Senior Business Unit Manager

About Excelya

Excelya is a fastgrowing European CRO driven by the ambition to deliver the most engaging employee experience while becoming a leading player in clinical research. With more than 1,000 employees across 28 countries, we continue to expand and strengthen our organisation.

As part of this growth, we are looking for a Senior Business Unit Manager to lead and develop one of our strategic Business Units, oversee a team of Business Managers, and drive operational and commercial excellence across a perimeter of approximately 70 consultants.

Your Mission

As a Senior Business Unit Manager, you will be responsible for the full operational, commercial and managerial performance of your Business Unit. Your responsibilities will include:

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, coach and develop a team of 3 Business Managers, ensuring high performance, autonomy and engagement.
• Support BMs in building and developing their client portfolios, recruitment pipelines and consultant management practices.
• Promote a culture of proximity, collaboration and excellence within the BU.
• Ensure strong crossdepartment collaboration (Talent Acquisition, HR, Finance, Delivery, etc.).
• Supervise and support the commercial efforts of your BMs on the full sales cycle: prospecting, client meetings, needs qualification, proposals and negotiation.

Business Unit Performance & Revenue Management

• Oversee the Gross profit of the Business Unit, ensuring profitability, optimized margins and achievement of financial targets.
• Monitor and steer revenue, forecasts, utilization rate and financial indicators.
• Ensure proactive management of intercontract periods
• Anticipate project endings 2–3 months in advance to secure smooth transitions for consultants.

Consultant Management & People Development

• Oversee the career development of ~70 consultants across your BU.
• Ensure highquality onboarding, regular mission followup (J1, Week 1, monthly, quarterly), and career progression plans.
• Support BMs in managing performance reviews, training plans and development initiatives.
• Maintain a positive employee experience and a turnover below 20%.

Requirements

We are looking for a strong leader with a strategic mindset and an entrepreneurial approach.

Mandatory Experience & Skills

• Proven experience as a Business Manager Lead, BU Manager or equivalent role in consulting, CRO, life sciences or engineering services.
• Successful track record in team leadership, with direct management of Business Managers or senior consultants.
• Strong understanding of commercial development, recruitment dynamics and consultantbased delivery models.
• Solid experience in Gross profit management, revenue forecasting and performance tracking.
• Ability to manage ~70 consultants through your team and ensure operational continuity.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholdermanagement skills.
• Strong command of English in a professional setting.

Soft Skills

• Strong leadership, ability to motivate and federate teams.
• Proactivity, autonomy and a handson entrepreneurial mindset.
• High sense of organization, rigor and accountability.
• Ability to handle fastpaced environments and manage multiple priorities.
• Relationshiporiented, clientfocused and highly collaborative.

Benefits

At Excelya, we combine passion for science with enthusiasm for teamwork to redefine excellence in healthcare.

Here's what makes us unique—

We are a young, ambitious health company representing 900 Excelyates, driven to become Europe's leading mid-size CRO with the best employee experience. Our one-stop provider service model—offering full-service, functional service provider, and consulting—enables you to evolve through diverse projects. Working alongside preeminent experts, you will help improve scientific, operational, and human knowledge to enhance the patient's journey.

Excelling with care means benefiting from an environment that values your natural talents, pushes boundaries with audacity, and nurtures your potential, allowing you to contribute fully to our shared mission.

Apply today, become an Excelyate