GCO Budget Manager

The GCO Budget Manager is responsible for providing each assigned Clinical Trial Team (CTT)
accurate actual spend vs. endorsed budget as per Operational Execution Plan (OEP) requirements.
He / She may be assigned to a portfolio of trials with low to medium complexity, volume and
priority (in trial set-up, lifetime costs, etc.).
He / She ensures at all points of time to reflect a realistic study level budget forecast, providing
organization (mainly within CTT and Budget Practice Area) a clear picture of planned monthly /
quarterly and yearly spending.
He / She is accountable to align reports with assigned OEP requirements as well as ensure
adherence with GCO governance (e.g., Operational Excellence Board (OEB)) as well as align with
Novartis financial toll gates (e.g., IMB, Investment Committee).
He / She is acting as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Budget Practice Area related products,
supporting project teams to improve processes, systems, and governance.

• Deliver status updates, realistic forecasts, and consolidated timely reports (monthly, quarterly, lifetime) for input into OEP and financial slide decks which depicts endorsed trial lifetime vs. actual spend.
• Highlight and analyze variance in spend (actuals vs forecast) and provide clear rationale and latest outlook; support process enhancements to minimize variances in spend.
• Update of clinical work packages in source systems (Dynamo, Horizon).
• Manage scope changes from endorsed lifetime spend, accurately represent rationale and root causes, and prepare for GCO financial governance board presentations.
• Identify opportunities for cost avoidance on trial level.
• Ensure compliance with GDD operational and forecasting processes.

• Support the preparation and development of training materials, as needed.
• Maintain functional excellence in training, implementation, and compliance.
• May be assigned as deputy for Budget Associate Director, as needed.

• Bachelor s degree in life science and / or business.
• Fluent English, oral and written.
• 2 to 4 years of pharmaceutical industry or CRO experience.
• Good clinical and budgeting / Finance experience in Pharma or CRO with basic understanding of clinical trial development.
• Proven ability to understand financial reporting requirements as well as associated technology that improves accuracy of tracking.
• Basic experience developing technology-based products or services such as dashboards and analytical insights.

Budget Management, Clinical Trials, Negotiation Skills, Process Improvement, Project Planning, Vendor Management, Waterfall Model