How to hire a clinical project manager

How to hire a clinical project manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step clinical project manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a clinical project manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new clinical project manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a clinical project manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a clinical project manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect clinical project manager also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of clinical project managers.

   Type of Clinical Project Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Clinical Project Manager	Natural sciences managers supervise the work of scientists, including chemists, physicists, and biologists. They direct activities related to research and development, and coordinate activities such as testing, quality control, and production.	$35-65
   Research Nurse	A research nurse specializes in conducting studies and scientific research for healthcare and medical development. They may work for medical facilities, private clinics, learning institutions, and government agencies... Show more	$18-35
   Research Coordinator	A research coordinator is responsible for assisting the development of research data from clinical trials and laboratory investigations under the supervision of a lead researcher or a research supervisor. In some cases, research coordinators conduct field investigations and analyze existing research materials upon understanding the scope and limitations of the study... Show more	$16-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Manage Cross
   • Patients
   • Clinical Research
   • Project Management
   • Clinical Trials
   • Oversight
   • CRO
   • FDA
   • Clinical Operations
   • Data Management
   • Clinical Project
   • Process Improvement
   • Ich
   • GCP

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop, manage, motivate and ensure professional development of project staff (13 CRAs).
   • Manage domestic and international oncology clinical study sites.
   • Manage multiple pharmaceutical studies ensuring compliance with FDA guidelines.
   • Manage the operational aspects and execution of clinical studies focusing on oncology.
   • Supervise rotating team of CRA's contract with the CRO, educating on therapeutic area, and ensuring ICH GCP compliance.
   • Ensure GCP / ICH regulatory compliance on studies, preventing study deviations and provide swift resolutions to possible violations.

   More clinical project manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your clinical project manager job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A clinical project manager can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, clinical project managers' average salary in oklahoma is 28% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level clinical project managers 46% less than senior-level clinical project managers.
   • Certifications. A clinical project manager with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a clinical project manager's salary.

   Average clinical project manager salary

   $100,510yearly

   $48.32 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level clinical project manager salary

   $74,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average clinical project manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$121,099	$58
   2	Massachusetts	$108,365	$52
   3	New York	$105,648	$51
   4	New Hampshire	$103,396	$50
   5	Maryland	$102,023	$49
   6	Washington	$101,922	$49
   7	Vermont	$100,683	$48
   8	Delaware	$99,943	$48
   9	Texas	$99,386	$48
   10	Pennsylvania	$98,932	$48
   11	New Jersey	$98,005	$47
   12	North Carolina	$95,658	$46
   13	Michigan	$95,386	$46
   14	Indiana	$95,112	$46
   15	Florida	$93,160	$45
   16	Illinois	$93,138	$45
   17	Minnesota	$92,952	$45
   18	Nebraska	$92,634	$45
   19	Ohio	$91,180	$44
   20	Virginia	$88,392	$43

   Average clinical project manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Intuitive Surgical	$126,151	$60.65	30
   2	Molina Healthcare	$120,737	$58.05	301
   3	Hoffmann-LA Roche Inc	$116,923	$56.21	3
   4	Fairview Health Services	$115,270	$55.42	54
   5	AbbVie	$115,024	$55.30	26
   6	The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD	$114,151	$54.88
   7	Parexel International	$112,229	$53.96	163
   8	Cerner	$110,873	$53.30
   9	Mayo Clinic	$110,739	$53.24	72
   10	Merck	$109,648	$52.72	5
   11	Abbott	$109,285	$52.54	320
   12	Stanford Children's Health	$109,116	$52.46
   13	Magellan Health	$108,805	$52.31	3
   14	Allergan plc	$107,203	$51.54	3
   15	Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings	$106,798	$51.35	141
   16	Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina	$106,569	$51.24
   17	Moderna	$106,382	$51.15	3
   18	ICONMA	$105,699	$50.82
   19	Northwell Health	$105,510	$50.73	71
   20	Oxford Solutions	$105,299	$50.62

4. Writing a clinical project manager job description

   A clinical project manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a clinical project manager job description:

   Clinical project manager job description example

   The Project Leadership function at Parexel is a critical part of driving success for our clients and advancing clinical research projects. As a part of the Global Project Leadership organization, your work has a direct impact on the projects, teams, and clients you work with, helping to deliver projects to the benefit of the patients we serve.
   
   Parexel currently has Home Based Project Leadership opportunities at levels to fit your experience and career goals.
   .
   You will oversee all elements of the trial to ensure project deliverables and client satisfaction are executed to the highest standards. You will actively lead cross functional Parexel and client teams by combining deep clinical research experience with insight into client pressures to develop the right solutions for the clients. Your experience running global clinical trials across all phases will help you achieve operational excellence through on time and on budget delivery to the highest quality. As member of the Project Leadership team, your goal is to exceed client expectations, and help your team achieve success by serving as a role model and coach.
   
   The Global Project Leadership department has dedicated members at all levels who are aligned to work with specific types of clients and deliver solutions customized to fit those client’s needs, working on projects spanning across all phases of global clinical trials, in a wide array of therapeutic areas. Successful candidates possess an undergraduate degree in a clinical or health related field: advanced degree preferred, along with a minimum, 2+ years' experience leading Global Clinical Trials in Project Management within a CRO (preferred), Biotech or Pharma company. These positions also require experience in project scheduling, managing resources and budgets and coordinating team activities, as well as experience with the full clinical development process through regulatory submissions. Additional years of experience will be required for the more senior roles of Senior Project Leader, Associate Project Director and Project Director.
   
   To excel in this role, flexibility, problem solving capabilities and strategic vision are qualities that propel our Project Leadership team member’s growth. In addition, you need to be detailed-oriented, computer proficient and possess superior interpersonal and organizational skills.
   
   Employment is contingent on disclosure of your COVID-19 vaccination status and, if relevant, proof of vaccination
   #LI-REMOTE

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right clinical project manager for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your clinical project manager job on Zippia to find and recruit clinical project manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with clinical project manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new clinical project manager

   Once you have selected a candidate for the clinical project manager position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new clinical project manager. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a clinical project manager?