Associate Scientific Strategy Consultant

About Zifo

Zifo is an international consulting partner focused on science, strategy, informatics, and innovation for organizations in the life sciences sector, including pharmaceutical research and development, biotechnology, and agritech. The company helps clients speed up discovery, improve development pipelines, and use data more effectively to create measurable business value.

Role Overview

The Associate Scientific Strategy Consultant is part of the North American consulting team. The role centers on clarifying project goals, managing stakeholders, and helping define and deliver successful outcomes in collaboration with internal teams and client partners. The position involves leading consulting assignments of medium to high complexity across multiple customers, combining scientific knowledge, industry understanding, and data/informatics capability with strong collaboration and leadership. The consultant will work closely with senior team members, client stakeholders, and cross-functional groups to drive delivery quality, operational performance, and business growth.

Consulting and Scientific Strategy

• Take ownership of project success by using core consulting practices such as active listening, empathetic teamwork, accountability, and clear communication with different audiences.
• Be responsible for business analysis outputs, including user requirements specifications, functional requirements, data and process maps, workflows, gap assessments, implementation roadmaps, evaluation approaches, and questionnaires.
• Carry out vendor reviews and help shape implementation approaches that support decision-making for pharma, biotech, and agritech clients.
• Evaluate current system environments and contribute to IT, informatics, and data landscape planning.

Project Delivery and Leadership

• Oversee one or more major projects or programs, covering estimation, scheduling, risk tracking, and milestone monitoring.
• Run project meetings, share status updates, and raise risks when needed.
• Guide and mentor associates across Zifo, supporting both their project work and career development.
• Monitor key performance metrics to support successful client delivery and maintain operational discipline.

Client Management and Collaboration

• Act as a main contact for clients and internal partners, managing expectations around process, quality, timelines, and delivery outcomes.
• Develop strong working relationships with client managers and help lead strategic customer discussions.
• Spot chances to create additional value for clients and improve internal processes.

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement

• Plan and monitor billable work, manage utilization and productivity for self and teams, and assist with budget forecasting.
• Handle escalations, identify and track delivery risks, implement corrective and preventive actions, and support improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to internal learning programs and help mentor team members in new and emerging areas.

Business Development and Thought Leadership

• Support proposal development for new opportunities and help prepare responses to RFPs.
• Contribute to case studies, presentations, and white papers.
• Attend industry conferences to learn, network, and represent Zifo.

Learning, Mentorship, and Growth

• Keep building knowledge in scientific areas, informatics systems, data strategy, change management, and strategic consulting methods.
• Identify development needs and help drive internal knowledge-sharing initiatives.
• Mentor analysts across Zifo business units and encourage collaboration and professional growth.

Qualifications

This position requires a scientific academic background and several years of hands-on industry experience in life sciences. The ideal candidate should be comfortable leading informatics-driven projects, working across multidisciplinary teams, and communicating complex ideas clearly to varied audiences.

Additional Information

• Experience level required: 5 to 7 years in pharmaceutical R&D, biotechnology, or agritech.
• Relevant project experience should include leading informatics solutions such as ELN or LIMS implementations.
• Knowledge of scientific workflows such as bioanalysis, compound management, and medicinal chemistry is important, along with understanding key data concepts used in life sciences operations and decision-making.
• Strong communication skills are needed to guide problem definition, influence stakeholders, and explain technical topics to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Applicants should demonstrate the ability to work well in collaborative, multidisciplinary settings while managing deliverables and stakeholder expectations.
• Preferred personal attributes include proactive problem-solving, adaptability in fast-moving environments, curiosity about leadership, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to drive clarity in complex situations.
• Travel of up to 25% is expected for client visits and internal meetings.
• Zifo offers a competitive compensation and benefits package that includes accrued vacation, medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k) plan with company match, life insurance, and flexible spending accounts.
• The company describes its culture as curiosity-driven, science-focused, and built by employees, with an emphasis on teamwork, debate, and open access across the organization.
• Zifo works across Pharma, Biotech, Manufacturing QC, Medical Devices, specialty chemicals, and other research-based organizations, and supports customers globally, including 18 of the Top 20 biopharma companies.
• The company notes a focus on two qualities in hiring: technical competency and cultural adaptability.
• Zifo is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.