speed, and insight. 

CRLs combine deep therapeutic and scientific knowledge with strategic agility to influence investigators, elevate protocol understanding, and co-develop tailored enrollment strategies in existing and new therapeutic areas. They serve as trusted partners to investigators—building strong, enduring relationships that improve return on enrollment and position Lilly as the sponsor of choice. CRLs partner closely with internal Lilly teams (including Clinical Development and Medical Affairs) to ensure that insights from the field shape development strategies and that development strategies are delivered with operational excellence and scientific clarity. 

Where applicable the CRL may also represent Investigator Engagement with Regulatory and External Bodies and help shape the country-level clinical trial landscape. 

Primary Responsibilities: This job description is intended to provide a general overview of the job requirements at the time it was prepared. The job requirements of any position may change over time and may include additional responsibilities not specifically described in the job description. Consult with your supervision regarding your actual job responsibilities and any related duties that may be required for the position. 

Clinical Investigator Management 

• Accountable for the full spectrum of investigator engagement from identification and qualification through enrollment, and support database lock, and study closeout 

• Serve as a clinical trial scientific ambassador, ensuring investigators deeply understand protocol intent, scientific rationale, and patient eligibility requirements 

• Develop and sustain strategic, high-trust relationships with investigators that span trials and therapeutic areas 

• Influence enrollment by co-creating tailored recruitment strategies aligned with site capabilities, patient population realities, and study objectives 

• Proactively find opportunities to reach new patients, accelerate enrollment and increase impact at priority sites, including for example, novel site models, community-based research initiatives etc 

• Capture and elevate critical insights from sites to optimize feasibility, protocol design, and study conduct 

Clinical Trial Management 

• Lead site-level strategy and risk planning to ensure strong and predictable enrollment and data delivery 

• Leverage performance metrics to anticipate issues, intervene decisively, and maintain momentum toward clinical milestones 

• Drive inspection readiness as a continuous discipline across sites 

• Collaborate across functions and with vendor partners to resolve operational barriers, ensuring delivery with speed and quality 

• Maintain advanced understanding of local treatment paradigms and standard of care to influence strategic country/site s