5-10

Senior Budget Lead, Proposals

4/24/2026

The Senior Budget Lead is responsible for developing clinical trial budgets and leading cost and pricing strategies for sponsor proposals. They also design budgeting tools, provide training to team members, and ensure financial compliance with organizational policies.

Working Hours

40 hours/week

Company Size

201-500 employees

Language

English

Visa Sponsorship

About The Company

TOTAL TRIALS is a full-service contract research organization (CRO) with the global expertise, responsive approaches and proven solutions to manage complex clinical research around the world. Benefitting from our 50+ year history of clinical research, our team of approximately 450 global staff has worked on studies in nearly 75 countries. As problem solvers, forward thinkers and on-the-ground members of those communities, we’re dedicated to helping you find solutions to the research challenges that have kept life-saving medicines from at-risk populations. Visit fhiclinical.com or contact us at info@fhiclinical.com or 919.321.3321 to learn how we can put our diverse clinical and operational expertise to work for you.

About the Role

Summary of the position:

The Senior Budget Lead, Proposals will be responsible for developing clinical trial budgets in response to sponsor requests for proposals. This includes determining, with input from others, which budget template and approach will be used for each proposal. Develops a costing response to the sponsor’s request using supplied specifications, making assumptions, and working closely with other team members, including the technical lead, subject matter experts, writers, proposal managers, and contracts department. Works with external partners and vendors as needed to estimate costs. Designs and develops budgeting and analytical tools, promotes adoption of the tools, and establishes strong customer relationships (both internal and external).

Essential functions:

Be an integrated and critical member of the proposal team ensuring the budget is in line with the proposal work plan/scope, cost recovery, funder requirements, and compliance with FHI Clinical policy and guidance.
Lead cost and pricing strategies and risk analysis and lead the budget development process for bids and proposals.
Understands budget planning tools and techniques to manage the proposal budget workflow.
Supports the Strategic Pricing Director in developing new budgeting tools as well as making adjustments to currently existing budgeting tools.
Proposes to executive team and develops award driven incentive packages for clinical trial and/or program Sponsor budgets.
Maps budgets to sponsor provided templates as required.
Provides training when needed to junior strategic pricing team and others as required, on budget templates and budgeting processes.
Participates in organizational meetings to ensure accurate setup of financial planning and cost structure for proposal budget.
Develops ad-hoc reports to respond to requests for budgetary information.
Pre-award site budgeting

Knowledge, skills, and abilities:

Must have excellent skills with budgeting tools, including excel based tools.
Must demonstrate excellent analytical, problem solving, and organizational skills.
Has in-depth technical knowledge and can connect the financial and nonfinancial information to generate insights and recommendations for program effectiveness.
Ability to communicate in an articulate and professional manner with clients and staff.
Demonstrates good judgment in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions.
Networks with senior internal and external personnel as needed to improve budgeting tools and approaches.
Supports technology applications by exploring and adapting to changing technologies.
Proactively verifies problem resolution. Independently resolves routine and non-routine
problems.
Makes suggestions for technical and functional modifications to resolve current issues or prevent future problems

Position Requirements

Education: Bachelor's Degree or its International Equivalent in Information Systems, Finance, Business Administration or Related Field.

Preferred Job-related Experience: Typically requires a minimum 5 - 8 years of progressively responsible financial costing experience. Experienced using systems to produce budgets and other costing exercises and reports. Proficiency in spreadsheet software required.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications: Familiar with cost estimating models, basic modeling and simulation principles, basic operations research methods, particularly statistical data analysis preferred. Experience in CRO and/or pharmaceutical business development preferred.

Preferences: None.

Special Position Requirements: None.

Physical Expectations:

Typical office environment.
Ability to spend long hours looking at computer screen and doing repetitive work on a
keyboard.
Ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time.
Ability to lift 5 - 50 lbs.

Travel Requirements:

Expected travel time is less than 10% for this position.

This job description is not intended to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned with or without notice.

Key Skills

BudgetingFinancial costingClinical trial budgetsExcelAnalytical skillsProblem solvingStrategic pricingRisk analysisCost recoveryData analysisProposal developmentProject managementCommunicationFinancial planningReporting