Head of Research Delivery

Head of Research Delivery – Role Definition

Purpose of the Role

The Head of Research Delivery is a senior, client-facing leader responsible for delivering high-quality research programs and leading research teams across projects and accounts.

The Head of Research Delivery is accountable for how research work gets delivered across the organization – ensuring efficient, predictable, and scalable execution through clear ownership, effective resourcing, and streamlined ways of working.

This role owns and actively drives how research delivery operates in practice, including the systems, workflows, and team structures that enable successful execution.

It maintains accountability for delivery performance across projects (on time, on budget, on value), improving how work flows across teams, reducing unnecessary handoffs, and ensuring projects are set up for success from the start.

The Head of Research Delivery plays a critical role in enabling scale by simplifying how we work, increasing visibility across teams, and ensuring delivery models support growth without adding complexity or requiring proportional increases in effort.

 

Scope of Role

The Head of Research Delivery is accountable for:

• Senior oversight on key client accounts, ensuring delivery is aligned to client expectations and escalations are effectively managed
• Direct line management of a team of researchers (level dependent on structure), with responsibility for performance, development, and team effectiveness
• Staffing and resource allocation across all research projects and programs
• Capacity planning and workload visibility across teams and regions
• Design and optimization of end-to-end delivery workflows, including ownership, handoffs, and team interfaces
• Delivery performance across the portfolio (on time, on budget, on value), with clear accountability and visibility
• Reduction of operational complexity, including unnecessary coordination, duplicated effort, and unclear ownership
• Implementation and consistent application of standardized ways of working
• Alignment of delivery processes with Sales, Operations, and Innovation to ensure smooth and predictable execution

 

Key Responsibilities

Achiever’s Paradise (Clarity, Ownership & Team Enablement)

Establish clear ownership, roles, and responsibilities across projects to reduce ambiguity and duplication of effortCreate visibility into team capacity and workload to support balanced, sustainable deliveryEnable Research teams to operate effectively by reducing unnecessary coordination and operational frictionFoster a culture of accountability around delivery discipline, ensuring teams are clear on expectations and ways of workingProvide direct leadership and line management to team members, including performance management, coaching, and developmentBuild a strong delivery-focused team culture with clear expectations and accountability

Business Value – Reliable, High-Quality Delivery

• Maintain accountability for delivery across projects, ensuring teams are supported to execute effectively and step in where needed to drive outcomes
• Actively engage in complex or high-priority projects where needed to ensure successful delivery
• Ensure projects are set up for success from the start, with clear scope, ownership, and resourcing
• Oversee delivery performance across the portfolio, ensuring consistency in how work is executed
• Partner with Research Excellence to ensure delivery enables high-quality outputs and client-ready insights
• Identify and address systemic delivery issues that impact consistency, predictability, or client experience
• Support alignment between delivery approach and client needs, ensuring feasibility and execution are realistic

 

Cost Efficiency – Simplified and Efficient Ways of Working

• Reduce operational complexity by simplifying workflows, minimizing unnecessary handoffs, and improving coordination across teams
• Improve efficiency of delivery through better resource allocation, planning, and workload management
• Identify and eliminate sources of inefficiency, including duplicated effort, unclear ownership, and unnecessary delays
• Ensure standardized ways of working are applied consistently across teams and projects
• Partner with Innovation to embed tools and workflows that improve efficiency without adding complexity

 

Revenue – Predictable Delivery & Execution Discipline

• Ensure delivery predictability by improving milestone discipline and visibility across projects
• Partner with Sales and Research leaders to ensure scope, timelines, and resourcing are aligned upfront and set projects up for success
• Reduce delivery risk by identifying and addressing issues early, supporting reliable project execution
• Support accurate forecasting through clear visibility into project status, capacity, and delivery timelines
• Contribute to strong client experience by ensuring delivery is consistent, reliable, and aligned to expectations

 

Scale Readiness – Fit-to-Scale Delivery Models

• Design and evolve delivery models that support growth without linear increases in cost or effort
• Ensure workflows, resourcing structures, and team interfaces are scalable and repeatable
• Partner with Innovation to translate new tools and approaches into practical, adoptable ways of working
• Drive consistency in how work is delivered across regions, teams, and project types
• Continuously assess and improve how work flows across Research, Sales, and Operations to remove friction and improve scalability

 

What Success Looks Like in 12 Months

If successful in role, the Head of Research Delivery will have:

• Clear ownership and accountability across projects, with reduced ambiguity in how work is delivered
• Clear visibility into capacity, workload, and staffing across teams, enabling more effective resource allocation
• Improved delivery predictability, with fewer delays and clearer ownership across projects
• Stronger senior presence on projects, with effective handling of complex delivery challenges and client escalations
• Simplified ways of working, with reduced handoffs and more streamlined workflows across Research, Sales and Operations
• Greater consistency in how projects are set up and executed, leading to smoother delivery and fewer escalations
• Research teams spending less time on coordination and administrative overhead, with more focus on high-value work
• Delivery models that are demonstrably more scalable, supporting growth without proportional increases in effort or complexity

 

Experience & Capabilities

10+ years’ experience in healthcare/biopharma market research or a related fieldStrong understanding of end-to-end research delivery, including project setup, execution, and cross-functional coordinationProven ability to manage complexity across multiple projects, teams, or portfoliosExperience improving workflows, resourcing models, or operational processes to increase efficiency and scalabilityStrong organizational and problem-solving skills, with the ability to operate effectively across multiple stakeholdersClear, structured communicator with the ability to drive alignment and clarity across teams

• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment with changing priorities
• Demonstrated ability to balance delivery performance with team sustainability and workload management