CROs face a distinct combination of hiring pressures: speed, regulatory scrutiny, delivery risk, and global talent competition. Vector has built its practice entirely around these realities, with consultants who have worked inside CROs and understand how roles operate in practice.
Commercial
Business development, account management, and commercial leadership from VP to C-suite.
Clinical operations
Clinical project managers, CTAs, site staff, and operations leadership across global trial portfolios.
Regulatory & scientific
Regulatory affairs, data management, biostatistics, medical writing, and drug safety.
Drug discovery
In vitro and in vivo specialists, pharmacology, and translational medicine talent.
Quality & compliance
GCP specialists, quality assurance, audit, and compliance roles across regulated environments.
Executive search
CEO, COO, CMO, and VP-level placements with evidence-led shortlists structured for comparison.
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.
5 DAYS
average time to shortlist
28 days
intake call to offer
100%
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 | Chief Commercial Officer | Cerba Research
Commercial & Strategic Growth
Commercial talent is frequently the most competitive and time-sensitive hire a CRO makes. Whether you're entering a new therapeutic area, expanding a BD team, or filling a senior leadership vacancy, delays in commercial hiring have a direct impact on pipeline and revenue. We have an active network of commercial leaders across global CROs and understand what separates candidates who can perform in a CRO environment from those who cannot.
Clinical operations & trial delivery
Clinical operations hiring underpins a CRO's ability to deliver. The talent pool is competitive, the roles are operationally complex, and a wrong hire carries real delivery and sponsor relationship risk. We lead this practice with over twenty years of experience in pharmaceutical recruitment, including in-house talent acquisition within a large global CRO. That background shapes how we assess candidates and how we advise clients on where the genuine capability gaps lie.
Drug discovery & pre-clinical
As CROs broaden their service offerings into earlier-phase work, discovery and pre-clinical talent has become an increasingly important part of the hiring picture. These candidates combine scientific rigour with practical delivery experience, and sourcing them requires a network that spans both academia and industry. We support CROs hiring across in vitro and in vivo programmes, translational medicine, and research operations.
Regulatory & scientific functions
Regulatory, data, and scientific roles sit at the intersection of technical depth and strategic value. These hires are often critical to study integrity, submission timelines, and client confidence. We work across the evidence and regulatory spectrum, from specialist individual contributors to function heads, and we understand the specific technical and regulatory frameworks that candidates in this space need to navigate.
Quality
& GCP compliance
Quality and compliance hires carry outsized risk in a CRO context. A gap in QA leadership or audit capability can threaten inspection readiness, sponsor confidence, and study integrity. We recruit quality professionals who understand the GCP environment and the specific operational pressures CROs face — not generalist quality candidates from adjacent industries who need significant orientation time.
Executive & leadership search
Quality and compliance hires carry outsized risk in a CRO context. A gap in QA leadership or audit capability can threaten inspection readiness, sponsor confidence, and study integrity. We recruit quality professionals who understand the GCP environment and the specific operational pressures CROs face — not generalist quality candidates from adjacent industries who need significant orientation time.
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.
"Vector have become a valuable partner"
"Vector have become a valuable partner and played a key part in our growth strategy. We worked together when we were a much smaller business, and they have grown with us, delivering a variety of talent mandates, from delivering difficult leadership searches and talent development. Vector come with an exceptional network and a deep understanding of how CDMO businesses work from within. They have been a key enabler for Bora over the years."
CEO and Chairman
Bora Pharmaceuticals
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