Director of Epidemiology (Real-World Evidence)

About the role

Fortrea Consulting is expanding its Real‑World Evidence and Epidemiology practice and seeks a senior leader to direct epidemiology projects for pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. The Director will act as a trusted scientific advisor, overseeing study design, analysis, and communication of findings across non‑interventional and real‑world evidence studies.

Key responsibilities

• Provide scientific and methodological leadership for observational, non‑interventional and real‑world evidence studies, ensuring rigor and regulatory relevance.
• Lead client engagements from scoping to delivery, managing multidisciplinary teams and advising on evidence‑generation strategies for clinical development, market access and health technology assessment.
• Drive business development by identifying new opportunities, contributing to proposals, budgeting and presenting capabilities to clients.
• Advance the practice through innovation, authoring publications, white papers and defining best‑practice methodological standards.
• Mentor and develop epidemiologists and consulting staff, supporting talent acquisition and fostering an inclusive culture.

Required profile

• Doctoral‑level degree in Epidemiology, Pharmacoepidemiology, Public Health or related quantitative health science (or equivalent experience).
• Minimum 10 years of experience applying epidemiological methods in consulting, CRO, pharma, biotech or academia, with at least 6 years leading teams and complex projects.
• Proven track record of client relationship management and delivery of high‑quality, regulatory‑relevant evidence.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder‑management skills, with ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to technical and non‑technical audiences.

Required skills

• Real‑world data analysis (claims, CPRD/NHS, EHR, registries).
• Design and use of external control arms / synthetic controls and natural history studies.
• Pharmacoepidemiology and health‑economics‑outcomes‑research (HEOR) methodologies.
• Evidence generation for regulatory submissions, reimbursement dossiers and health technology assessments.