Hiring Analytical Development talent for a CRO in a competitive market
How we helped Pharmaron quickly secure two Senior Scientists to keep a critical project on track.
2
Critical senior appointments
20
Days average time to hire
100
% of first candidates presented hired
Building Project Continuity Under Pressure
Pharmaron, a global CRO, had just been awarded a new client project when a key team member handed in their notice. The timing put them under real pressure — they needed to backfill the role quickly to avoid any disruption to project timelines.
While their TA and HR teams had tried to fill the role, they weren’t familiar with hiring in the Analytical Development space, and previous agencies had failed to deliver profiles of the right calibre. With deadlines looming, they needed a partner who truly understood this talent market.
The Challenge
Pharmaron faced a combination of factors that made this requirement particularly difficult to fill:
Location: The roles were based in Pennsylvania, which isn’t a major biotech hub like Boston or San Francisco. This meant there was a smaller local talent pool to draw from and fewer candidates actively looking for opportunities in the area.
CRO vs Biotech: Analytical Development professionals often prefer the end-to-end project exposure offered by biotechs, whereas CROs typically work on just one stage of a project — making it harder to persuade talent to move from biotech to a CRO environment.
Urgency: They had just secured a new client project and lost a key team member within weeks. Replacing them quickly was critical to avoid project delays and ensure timelines stayed on track.
The stakes were high: without replacing their team member quickly, they risked project delays and potentially missing key milestones.
Our Approach
We worked closely with Pharmaron’s hiring team and stakeholders to design a focused, fast-moving search:
Refining the Process
We helped them restructure their interview process from five stages down to three, cutting time to hire from around two months to just three weeks.
Targeted Search
Leveraging our deep network in Analytical Development, we focused on candidates from biotech backgrounds who could adapt quickly to a CRO setting.
Rapid Delivery
We prioritised speed without compromising quality, pre-screening candidates to ensure only the strongest profiles were submitted.
The Results
Our approach delivered immediate impact:
Specialist Roles Filled
2 key hires placed: Senior Scientist I – Bioanalytical and Senior Scientist I – Bioanalysis
Speed
For both roles, the hired candidate was the first person we presented.
Process Improvement
Their new 3-stage process is now used company-wide, helping reduce time to hire overall.
The Impact
Our delivery ensured Pharmaron had the expertise in place to complete their client project on time, protecting project timelines and maintaining client confidence.
By combining our market insight with a fast, structured approach, we helped them overcome location challenges, shift their internal processes, and hire niche Analytical Development talent in record time.
Key Placements Included
Senior Scientist I
Bioanalytical
Senior Scientist I
Bioanalysis
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