Head of CRO

Minerva Imaging ApS

Leading and scaling a high-growth, scientifically driven CRO business

Minerva Imaging is a scientifically driven and integrated CRO and CDMO specialized in targeted radionuclide therapies. Backed by Nordic Capital and operating in a fast-growing market, the company is entering a new phase of accelerated growth with clear ambitions to scale its preclinical CRO business and strengthen its global footprint.

With a strong foundation in advanced animal models, translational research, and in vivo molecular imaging, Minerva Imaging partners with leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies to solve complex scientific challenges. As the organisation continues to grow in both scale and complexity, a key next step is to strengthen leadership within the preclinical CRO business.

A business-critical leadership role at the heart of growth

As Head of CRO, you will take on full responsibility for Minerva Imaging’s largest business area and play a central role in translating strategy into scalable execution.

Reporting directly to the CEO and being part of the Senior Management Team, you will lead the Preclinical CRO organisation, consisting of more than 150 employees across multiple research-driven departments. You will operate through a leadership structure comprising senior leaders and Department Managers, ensuring alignment, performance, and continuous development across the organisation.

The role sits at the intersection of strategy, operations, and commercial execution. You will work closely across the organisation, including Business Development and other business units, while also acting as a key interface towards pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors.

Your key responsibilities include:

• Translate company strategy into actionable initiatives and drive execution across the CRO business
• Lead and develop a multi-layered organisation, including leadership team members and Department Managers
• Ensure strong project execution, prioritization, and efficient resource allocation across studies and teams
• Own performance management, including budgets, forecasting, profitability, and operational KPIs
• Strengthen governance, processes, and ways of working to support scalability and operational excellence
• Drive continuous improvements in efficiency, utilization, and cross-functional collaboration
• Ensure high-quality delivery in line with SOPs, regulatory requirements, and scientific standards
• Support commercial performance by strengthening sponsor relationships and driving recurring business
• Act as a key point of contact for customers and external partners
• Lead the ongoing professionalization and scaling of the CRO business

Strong, commercially minded leader with hands-on CRO experience

We are looking for a senior leader with a solid background from a CRO organisation or from the sponsor side, where you have worked closely with CRO partners. This experience is essential, as it provides you with a strong understanding of both delivery and customer dynamics in a CRO setting.

You bring proven leadership experience from a role at minimum Senior Director or VP level, with responsibility for leading leaders and driving execution, performance, and scalability across a complex organisation. You combine a strategic mindset with a pragmatic, results-oriented approach and have demonstrated the ability to translate strategy into structured execution.

You possess a clear commercial understanding of how to balance scientific excellence with efficiency, profitability, and customer value. As a communicator, you are able to create alignment across functions and engage effectively with both internal stakeholders and external partners.

Personally, you thrive in a dynamic and evolving environment, take natural ownership, and are motivated by building structure, developing people, and driving continuous improvement.

A unique opportunity to shape a growing CRO business

This is a unique opportunity to step into a business-critical leadership role at a defining point in Minerva Imaging’s growth journey.

You will join an organisation with strong scientific capabilities and an excellent reputation in the market, combined with an entrepreneurial culture and ambitious growth targets. The role offers a rare combination of strategic influence and operational impact with the opportunity to shape how the business scales, strengthen leadership capabilities, and build a more structured and performance-driven organisation.

At the same time, the role comes with significant complexity and responsibility. You will need to lead leaders, drive change, and establish clearer governance and accountability across a highly specialized organisation. Success requires balancing scientific excellence with commercial focus including improving utilization, strengthening customer engagement, and driving sustainable growth.

Interested?

The recruitment process is carried out in collaboration with the consulting company Compass Human Resources Group. If you want to learn more about this position before submitting your CV, please do not hesitate to contact Managing Partner, Rasmus Meyhoff on rm@compasshrg.com or Consultant, Magnus Winkel on mw@compasshrg.com. As we process CVs continuously, we encourage you to submit your CV at your earliest convenience if you are interested. Please note that all enquiries will be handled with confidentiality and that we will reply to the email address from which you send your CV.

Application Date: As soon as possible
Location: The position is based at Minerva Imaging’s headquarters in Ølstykke, Denmark, conveniently located north-west of Copenhagen, approximately 30 minutes from the city centre.
Reference: 2605.100
Company: Minerva Imaging