Healthcare & pharma recruitment: experts dedicated to patients
Recruiting into health and pharmacy requires special expertise. Rare regulatory profiles, strict quality requirements, tight launch schedules: the issues are unique. Find out how Cadran Talents recruits your experts in regulatory, medical, production and medical devices, in France and internationally.
In health and pharmacy, each recruitment involves the quality of a product, the conformity of a site or the safety of a patient. A regulatory affairs officer who knows the procedures, a credible medical director with practitioners, a production manager who maintains good manufacturing practices: these profiles make the difference between a successful launch and a project that is lagging behind.
Launching a product without experienced regulatory manager? Open a production line without experienced quality manager? This is not only risky, it is the guarantee of a costly delay.
Laboratories, medical device manufacturers, biotechs and health facilities are recruiting in a tense market: there are few qualified profiles, constantly solicited and attentive to the seriousness of the companies approaching them. And all this under pressure from the health authorities and launch schedules.
Let's be direct: recruiting in health and pharma can look like a fighter's journey. It's not a fatality.
Why this sector is demanding
Health and pharmacy are regulated sectors where each key function must meet specific requirements: knowledge of authorisation procedures, mastery of good practices, experience of inspections, ability to interact with authorities, practitioners and patients.
For a laboratory, it may involve recruiting a regulatory affairs officer for a European registration file, a medical director for a therapeutic area or a pharmacovigilance manager. For a medical device manufacturer, he will be a clinical affairs officer, a quality engineer or a product manager capable of speaking to surgeons.
The difficulty? These profiles are rare, often posted at your competitors, and they do not respond to ads. Convincing them requires a personalized approach, a credible talk about your project and a true understanding of their profession. This is where a specialized firm becomes indispensable.
The challenges you face
The stakes have never been so high. Development cycles are long, there is considerable investment and international competition. A key position not filled for six months — a regulatory officer, a quality manager, a site manager — may delay a launch or weaken an inspection.
Humans account for this sector, because a CV does not say whether a candidate will be able to conduct an inspection, convince a committee or federate a production team. It is the in-depth interviews, references and knowledge of the profession that reveal these qualities.
However, many firms in the sector face the same obstacles:
International complexity – Recruiting in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and at production sites abroad means knowing the regulations, remuneration and usages of each country
Hard-to-reach profiles – Experienced regulators, medical managers and site managers do not consult ads and filter solicitations
Regulatory requirements – Authorizations, qualifications, inspection experience: criteria are precise and non-negotiable
The pressure of time – Launch and compliance schedules do not wait, while good recruitment requires the method
Hard-to-control costs – Multiplying intermediaries and ads is expensive, without any guarantee of result
That's precisely why we exist: take care of the complexity so that you don't have to do it.
Let's talk about your recruitment needs →
Our approach
We have been recruiting for health and pharmacy for years, in France and in more than 25 countries. What makes the difference in how we work is:
A human approach, always
sourcing tools save us time, but nothing replaces a real conversation. We conduct in-depth interviews with each candidate, check his/her references with former managers and take the time to understand his/her motivations. Each profile presented has been met, evaluated and recommended by a consultant — because that is where successful recruitment is concerned.
Simple coordination
Need a regulatory officer in Lyon, a quality manager at a site in Belgium and a medical director in Paris? No problem. You have a single contact person which coordinates everything: mapping, approach, interviews, references, negotiation and follow-up. No multiplication of firms, no doubt about the level of demand from one country to another.
A quality requirement
In health, quality is not negotiated. We are meticulous about:
The precision of the sourcing – Finding the right regulatory, medical and industrial profiles, not just those who have worked in the sector
Quality of interviews – Our consultants know the area, speak its language and know how to evaluate an inspection experience or record file
Systematic verification – Diplomas, qualifications and references are checked before any presentation
Compliance – We respect the GDPR and the confidentiality rules of each country where we intervene
Our health and pharma solutions. L’direct approach for managers and experts, the headhunting for rare regulatory and medical profiles,executive search for site and subsidiary directorates, the interim management to ensure continuity of a key function, and reference checks system — only one contact person for the integration brief.
The profiles we recruit
Regulatory affairs, quality and pharmacovigilance
Functions at the heart of the compliance of your products and sites. In particular, we recruit:
Responsible and responsible for regulatory affairs (registration, variations, European and international files)
Quality assurance managers, operational quality managers, quality auditors
Responsible Pharmacists and Interim Responsible Pharmacists
Pharmacovigilance, Material and Medical Information
Clinical Affairs and Project Leaders Clinical Studies
Depending on the position, we recommenddirect approach, the headhunting for very rare profiles or a structured evaluation finalists, in order to find the person who really will hold the function.
Medical, scientific and market access
Profiles that bring the scientific credibility of your company to practitioners, authorities and payers. We recruit:
Medical directors and managers – By therapeutic area, in France or for a region
Medical science links – Scientific profiles in the field, with opinion leaders
Responsible for market access and health economy – Price, refund, value records
Clinical trial managers – Design, piloting and monitoring of studies
Product managers and marketing managers – With a true understanding of the medical and regulatory environment
Our respectful and confidential approach puts candidates in trust and allows them to express freely about their expectations.
Production, industrialization and supply chain
An authorised product must still be manufactured, controlled and delivered in accordance with good practice. We recruit profiles that make your sites run, in France and internationally:
Site managers and production managers
Production managers and workshop managers
Quality control and laboratory managers
Industrialization, validation and maintenance managers
Supply chain, planning and logistics managers
Often urgent recruitment, for which we can also propose a transition manager available within 10 days.
Medical devices and commercial functions
The manufacturers of medical and diagnostic devices have specific needs, at the crossroads of engineering, regulation and field. We recruit:
R&D engineers, quality engineers and regulators medical devices
Clinical and vigilance officers
Product managers, marketing managers and training
Commercial managers, application engineers and major hospital account managers
Branch Directors and Commercial Directors
We help you structure your teams before a launch or certification — when the right people still make all the difference.
Let's talk about your vacancies →
Recruitments in France and internationally
Many companies in the sector fear international recruitment. Several firms to coordinate, unequal quality levels, different regulations, unpredictable costs.
We have built our model to solve this problem precisely.
An interlocutor. More than 25 countries. No complexity for you.
From Paris to Basel, from Lyon to Brussels or Boston, we coordinate your recruitments in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. Our network of consultants and local partners knows the sector, its regulations and its levels of remuneration, with a constant level of demand.
Need to recruit quality managers at multiple sites simultaneously? We map, approach, evaluate and present comparable shortlists for each country. You're focusing on the decision. We manage everything else.
Timelines adapted to your constraints
We know that your schedules are tight: regulatory deposits, inspections, launches, fundraising. Our team is reactive and organized to meet the deadlines without sacrificing the quality of the assessment.
An accelerated device when you need speed. A thorough process when you recruit a leader. We adapt to your needs.
Frequently asked questions
What profiles are you recruiting in health and pharma?
We recruit executives and experts from pharmaceutical laboratories, biotechs, medical and diagnostic device manufacturers, fashion companies and health institutions: regulatory affairs, quality, pharmacovigilance, medical and scientific, market access, production and supply chain, R&D, marketing and commercial, and management functions. We are intervening by direct approach and by headhunting.
How does recruitment for medical devices differ from recruitment for pharma?
Both sectors share strong regulatory requirements, but medical devices require cross-engineering, clinical and commercial profiles. Recruitment often involves R&D and quality engineers, clinical business managers and application engineers able to interact with surgeons and institutions. We adapt our evaluation criteria to these specificities.
How do you approach regulatory or medical profiles that are difficult to reach?
By a precise mapping of the companies and the functions where these profiles are located, then by a direct and personalized approach. Our consultants know the sector, which makes the exchange credible from the first contact. We rigorously verify that each candidate meets your criteria: experience of a registration file, an inspection, a therapeutic area or a type of site.
How do you guarantee the confidentiality of the mission?
Discretion is essential in an area where everyone knows each other. The name of your company is communicated only to the selected candidates, after your agreement. We can carry out totally confidential mandates, for example to replace a current official. Candidates' data are processed in accordance with the GDPR with their consent.
How long does it take to hire?
A shortlist is presented within three weeks of framing. Full recruitment takes an average of six to ten weeks for a manager or expert, more for a site manager or a medical director. We can speed up the system in case of emergency, or propose a transition manager to ensure continuity.
Can you recruit highly specialized profiles or for niche therapeutic areas?
Yes. Rare profiles — rare diseases, gene therapy, oncology, implantable devices — require a specialized network, which we have developed over the course of the missions. We work with method and discretion to identify the few people who really fit your need.
What areas do you cover?
We work for all therapeutic areas and product families: drugs, biotechnology, vaccines, medical devices, diagnosis, digital health and nutrition health. Our consultants know the vocabulary, regulations and organizations of the sector.
How do you set your fees?
Our fees are calculated as a percentage of the annual salary of the position, with a start-up share and the balance at integration. A replacement guarantee covers the trial period. We give you a clear proposal, without hidden costs. Contact us for a proposal tailored to your needs.
Are you also proposing interim management?
Yes. Our offer of interim management within ten days, a quality manager, a responsible pharmacist, a production manager or an experienced regulatory officer will be available to you for three to twelve months. It is an effective solution to cover a departure, an inspection or a peak of activity the time to recruit.
In which countries are you recruiting?
We operate in more than 25 countries in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. From Paris and Lyon, we cover the major health and pharmacy basins — France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the United States — with a single contact and a constant level of demand.
Let's talk about your next recruitment.
Recruiting into health and pharma shouldn't be a puzzle. Whether you are preparing a launch, strengthening a quality team, structuring a subsidiary or opening a production site, we make recruitment simple and reliable.
A single contact person. Candidates met and assessed. More than 25 countries. Timeliness, each time.
Ready to move forward in confidence? Let's talk about your positions and how best to fill them.
Contact us for a first exchange without commitment.
