Roche Posted September 17, 2026

Study Start-Up Lead (SSUL)

Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom FULL_TIME
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Roche is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections,  where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position

As a UK Study Start-Up Lead, you will drive and facilitate efficient study start-up processes to help us deliver clinical trials to patients. You'll enable innovative clinical trial delivery, address study start-up needs across various therapeutic areas, and ensure seamless trial execution for patients, investigators, and clinical site staff in the UK. Collaboration with local and global teams, as well as CROs, is essential to this role.

The Opportunity

In this role, you will be responsible for the efficient and compliant initiation of Roche-sponsored clinical trials. This includes developing and implementing effective start-up strategies, overseeing start-up operations, and driving process improvements at the country and site level while maintaining regulatory compliance. This role is internally known as the Study Start-Up Lead (SSUL).

Your key responsibilities will include:

Leading the country's study start-up strategy, focusing on efficiency, innovation, and collaboration with external stakeholders.

Overseeing start-up operations and ensuring timely and efficient site activation and regulatory compliance.

Engaging with government and institutional bodies, such as Ethics Boards and Health Authorities, to align on clinical trial policies and practices.

Providing comprehensive strategic planning and oversight for budgeting and contract management.

Identifying and driving opportunities for process automation, standardisation, and innovation.

You will champion inclusive behaviours in your team and provide opportunities for their growth and development.

Who you are

You are a professional with demonstrated experience in clinical trial start-up, regulatory submissions, and cross-functional collaboration. You have a strong understanding of the UK research and  regulatory environments, including REC/MHRA/HRA submission processes and site budget and contracting development.

The ideal candidate will also have:

A degree (MD, PhD, MA/MS, BA/BS) in life sciences or equivalent, with a postgraduate or master's degree being highly desirable.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Strong organisational, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities.

Fluency in both written and spoken English

We have multiple headcounts available for this role.

This role is based onsite at our Welwyn, United Kingdom office.

Relocation benefits are not available for this job posting.

We look forward to your application.

 

 

Who we are

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of Roche Products Ltd. At Roche Products we believe diversity drives innovation and we are committed to building a diverse and flexible working environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion or belief, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability or age. We recognise the importance of flexible working and will review all applicants’ requests with care. At Roche difference is valued and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where you are encouraged to bring your whole self to work.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Clinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Clinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 324 comparable Clinical Research roles across 25 biopharma companies.

324Comparable roles tracked
298Currently active
25Companies hiring similar roles
43Countries represented

Salary context

80 of 324 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Lab Assistant · IQVIA $25,300/yr – $52,700/yr
Highest disclosed · Senior Director, Head of Study Start Up · Merck KGaA $298,700/yr – $465,900/yr
Peer group range $39,000 – $382,300 (median $136,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 324 comparable roles

United States93
China40
United Kingdom27
Canada16
Brazil11
Netherlands10

+ 37 more countries

Seniority mix

219 of 324 peers have a known seniority level

Associate92
Senior56
Manager43
Senior Director8
Associate Director6
Principal6
Director4
Executive/VP2
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc2

Therapeutic area mix

21 of 324 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology14
Cardiovascular / CVRM2
Immunology2
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Neuroscience1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

40%similar
Merck KGaA Feltham, London, United Kingdom
Same function Same country
40%similar
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd Oxford, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Same country
40%similar
AbbVie Maidenhead, England
Same function Same country
40%similar
Neurocrine UK Limited Diurnal UK London, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Same country
40%similar
Ipsen Biopharm Ltd London (UK), United Kingdom
Same function Same country
40%similar
AbbVie Maidenhead, ENGLAND Associate
Same function Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Clinical Research job in the United Kingdom, and choose locations and companies.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

40%
Clinical Site Management Excellence Lead (all genders)
Merck KGaA · Feltham, London, United Kingdom · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Clinical Trials Manager
Neurocrine UK Limited Diurnal · UK London, United Kingdom · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
University Intern - Clinical Trial Coordinator (Winnersh, United Kingdom, Aberdeen City)
Boehringer Ingelheim · Winnersh, United Kingdom · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
CRA 2 - Single Sponsor Dedicated
IQVIA · Reading, United Kingdom · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.