How to hire a clinical trials specialist

How to hire a clinical trials specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step clinical trials specialist 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 trials specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new clinical trials specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a clinical trials specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a clinical trials specialist, 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

   A clinical trials specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, clinical trials specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of clinical trials specialists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Clinical Trials Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Clinical Trials Specialist	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.	$22-57
   Research Project Coordinator	Research Project Coordinators take on a lead role in maintaining and creating processes that support the execution of a research project. Their duties include researching governance requirements, preparing for contract bidding, manage budgeting of a project to meet a specified timeline, and present findings of a project to all stakeholders involved... Show more	$17-31
   Research Administrator	A research administrator oversees the progress of research programs, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities mostly revolve around devising strategies to optimize processes, coordinating different departments, setting goals and objectives, managing the schedule and budgets, and maintaining records of all transactions... Show more	$19-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Clinical Research
   • Clinical Trials
   • Informed Consent
   • FDA
   • Consent Forms
   • Oncology
   • Clinical Operations
   • CRO
   • TMF
   • Ich
   • GCP
   • Institutional Review
   • Data Entry

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all clinical data and subject source documentation through the EDC system to verify compliance and subject eligibility.
   • Lead study data management activities for oncology trials in preparation for study close-out.
   • Review clinical study documents for completeness and compliance with protocol, FDA regulations, ICH and GCP guidelines.
   • Perform routine quality control (QC) of TMF and submit documents to ensure overall quality.
   • Review ICF and study reports and find discrepancies that are missed by CRO management.
   • Collect, review, approve and track in CTMS regulatory essential start-up and amendment documents.

   More clinical trials specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your clinical trials specialist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A clinical trials specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a clinical trials specialist in Kansas may be lower than in California, and an entry-level clinical trials specialist usually earns less than a senior-level clinical trials specialist. Additionally, a clinical trials specialist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average clinical trials specialist salary

   $74,910yearly

   $36.01 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level clinical trials specialist salary

   $46,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average clinical trials specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$113,063	$54
   2	Washington	$100,612	$48
   3	Massachusetts	$97,756	$47
   4	New York	$94,738	$46
   5	New Jersey	$94,475	$45
   6	Arizona	$83,941	$40
   7	Illinois	$80,937	$39
   8	Delaware	$80,765	$39
   9	Iowa	$76,127	$37
   10	Georgia	$75,170	$36
   11	Colorado	$73,636	$35
   12	North Carolina	$70,541	$34
   13	Ohio	$69,684	$34
   14	Maryland	$68,979	$33
   15	Pennsylvania	$68,478	$33
   16	Kansas	$61,846	$30
   17	Alabama	$59,646	$29

   Average clinical trials specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Exelixis	$141,992	$68.27	6
   2	Emergent BioSolutions	$132,431	$63.67
   3	Genentech	$123,087	$59.18	2
   4	Merck	$110,808	$53.27	1
   5	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$102,334	$49.20	17
   6	Moderna	$99,351	$47.76	1
   7	Abbott	$96,769	$46.52	225
   8	Parexel International	$96,424	$46.36	185
   9	Sharp HealthCare	$94,175	$45.28
   10	Syngenta	$89,068	$42.82
   11	Alere	$86,481	$41.58
   12	Sajix	$82,905	$39.86
   13	Kaiser Permanente	$82,742	$39.78	71
   14	Integrated Resources	$80,379	$38.64	107
   15	Randstad North America, Inc.	$79,589	$38.26
   16	Collab	$78,539	$37.76
   17	Eclaro	$78,262	$37.63
   18	Tata Group	$78,179	$37.59
   19	Merz Inc	$76,984	$37.01
   20	Vida Diagnostics	$75,120	$36.12

4. Writing a clinical trials specialist job description

   A job description for a clinical trials specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a clinical trials specialist job description:

   Clinical trials specialist 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

   To find the right clinical trials specialist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with clinical trials specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit clinical trials specialists who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit clinical trials specialists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   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 trials specialist

   Once you've selected the best clinical trials specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them 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 trials specialist. 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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