Sponsor Assurance Lead
ICON plc is a world-leading healthcare intelligence and clinical research organization. We’re proud to foster an inclusive environment driving innovation and excellence, and we welcome you to join us on our mission to shape the future of clinical development.
Sponsor Assurance Lead
Dublin, Hybrid
As a Sponsor Assurance Lead – at ICON, you will act as the primary interface between our new Enterprise AI function and sponsors and clients, ensuring confidence, transparency, and trust in the AI products and services we deliver. You will represent ICON in external forums, demonstrating the rigour, governance, and quality behind our AI capabilities in regulated environments.
What You Will Do:
In this role you will be responsible for leading sponsor assurance activities, maintaining audit readiness, and ensuring the delivery of trusted, compliant AI solutions.
Key Responsibilities:
• Serve as the primary assurance contact for sponsors and clients, representing Enterprise AI in meetings, governance forums, and audit engagements
• Present assurance updates including risk posture, validation evidence, compliance status, and quality metrics in a clear, professional manner
• Respond to sponsor queries on AI governance, data protection, model validation, and regulatory compliance
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive assurance framework and evidence repository for AI products and platforms
• Prepare sponsor-facing assurance packs, dashboards, and reports aligned to contractual and regulatory requirements
• Coordinate cross-functional teams (engineering, QA, compliance, legal) to ensure evidence is complete, accurate, and audit-ready
• Manage sponsor assurance reviews, due diligence sessions, and external audits end-to-end
• Communicate risks, incidents, and changes transparently with sponsors, including mitigation and corrective actions
• Drive continuous improvement in assurance practices, governance maturity, and audit readiness across the AI portfolio
Your Profile:
To succeed in this role, you will bring strong experience in assurance, compliance, and client-facing delivery within regulated environments, alongside the ability to represent complex AI systems with confidence and credibility.
Required qualifications and experience:
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Life Sciences, Engineering, or a related discipline
• Significant experience (5+ years) in assurance, quality, compliance, or client-facing roles within technology or regulated industries
• Proven experience engaging directly with external sponsors, clients, or regulators
• Strong knowledge of regulatory frameworks (e.g. GDPR, EU AI Act, GxP, 21 CFR Part 11)
• Experience managing audits, inspections, or sponsor due diligence activities
• Technical understanding of AI/ML systems and software development practices
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage senior stakeholders
• Ability to manage multiple assurance workstreams and priorities in a fast-paced, complex environment
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What ICON can offer you:
Our success depends on the quality of our people. That’s why we’ve made it a priority to build a diverse culture that rewards high performance and nurtures talent.
In addition to your competitive salary, ICON offers a range of additional benefits. Our benefits are designed to be competitive within each country and are focused on well-being and work life balance opportunities for you and your family.
Our benefits examples include:
- Various annual leave entitlements
- A range of health insurance offerings to suit you and your family’s needs.
- Competitive retirement planning offerings to maximize savings and plan with confidence for the years ahead.
- Global Employee Assistance Programme, LifeWorks, offering 24-hour access to a global network of over 80,000 independent specialized professionals who are there to support you and your family’s well-being.
- Life assurance
- Flexible country-specific optional benefits, including childcare vouchers, bike purchase schemes, discounted gym memberships, subsidized travel passes, health assessments, among others.
Visit our careers site to read more about the benefits ICON offers.
At ICON, inclusion & belonging are fundamental to our culture and values. We’re dedicated to providing an inclusive and accessible environment for all candidates. ICON is committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.
If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please let us know or submit a request here
Interested in the role, but unsure if you meet all of the requirements? We would encourage you to apply regardless – there’s every chance you’re exactly what we’re looking for here at ICON whether it is for this or other roles.
Are you a current ICON Employee? Please click here to apply
