Global Head - IT (CLIMS)

Global Head - IT (CLIMS)

Location(s) - Belgium, Netherlands or France

Are you the kind of IT leader who leads from the front rather than hides behind the technology?

Can you hold a global team accountable, push back when timelines don't stack up, and deliver an honest message to a CIO without flinching?

Do you want to join a business at a genuinely interesting point in its journey - early enough to shape it, established enough to have something real to work with?

At Cerba Research, we are committed to finding the best talent to join our team. We have partnered with Vector Talent to manage the recruitment process for this role. If you're interested in applying, please direct all applications and questions to Vector Talent.

The IT function at Cerba Research is looking for an Global Head - IT (CLIMS) to take ownership of one of the most critical technology domains in the business - the platforms that underpin how Cerba Research runs client trials, manages samples, and reports results. This is a senior leadership role reporting directly to the CIO, sitting at the heart of an IT transformation that is deliberately and consciously underway. The strategic direction is set and the team is in place - but the most consequential decisions are still ahead.

About Cerba Research

With over 40 years of clinical research expertise, Cerba Research has built a unique offering of services, which includes clinical trial management, specialty lab and biomarkers services and medical devices and diagnostics offerings.

Cerba Research supports clients from research and development all the way through clinical studies and commercialization of therapies. We combine the deep therapeutic understanding and agility of a specialist with the capacity, breadth and global reach of a central lab.

Our extensive experience in central and specialty laboratory services is key to our success, allowing us to provide clients with early scientific insights that optimize protocol development.

We provide key laboratory services to biopharma, government and not-for-profit organizations, supporting clinical trials. Our global accredited laboratory network and connected logistical infrastructure covers the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Australia and Africa.

Our aim is to transform clinical research to deliver the promise of precision and predictive medicine to help people live healthier lives. It's our passion, expertise, and commitment to quality that drive Cerba Research. We want to change the shape of clinical development, and help patients around the world get access to new treatments faster.

Why Join Us?

• Join at the Right Moment - the strategic direction is set but the big calls are still ahead. You'll have genuine influence over how this function evolves - not inheriting someone else's finished picture, but helping to build it.

• A Seat at the Top Table - Reporting directly to the CIO, this is a role with real authority. You'll be expected to push back when timelines aren't justified, say no when no is the right answer, and pass difficult messages upward without softening them beyond recognition.

• Lead People, Not Just Platforms - This isn't a role for a technologist who manages people on the side. It's a role for a leader who understands technology well enough to govern it, challenge it, and hold teams accountable for delivering it.

• Scale That Tests You - A 50+ person team spanning Belgium, Netherlands and France, plus offshore vendors in multiple delivery models. The complexity is real. So is the opportunity.

• Meaningful Work - The systems you govern directly support the delivery of clinical trials and the reporting of results that matter to patients. It's rare to find that combination of leadership challenge and genuine purpose in one role.

How You Will Add Value

As (IT) Director, CLIMS, you will contribute to:

• Governing the CLIMS landscape - holding accountability for the CTMS and LIMS application portfolio, ensuring delivery meets business and client commitments without needing to own every technical detail yourself

• Driving the transformation forward - picking up an IT journey that is 20-25% complete and providing the leadership, structure and momentum to move it forward with clarity and pace

• Leading and holding teams accountable - managing development, analysis and test functions across multiple sites and offshore partners, with high expectations and clear consequences

• Communicating with honesty - passing difficult messages up, down and sideways without distortion. Pushing back on timelines that aren't clear or justified. Saying no when the business needs to hear it.

• Managing strategic suppliers - governing offshore vendor relationships with rigour, holding partners to commitments, and knowing when to escalate

• Maintaining compliance and quality - ensuring SDLC practices, release governance and Cerba Research SOPs are embedded and followed across the function

About You

You're a leader first. You understand IT well enough to govern it and challenge it, but you're not here to be the smartest person in the technical room. You're here to make sure the right people are in the right roles, the work gets done, and the business hears the truth - even when the truth is inconvenient.

• Proven experience leading large, geographically distributed teams of 30+ FTE, across internal and offshore functions, with a track record of genuine accountability

• A background in senior IT leadership within complex, regulated environments - you don't need deep technical expertise, but you need to know enough to govern well and push back credibly

• Experience with CTMS and/or LIMS platforms is an advantage, but not a dealbreaker - what matters is whether you can get the best out of the people who do know them

• A track record of managing offshore vendors to high standards across managed capacity and managed service models

• The communication skills and personal credibility to operate at C-level, hold difficult conversations, and deliver honest messages without wrapping them in too much packaging

• An understanding of GxP and SDLC frameworks - enough to ensure compliance is embedded, not just documented

• Fluent in English - other languages are a bonus

Travel

Some travel required across the Belgian, Dutch and French office locations. Hybrid working with a minimum of 3 days per week on-site.