Associate Director – Global Patient Recruitment in London

Company Overview

M3 is the global leader in digital solutions in healthcare. We work with a range of sectors including healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and charities. Services provided to these sectors include market research, medical education programs, promotional programs, clinical development, job recruitment and clinic appointment services. M3 has grown by more than 20% year‑on‑year for the past 15 years, achieving over 1 billion dollars in revenue annually.

Founded in 2000 with start‑up investment capital from Sony, M3’s mission is to use the internet to increase the number of people who can live longer and healthier lives, and to reduce unnecessary medical costs. Key achievements include:

• Named in Fortune’s 2020 ‘Future 50’ list, ahead of Facebook and Amazon
• Ranked in Forbes’ 2020 Global 2000 list of the world’s largest public companies
• Only company incorporated after 2000 to be included in the Nikkei 225 Index
• Listed in Forbes’ ‘Asia’s 200 Best Over a Billion’ in 2019
• Founded the ‘M3: Stop COVID‑19 Fund’ and pledged one billion yen to support COVID‑19 initiatives in 2020

M3’s legacy lies in trusted physician platforms, delivering medical education, job placement, and market research to improve global patient outcomes.

About the Business Unit

M3 Global Research, part of M3 Inc., provides the most comprehensive and highest quality market research recruitment and support services available to the industry. We have relationships reaching respondents in more than 70 countries worldwide and maintain ISO 20252 and 27001 certifications.

Job Description

The Associate Director of Global Patient Recruitment is accountable for supervising and directing the Patient Recruitment team. The role optimizes internal resource utilization across projects to improve gross profit and reduce reliance on third‑party providers. It delivers high‑quality, patient‑focused recruitment solutions for both global qualitative and quantitative market research initiatives and collaborates with Sales, Client Services, and Panel to design scalable, compliant, and efficient custom recruitment strategies.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead patient recruitment strategy, ensuring clear processes and guidelines are followed, aimed at reducing outsource costs and growing M3 Global Research patient panels.
• Strategize panel recruitment across US and EU markets to increase overall patient panel size, focusing on audiences that improve profitability.
• Assist team in introducing new custom recruitment options and continuously investigate ways to improve gross profit on a project level.
• Join internal kick‑off calls and project meetings to discuss fieldwork strategy, develop execution plans, and monitor their implementation.
• Monitor results of recruitment initiatives, share audit reports with team leaders, and enable accountability and process enhancement.
• Manage, mentor, appraise, and develop allocated staff, ensuring effectiveness and meeting KPIs.
• Support digital recruitment strategy by leveraging affiliate partners, referral campaigns, social media, patient associations, group recruitment, and display advertising.
• Assess technology requirements and implement solutions to enhance efficiency in recruitment strategies.
• Lead or participate in taskforces or working groups that promote business objectives such as gross profit and third‑party cost reduction.
• Partner with other M3 companies to strategize synergies that enhance project feasibility.
• Conduct internal audits to evaluate staff adherence to recruitment processes and quality, deliver reports, and propose actionable plans to improve project profit and client/panelist satisfaction.
• Support the recruitment and engagement of patient support groups and associations, ensuring collaboration and long‑term partnerships.
• Support the design, execution, and continuous improvement of global patient panel growth strategies, ensuring sustainable increases in registrations, reactivations, and unique participants across all markets.

Qualifications

Minimum Experience

• Minimum of 5 years in market research
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in quantitative or qualitative market research project management or fieldwork, preferably on patient and/or consumer projects
• Minimum of 2 years managing a staff of 3+ employees

Knowledge, Skill, Ability

• Extensive experience in an active quantitative or qualitative project or panel management role in a patient/healthcare market research field.
• Comprehensive knowledge of patient recruitment and securing hard‑to‑reach patient targets.
• Thorough understanding of domestic and international market research projects.
• Ability to lead a team of both junior and senior members.
• Self‑motivated and able to prioritize tasks throughout the workday.
• Exceptional time management, organizational skills, attention to detail and multitasking ability.
• Well‑developed analytical and creative problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to work autonomously and in a team environment to meet study‑specific and departmental objectives.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, including Excel, Outlook and Word, and ability to learn new technologies quickly.
• Demonstrated enthusiasm for continuously improving service quality and adherence to M3’s ISO quality management system.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave
• Participation in a company bonus scheme linked to personal and company performance
• Group life cover 4× salary
• Pension 4% / 4% employee / employer contributions
• Vitality medical after probation
• Staff discount scheme
• Discounted gym membership

M3 reserves the right to change this job description to meet the business needs of the organization.