CRO and laboratory services businesses face a distinct set of hiring pressures: speed, regulatory scrutiny, delivery risk, and global talent competition. Vector has built its practice around these realities, with consultants who have worked inside organisations like Fortrea, ICON and Thermo Fisher.
We recruit across the full contract research and laboratory services landscape, from global CROs running multi-region clinical programmes through to bioanalytical, analytical, central lab, and specialist contract testing providers. We work with established global organisations, mid-market specialists, and emerging providers, hiring across every level from specialist contributors to C-suite.
Business development, key accounts, and commercial leadership.
Clinical operations, trial delivery, discovery, and pre-clinical talent.
Bioanalytical, analytical, central lab, and contract testing talent.
Regulatory, data, biostatistics, drug safety, and GxP quality professionals.
We operate on a global scale. We’ve hired talent globally, bringing the insight and localised strategies needed to hire effectively across the US, Europe, and APAC.
10 DAYS
average time to shortlist
28 days
intake call to offer
98%
offer acceptance rate
"Vector easily embedded themselves into our organisation and became an extension of our talent team. They took the time to understand our culture, priorities, and ambitions and were building the foundation of a global commercial function that could deliver on our growth plans."
Ché Bond | Former Chief Commercial Officer | Cerba Research
Commercial
Commercial talent is the most competitive and time-sensitive hire a CRO or lab services business makes. We have an active network of commercial leaders across global CROs, central labs, and specialist testing providers, and know what separates candidates who perform in a contract services environment from those who don't.
Functions we recruit across:
Business Development · Key Account Management · Strategic Partnerships · Proposals & Pricing · Sales · Marketing · Commercial Operations · Inside Sales · Commercial Leadership · Customer Service
Clinical & SCIENTIFIC
Clinical and scientific hiring underpins a CRO's ability to deliver. The talent pool is competitive, the rolesare complex, and a wrong hire carries real delivery and sponsor relationshiprisk. As CROs broaden into earlier-phase work, discovery and pre-clinical talent has become an increasingly important part of the picture.
Functions we recruit across:
Clinical Project Management · Clinical Trial Management · Site Management & Monitoring · Study Start-Up · Feasibility · Patient Recruitment · Vendor Management · Drug Discovery · Pre-Clinical · Translational Medicine · Pharmacology · Bioanalysis
Regulatory & Quality
Regulatory, data, and quality roles sit at the intersection of technical depth and strategic value. A gap in QA leadership or audit capability can threaten inspection readiness and sponsor trust. We recruit professionals who understand the GxP environment, covering GCP, GLP, and GMP, and the operational pressures CROs and lab services businesses face.
Functions we recruit across:
Regulatory Affairs · Medical Writing · Biostatistics · Data Management · Drug Safety & Pharmacovigilance · Statistical Programming · GCP Quality Assurance · GLP Quality Assurance · GMP Quality Assurance · Quality Systems · Audit ·Inspection Readiness · Compliance · Quality Leadership
Laboratory Services
Laboratory services is afast-growing, technically demanding part of the contract services market. Bioanalytical scientists, central lab operations leaders, method development specialists, and analytical QC professionals sit in genuinely competitive talent pools, with the right candidate often carrying deep experience in a specific assay platform, modality, or regulatory framework.
Functions we recruit across:
Bioanalytical Sciences· Analytical Development · Method Development & Validation · QC Testing · Stability · Microbiology · Central Lab Operations · Sample Management & Logistics · Lab Operations Leadership · Lab Directors · Site Heads · Scientific Affairs
Scalable recruitment
outsourcing
Flexible and scalable recruitment outsourcing solution. We embed our experienced talent specialists directly into your recruitment team - providing seamless hiring support to drive your organisation’s growth without the headaches.
Talent is pivotal to
accelerating innovation
Leveraging our deep market insights, expansive network, and recruitment expertise, we empower you to assemble the teams essential for nurturing ideas, achieving business objectives, and propelling your organisation to unprecedented success.
"Incredibly impactful and actionable"
"They quickly pinpoint areas of strength as well as areas where we needed to focus on building capabilities within our talent acquisition team. Investing this time and thought into the future of our business and the role of talent acquisition proved to be incredibly impactful and actionable."
SVP, Global Talent Acquisition
Syneos Commercial
Ready to talk?
Whether you're planning a search, dealing with an urgent vacancy, or thinking through a broader talent strategy, we're happy to have a straightforward conversation about what you're facing. No pitch, no obligation. Our consultants have worked inside the industry you're hiring for, so you'll get a direct perspective from the outset.
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