Backlog & Revenue Lead - U.S. - Remote

Overview

A midsize global Contract Research Organization (CRO) is seeking a Backlog & Revenue Lead to manage end-to-end governance of order backlog and revenue realization. This role is critical to ensuring that booked demand converts into revenue predictably, accurately, and on time by coordinating cross-functional processes across Sales, Finance, and Operations.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a single source of truth for backlog, including order aging, conversion timelines, and constraints such as credit, material availability, capacity, and compliance
• Lead weekly backlog review meetings, prioritize risk mitigation actions, and escalate blockers to leadership
• Segment backlog by strategic accounts, therapeutic areas, and long-lead items to optimize conversion and margin
• Partner with Operations to align backlog forecasts with revenue targets and customer milestone dates
• Collaborate with Accounting and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) to ensure correct application of revenue recognition policies to units, services, milestones, and subscriptions
• Own cutoff controls and period-end procedures to minimize deferrals, returns, and post-close adjustments
• Drive order-to-cash quality, including upfront releases, revenue and billing accuracy, contract signature timeliness, and dispute resolution
• Build and maintain backlog conversion models
• Deliver weekly and monthly reports on bookings, backlog, revenue, and variance analysis versus plan and prior periods
• Provide scenario analyses (best-case, base-case, worst-case) and flag risks and opportunities to meet quarterly targets
• Map and continuously improve processes
• Define and monitor audit-relevant controls for orders, modifications, and revenue recognition
• Implement data quality standards and master data governance for customers, pricing, and contract terms
• Serve as the central liaison among Sales, Finance, Operations, Strategic Finance, and Information Technology
• Partner with IT and data teams to enhance ERP, CRM, and professional services automation (PSA) reporting, dashboards, and workflow automation
• Lead change management for new policies, metrics, and tools; train stakeholders on backlog and revenue best practices
• Perform other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field
• Eight or more years of experience in revenue operations or financial planning and analysis
• Strong knowledge of revenue recognition principles, including ASC 606 under US GAAP, and order-to-cash processes
• Advanced proficiency with ERP, CRM, and PSA systems such as NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, and Certinia
• Experience with reporting tools including Power BI and Tableau
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to build predictive models and actionable dashboards
• Proven cross-functional leadership skills with the ability to drive accountability across Sales, Operations, and Finance
• Ownership mindset with bias for action and urgency
• Systems thinking with understanding of end-to-end flows across ERP, CRM, and PSA platforms
• High data rigor and ability to simplify complex data into clear narratives
• Ability to influence without authority and align stakeholders around trade-offs and timelines
• Customer and compliance mindset balancing commitments with policy and control requirements

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading change management initiatives
• Strong communication and training skills for diverse stakeholder groups

Compensation & Benefits

Details on compensation and benefits are not specified in the job description.

Location

Location details are not specified in the job description.