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Science and Research | Clinical Trial Manager

Clinical Trial Manager

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Clinical Trial Manager is responsible for planning and managing all aspects of an organization's program of clinical trials, usually for an organization undertaking pharmacological drug testing.

Job Outlook

There were 247 Clinical Trial Manager job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 3289 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Clinical Research Manager industry, which includes the Clinical Trial Manager career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:

Salary

Many new Clinical Trial Manager jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $161,450.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $155,765.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Clinical Trial Manager postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $129,901.

Education and Experience

Posted Clinical Trial Manager jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree75.92%
Master's Degree32.11%
Doctoral Degree14.32%
Other2.58%

Posted Clinical Trial Manager jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years14.35%
3 to 5 years50.45%
6 to 8 years26.75%
9+ years8.45%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Clinical Trial Manager positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Management (76.53%)
  • Operations (58.83%)
  • Communication (54.55%)
  • Leadership (46.43%)
  • Timelines (44.88%)
  • Research (33.99%)
  • Planning (31.47%)
  • Problem Solving (30.28%)
  • Detail Oriented (25.33%)
  • Microsoft Excel (25.3%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Clinical Trials (98.66%)
  • Clinical Research (52.24%)
  • Good Clinical Practices (GCP) (49.98%)
  • Pharmaceuticals (38.95%)
  • Project Management (44.86%)
  • Clinical Trial Management Systems (36.76%)
  • Auditing (21.12%)
  • Site Selection (14.05%)
  • Life Sciences (26.12%)
  • Drug Development (20.85%)
  • Oncology (24.2%)
  • Regulatory Documents (10.09%)
  • Finance (13.38%)
  • Biology (12.22%)
  • Trial Master File (12.04%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Informed Consent (25.72%)
  • Data Management (21.94%)
  • Pre-Clinical Development (16.95%)
  • Institutional Review Board (IRB) (10.67%)
  • Standard Operating Procedure (19.78%)
  • Biotechnology (19.08%)
  • Process Improvement (19.6%)
  • Customer Relationship Management (6.46%)
  • Business Operations (2.38%)
  • Regulatory Affairs (5.21%)
  • Milestones (Project Management) (13.29%)
  • Data Analysis (5.91%)
  • Pharmacovigilance (1.8%)
  • Conflict Management (2.56%)
  • Vendor Management (11.25%)
  • Good Documentation Practices (2.77%)
  • ICH Guidelines (18.13%)
  • Continuous Improvement Process (8.72%)
  • Clinical Study Reports (9.91%)
  • Electronic Data Capture (EDC) (13.14%)
  • Risk Management (12.13%)
  • Corrective And Preventive Action (CAPA) (7.89%)
  • Invoicing (12.01%)
  • Regulatory Requirements (12.59%)
  • Root Cause Analysis (1.22%)
  • Case Report Forms (10.09%)
  • Program Process Monitoring (1.98%)
  • Project Planning (5.3%)
  • Clinical Monitoring (7.47%)
  • Marketing (8.14%)
  • Clinical Study Design (6.77%)
  • FDA Regulations (7.65%)
  • Medical Affairs (7.13%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

  • Clinical Trials (99.81%)
  • Drug Development (21.09%)
  • Oncology (24.48%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Clinical Trial Manager skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Clinical Trial Coordinator
  • Clinical Trial Associate
  • Clinical Trial Operations Manager
  • Study Manager
  • Local Trial Manager
  • Sample Manager
  • Ophthalmologist
  • Pathways Intern
  • Study Start Up Specialist

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Clinical Trial Manager jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • Merck & Co. (133)
  • Medpace (108)
  • Actalent (104)
  • Sumitomo Pharma (102)
  • Johnson & Johnson (97)
  • IQVIA (90)
  • Takeda Pharmaceutical Company (60)
  • Beacon Hill Staffing Group (54)
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb (52)
  • Bausch Health (52)

North Carolina

  • Worldwide Clinical Trials (31)
  • Thermo Fisher Scientific (30)
  • IQVIA (21)
  • Syneos Health (16)
  • Actalent (13)
  • Atrium Health (10)
  • inVentiv Health (8)
  • Pfizer (6)
  • Quintiles (6)
  • Icon (5)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!