Clinical Finance Manager, China

Job Purpose

The Clinical Finance Manager serves as a key finance business partner supporting R&D China clinical trial activities and clinical development operations. The role strengthens financial governance, ensures robust financial controls and compliance, supports study financial planning and reporting, and drives continuous process improvement across the clinical trial portfolio.

Working closely with Clinical Operations, Global Clinical Finance, Study Teams, Country Heads, Tax, Treasury and Finance colleagues, the role provides financial insights and decision support to improve transparency, operational efficiency and resource allocation across R&D China.

This role will play a critical role in building and evolving Clinical Finance capabilities in China, including financial governance, study analytics, process optimization and partnership with Global Clinical Finance.

Typical Accountabilities

Clinical Finance Business Partnering and Study Portfolio Support

• Partner with Clinical Operations, Clinical Study Managers and Study Teams throughout the study lifecycle, covering the China component of global studies
• Provide finance guidance on study setup, planning, phasing, budget development, milestones, accruals and financial performance.
• Provide value-added insights to R&D China leadership to support portfolio prioritization and resource allocation.

Financial Governance, Controls and Audit Readiness

• Strengthen study financial governance through regular milestone, phasing and budget checks, management testing, mock audits and increased attestation requirements.
• Review balance sheet positions, subject fee budgets and study accruals, ensuring balances are accurate, supportable and audit-ready.
• Ensure compliance with AstraZeneca financial policies, accounting requirements and internal controls, and maintain high-quality supporting documentation.
• Investigate control gaps and drive corrective actions, including issues related to transaction allocation, general ledger coding, purchase orders and legacy data cleansing.
• Lead or support internal audits, external audits and inspection readiness activities relating to clinical finance.

ABACUS Transformation and Business User Support

• Act as an ABACUS Finance Super User for China studies, supporting system testing, implementation, go-live, hypercare and ongoing business adoption.
• Provide hands-on support for transaction mapping and matching, study setup and other operational processes in line with the ABACUS target operating model.
• Assess China-specific readiness requirements, identify process or system gaps and develop practical solutions before and after implementation.
• Support effective transition of Clinical Study Managers and other business users to ABACUS through training, guidance and issue resolution.
• Evaluate and address China-specific challenges, including incorrect general ledger assignment in purchase orders, invoicing delays and the resulting accrual implications.

Clinical Finance Analytics, Cost and Process Excellence

• Develop fit-for-purpose reporting and study data solutions, including ABACUS reporting and the China and Hong Kong Studies Database, to improve financial visibility and decision support.
• Analyze study cost drivers, budget variances and benchmarking data to strengthen forecasting, budget quality and cost optimization.
• Standardize and automate clinical finance processes, tools and templates to improve data quality, operational efficiency and cost allocation.
• Assess the financial impact of local initiatives and share China best practices with regional and global Clinical Finance stakeholders.

Typical People Management Responsibility

No direct reports currently anticipated. The role provides functional leadership, coaching and matrix influence across Study Teams and finance stakeholders.

Global Remit

Primarily China-focused, with significant partnership across Global Clinical Finance and regional stakeholders. The role operates in a global matrix and supports China-led and global clinical studies with China activity.

Education, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Essential Requirements

• Hands-on experience in clinical trial operations, study management, clinical development or direct support of clinical studies is essential.
• Bachelor's degree or above in Life Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, Clinical Research, Finance, Business Administration or a related discipline is preferred.
• Strong understanding of the clinical trial lifecycle, study setup, operational delivery, key study cost drivers and the roles of Study Teams and Clinical Operations.
• Ability to interpret study data, budgets and financial information, identify risks and issues, and translate analysis into clear business insights and practical actions.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication and influencing skills, with experience working across functions in a complex matrix environment.
• Strong analytical capability and proficiency in Excel or other data analysis and reporting tools.
• Fluent written and spoken English and Chinese.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, learn new systems and processes quickly, and drive improvements in a fast-paced environment.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare or CRO industries.
• Experience in study budgeting, forecasting, accruals, financial management or project cost management.
• Finance, FP&A, Business Partnering, Project Finance, Controllership or Audit experience; a formal finance qualification is advantageous.
• Understanding of financial controls, governance, compliance and audit readiness requirements.
• Experience with ABACUS, SAP, Coupa, Power BI or other clinical or enterprise systems.
• Project management, process improvement, system implementation or change management experience.
• Experience partnering with global stakeholders in a matrix organization.

Leadership Capabilities

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• A strong business partnering mindset.
• Curiosity and commitment to continuous learning.
• The ability to challenge constructively and influence decision making through data-driven insights.
• A high level of integrity, accountability and attention to detail.
• Passion for process excellence and operational effectiveness.
• Commitment to collaboration across functions, geographies and cultures.

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.