Employee Testimonial

• Please introduce yourself and your role at Parexel. –

Jordan Blackmon, Senior Data Management Lead

• How does a day in your job look like? What are your core responsibilities? –

I ensure the database that captures all the study’s data is programmed correctly and working properly as it is expected to. I also oversee a team of Clinical Data Analyst that perform various data cleaning activities to confirm that all the data within the database is entered correctly and that data points between the database and all vendors is matching.

• When did you join Parexel, and why did you choose Parexel (recently joined) / and why would you choose Parexel if you joined now (longer tenure)?

I joined Parexel in February 2012. I knew I wanted to get into the Pharmaceutical Industry, I just wasn’t sure what company or which role. After doing some research on some of the top CROs in my area (Durham, NC), I found that Parexel had an opening for Clinical Data Analyst I. I applied, interviewed, and was fortunate enough to be selected. Parexel has been great to me, they took a chance on me right out of school, and I have never felt that I wanted to leave this company.

• What is it about your position that challenges you most?

Most of the challenges that I’ve run into at Parexel are not all that uncommon from any other jobs. Keeping up with upgraded technologies and learning new/improved processes. All of which are done to help us be more efficient, cut cost, and/or keep up with industry standards.

• What excites you most about the work you do?

What excites me the most about my work is pleasing the Sponsor. And what I mean by that is, delivering to them a completed study, with first time quality, and at a deadline that works best for them. Seeing the Sponsor delighted with the work we’ve done for them and the completed project is what matters most.

• How has Parexel supported your career development since you joined?

Parexel has far exceeded my expectations for career development and growth. They supply training any development seminars for any issue that I am having or for a new skill that I would like to learn.

Many people may feel they do not advance quickly enough in their company and that is why they may move to another. But I have had nothing but opportunity for growth in both my knowledge of the industry as well as advancement within Parexel.

• What make a great leader in your opinion and how do these qualities show within Parexel’s leadership and/or how do you implement these into your leadership?

A good skill to have in being a leader is decision making. But I believe the greatest skill in a leader is listening. Listening to leadership above you, listening colleagues at your level, and listening especially those team members that you manage. You need to gather all information from different vantage points and weigh options in order to make good decisions.

• Name one person who has had an extraordinary impact on your career. What did they do and what did you learn from that person?

I have had many people within Parexel that have had great impacts on my career, some who are still with Parexel, and others who have moved on to other opportunities. But without a doubt, the greatest impact on my career is by a former Line Manager, Ryan Lenihan. Fortunately, he was my LM for many years. Along the way, he taught me many things; Specifics about my job and what I can do to be a better DML, and broad topics on how to be a better professional and other aspects of our industry that helped me to see how my day-to-day duties impacts the studies and the industry overall. He genuinely cared about the path my career was taking, always encouraging, but never pushing, me to take that next step in my career.

• Which Core Value resonates most with you and why?
  • Patients first: We fight for patients because they’re at the heart of everything we do.
  • Quality: Each detail matters, from the smallest to the largest. Our hearts go into them all.
  • Respect: People, process, patients, progress. We hold them all close to our hearts.
  • Empowerment and accountability: We follow our hearts to do the right thing. Then, we have the courage to own the outcome.

• How do you keep the patient at the heart of everything you do?

For me, I always try to put myself in the patient’s shoes. i.e. What would I do if I had this disease? How would I feel, both physically and emotionally? Would this affect my day-to-day life? Who would I want to talk to about my struggles?

I know I may never be in the patient’s position, but if you try to see or understand the disease or the study through their eyes, it will help you to create a better, more meaningful, efficient study. It is also great motivation to come to work knowing that what you’re doing is either contributing to saving lives or vastly increasing someone’s quality of life. 

• How do you achieve a positive work life balance?

Parexel offers great work life balance. Between the amount of PTO/RTO, Sick leave, working from home, and flexible working hours, you can really tailor your day around getting your work done while also caring for your family and getting the R&R you need.

• Tell me something most people don’t know about you.

I have a twin sister.

• What do you enjoy when you’re not at work? (ideally share some images as well)

Sort of cliché, but I do very much enjoy playing golf and spending time with family. I also enjoy home improvement projects. Not necessarily the process of the project, but the end result, seeing an improvement done to my home.

• What habit or behavior or belief have you recently acquired? Why is it now in your life?

Patience. I was never a very patient person. Always wanting things to move quickly. But after becoming a father a few years ago, you almost do not have a choice but to become more patient.

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