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About the Role
As Director, Clinical Business Operations at Maze Therapeutics, you will partner with the Head of Clinical Operations and the Clinical Development organization to provide financial planning, budgeting, contracting, and operational business process direction for clinical trial execution. You will oversee study and program budgets, financial forecasting, vendor financial management, and clinical business operations across the development portfolio, helping to build scalable processes and provide financial insights for informed business decisions.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a strategic business partner to the Head of Clinical Operations, providing financial and operational guidance to the Clinical Development organization.
- Develop scalable business processes, governance models, and operational standards that improve forecasting accuracy, budget visibility, and operational quality and decision-making.
- Oversee Clinical Development's preferred vendor program by evaluating emerging vendors, establishing strategic partnerships, and maintaining a strong network of qualified providers.
- Establish standardized budgeting methodologies, templates, assumptions, and financial tools aligned with industry benchmarks and organizational needs.
- Develop dashboards and KPIs that provide visibility into budget performance, vendor spend, forecasting accuracy, contracting timelines, and operational efficiency.
- Oversee development of study budgets from protocol planning through study closeout, ensuring budgets appropriately reflect study objectives and operational requirements.
- Partner with Clinical Study Leads and Oversight Directors and Clinical Development Functional Leads to develop realistic financial forecasts and proactively manage study financial risks.
- Collaborate closely with Finance to support monthly accruals and forecasting, quarterly financial updates, annual operating plans, and long-range portfolio planning.
- Monitor study financial performance, identify budget variances, and develop mitigation strategies to maintain financial objectives.
- Prepare executive-level financial analyses, dashboards, and budget reporting to support portfolio and corporate decision-making.
- Ensure vendors maintain accurate change logs and communicate budget impacts in a timely and transparent manner where applicable.
- Facilitate negotiations for CRO, vendor, and clinical site budgets, balancing market competitiveness, operational requirements, study timelines, and organizational financial objectives.
- Partner with Legal to support negotiation and execution of Master Service Agreements (MSAs), work orders, study budgets, site budgets, change orders, and other clinical service agreements.
- Develop negotiation strategies, templates, and playbooks that establish organizational standards and improve consistency across studies.
- Serve as the Clinical Operations subject matter expert for financial negotiations, providing strategic guidance to Study Leads, Oversight Directors, and senior leadership.
- Maintain awareness of industry pricing trends and fair market value benchmarks to support competitive and fiscally responsible negotiations.
- Serve as the senior operational escalation point for CRO, vendor, and critical site performance issues.
- Develop and oversee financial governance for CROs, vendors, and central laboratories, ensuring budget adherence, accurate forecasting, and contractual compliance.
- Build collaborative relationships with strategic vendors that promote financial transparency, accountability, and high-quality execution.
- Partner with vendors to proactively identify financial risks and develop mitigation strategies before they impact study execution.
- Establish vendor performance metrics related to financial delivery, forecasting accuracy, invoice quality, and budget management.
- Support invoice review, financial reconciliation, and budget tracking throughout the lifecycle of each study.
- Builds communication channels across Maze for sharing information.
- Influences Senior Management decisions through persuasive arguments.
- Respectfully addresses differing opinions leading to support of decision.
- Champions partnerships and connections across Maze.
- Proactively addresses issues that could result in breakdown of team relationships.
- Spotlights team and individual contributions in public forums.
- Addresses gaps and leverages strengths to get best results.
- Maintains a steadying presence and clarifies priorities during change.
- Anticipates and removes barriers that put functional/corporate goals at risk.
- Removes barriers to staff development and empowers them to make their own decisions.
- Stays current on industry trends and keeps direct-reports prepared and responsive.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Life Sciences, Healthcare Administration, or a related field.
- 10–12+ years of experience in Clinical Business Operations, Clinical Finance, Strategic Sourcing, Clinical Operations, or related business roles within biotechnology, pharmaceutical, or CRO organizations.
- Extensive experience developing and managing global clinical trial budgets across all phases of clinical development.
- Demonstrated success negotiating CRO, vendor, and investigator site budgets, including Master Service Agreements, work orders, study budgets, site budgets, and change orders.
- Strong understanding of clinical development, outsourcing models, fair market value methodologies, vendor contracting, and financial planning processes.
- Experience partnering closely with Finance on monthly accruals and forecasting, annual budgeting, long-range planning, and financial governance.
- Strong financial acumen with demonstrated ability to analyze complex financial data and translate insights into strategic business recommendations.
- Experience establishing scalable business processes, templates, governance models, and operational standards within a growing organization.
- Exceptional negotiation, project management, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams, external partners, and executive leadership.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving biotech environment while managing multiple priorities with a strong sense of urgency.
- Willing to occasionally travel to support vendor relationship needs.
Skills
- Financial Planning
- Budgeting
- Contracting
- Operational Business Processes
- Financial Forecasting
- Vendor Financial Management
- Clinical Trial Execution
- Budget Management
- Financial Analysis
- Negotiation
- Project Management
- Organizational Skills
- Problem-Solving
- Communication
- Interpersonal Skills
- Influencing
- Cross-functional Team Collaboration
- Executive Leadership Engagement
- Strategic Sourcing
- Outsourcing Models
- Fair Market Value Methodologies
- Vendor Contracting
- Financial Governance
- Business Process Development
- Governance Models
- Operational Standards
- Dashboard Development
- KPI Development
- Change Order Management
- Master Service Agreements (MSAs)
- Work Orders
- Site Budgets
- Change Orders
- Clinical Service Agreements
- Negotiation Strategies
- Templates
- Playbooks
- Subject Matter Expertise
- Industry Pricing Trends
- Fair Market Value Benchmarks
- Escalation Management
- Invoice Review
- Financial Reconciliation
- Budget Tracking
Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
Work Type
- Hybrid
- Full-time
Experience Level
- Director
- 10-12+ years of experience
Education Level
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Life Sciences, Healthcare Administration, or a related field.
Salary/Compensations
- $222,000 - $271,000
- Eligible for an annual performance bonus
Benefits
- Competitive medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Mental health offerings
- Equity incentive plan
- 401(k) program with employer match
- Generous holiday and PTO policy
About the Company
- Maze Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company harnessing human genetics to develop precision medicines for patients with kidney and metabolic diseases.
- Our clinical pipeline is anchored by two small molecule programs: MZE829, an APOL1 inhibitor for patients with APOL1‑mediated kidney disease, and MZE782, which targets genetic drivers of disease in phenylketonuria (PKU) and chronic kidney disease.
- We are also advancing a preclinical pipeline through our Compass platform, which links human genetic variants to the biological pathways that drive disease.
- Maze is comprised of a team of passionate and creative professionals committed to discovering and delivering transformative medicines to patients suffering from both rare and common genetic diseases.
- We are fostering a culture that encourages vision, initiative and the development of talent.
- Our supportive work environment inspires creative thinking and freedom of expression, resulting in a stimulating atmosphere where people enjoy coming to work.
- While we have a passion for advanced science and pride ourselves on excellence in execution, ultimately, everything we do is about patients.
- Further Together – Our path is paved with challenges, but with resilience and a team-first mentality, we’ll achieve our mission.
- Impact Obsessed – We embrace the bold, take calculated risks, and learn from our mistakes to improve the lives of others.
- Stand True – Our integrity is foundational; it guides us no matter the obstacle.