Vice President, Operational Finance; Clinical Research

Vice President, Operational Finance (Clinical Research)

Department: Finance & Accounting

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Alcanza Corporate

Reporting To: Jeff Irving

Alcanza is a growing multi‑site, multi‑phase clinical research company with a network of locations in AL, AZ, FL, GA, IL, MA, MI, MO, NV, SC, TX, VA, and Puerto Rico. We have established a strong presence across Phase I‑IV studies and several therapeutic areas including vaccine, neurology, dermatology, psychiatry, and general medicine. Join us as we continue to grow.

The Vice President of Operational Finance provides enterprise‑wide leadership of operational finance across a multi‑site clinical research network. This role owns the site profitability insights, cost and margin management, and operational KPI governance; partners closely with Operations leadership to translate study performance and patient journey metrics into financial outcomes; and leads the annual planning process, rolling forecasts, scenario and sensitivity analysis, and executive reporting.

The VP oversees FP&A and financial systems/ERP/BI to improve liquidity, working capital, and the cash conversion cycle, while supporting strategic initiatives such as acquisitions and de‑novo site openings.

• Serve as the senior finance partner to Operations leadership (COO/VPs), aligning operational goals with financial outcomes and advising on study portfolio decisions and capacity planning.
• Own the enterprise annual operating plan (AOP), quarterly reforecasts, and monthly performance reviews; ensure goals are measurable and cascaded to sites.

• Design and maintain an operational finance scorecard that integrates site/study metrics with financial results; provide actionable insights to accelerate site performance and mitigate risks.
• Ensure standardized processes and reporting across the network to support consistency, efficiency, and scale.

• Direct the development of annual budgets and consolidated forecasts across business units; implement rolling forecasts and variance analyses.
• Use scenario and sensitivity analyses to evaluate potential outcomes; translate insights into executive recommendations and corrective actions.

• Partner with Business Development and Contracts to evaluate study economics, set pricing guardrails, and improve contribution margins.
• Monitor profit drivers (mix, throughput, staffing, vendor costs) and lead margin improvement programs.

• Oversee optimization of core financial systems and data governance to improve accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.
• Strengthen internal controls, ensure accurate, timely, and complete financial reporting; coordinate external audits and lender reporting requirements.

• Oversee people management for assigned team, including interviewing, timecards, absence tracking/approvals, new‑hire orientation and training, performance appraisals, and other similar functions. Proactively identify and resolve issues and work to ensure successful team operations.
• Provide coaching and mentorship; promote cross‑functional collaboration with Clinical Operations, Patient Experience, Recruitment Ops, Technology & Data.

• Handle escalated inquiries or issues. Escalate issues as appropriate or needed.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory guidelines and company policies.
• Participate and present in team, department, management or site meetings.
• Maintain a positive, results‑oriented work environment, build partnerships within the team and across the organization at large, and model teamwork.
• Perform all other duties that may be requested or assigned.

Minimum Qualifications
: A bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting AND 10+ years of progressive finance leadership experience including multi‑site operational finance, and specifically within either clinical research or healthcare services, and within privity equity backed environments, is required. 2+ years of people…