The Forecast Analyst is responsible for becoming the subject matter expert for IQVIAs Clinical Trial Payment departments forecasting service and for driving the quality of forecast for the assigned studies. Duties include preparing, delivering and analyzing the forecast report and becoming the interface for the CTP Client service Leads and RDS Project team members. Duties also include responding to inquiries from internal and external sources regarding the forecast report, adjusting the assumptions as needed, and validating the forecast report data against actual data to ensure maximum accuracy and client satisfaction. Additionally, the Forecast analysts carry the QA responsibility for the Forecasting application developments and enhancements.
Clinical trial forecasting is a critical function in clinical trial financial management. IQVIA is offering this new service so sponsors no longer have to invest time and effort manually gathering and analyzing clinical trial study and financial data from various systems to predict future trial costs. A forecast analyst enters study visits and financial data into the solution so consolidated, monthly study activity reports can be provided to sponsors. A forecast analyst should possess typical financial analysis skills, methods, and tools familiarity (e.g. MS Excel) at minimum. The more a candidate understands clinical research operations including reading protocols, the better equipped they will be to move quickly towards clinical trial finance subject matter expertise.
Essential Functions
- Communicate with internal & external stakeholders to understand each clinical trial receiving the forecasting service
- Build and develop baseline assumptions used in the forecast
- Determine if all forecasting requirements are met & helping to meet those requirements
- Work with IT to ensure successful loading of the assumptions into the forecast model
- Produce and distribute the forecast report to end-users; Answer and support end-user questions and needs
- Drive the QA testing for the Forecasting Application developments and enhancements
- Analyze & validate forecasting report output against actual data and make updates as needed
- Adjust the forecast report assumptions throughout the trial as needed to maintain accuracy
- Support the continued effort in updating IQVIAs Clinical Trial Payments forecast enhancements
- Create, run, and analyze ad hoc reports as needed; Support the operations improvement initiatives as needed
- Other duties as assigned
Minimum 2-3 years of work experience, preferable in the pharmaceutical clinical trial, financial, or IT roles/industries
Knowledge :
Requires intermediate level knowledge of principles, theories, and concepts of a job area, typically obtained through advanced education combined with experience
Education :
Bachelor's Degree: IT, Accounting, Finance, Statistics, Business or related field
Experience Details
- Working knowledge of clinical trial process, ideally with specific knowledge on investigator contracts and essential site documents;
- Experience in financial forecast and accrual reporting and analysis; Excel expertise
- Experience with a business intelligence application such as MicroStrategy or Spotfire
- Demonstrates customer-oriented communication skills, responding to both internal and external clients promptly and within agreed upon timeframes
- Strong aptitude for numbers, finance, and data analysis
- Requires strong attention to detail, excellent organizational, documentation and interpersonal skills
- Willingness to work within a team-oriented environment as well as independently
- Ability to handle multiple tasks to meet deadlines in a dynamic environment is essential
- Strong PC skills (i.e. Microsoft Office) with an ability to understand, access and leverage technology alternatives
- Advanced Excel skills required
- Prior experience with commercial reporting tools (i.e. Business Objects, MicroStrategy, Spotfire) and/or the ability to learn quickly
- Willingness to be flexible as the business requires
