Meet Madalina Ciungu: Clinical Operations Leader, Italy

"I am the traffic director, I get a lot of questions from team members, managers, cross-functionals and walk-ups. We work through the requests one by one to prioritize and solve them one at a time."

As a Clinical Operations Leader, Madalina invites people to join the wonderful and life-changing experience of working With Heart and passion for the future of medicine. She loves the feeling of doing it "as a team" and being supported all the time to be better, grow and become more efficient. She recently became a mom and shines a light on all the women and mothers impacting the industry.

• Please introduce yourself and your role at Parexel.
  Hey, I am Madalina from the Clinical Operations department, but people here call me Mada. I grew up in Romania and most of my childhood was in Italy. I am an ambitious Clinical Operations Leader, sociable and very friendly, managing people with passion and dedication.
  
  
• What does a day in your job look like? What are your core responsibilities?
  I start my day with a big coffee and a drop of milk, read my emails and finish my To-do's. I am the traffic director, I get a lot of questions from team members, managers, cross-functionals and walk-ups. ‘Where can I find this?’, ‘How do I do this?’, ‘Can you get someone to complete this?’, ‘How do I work with a difficult person?’. We work through the requests one by one to prioritize and solve them one at a time. As a Clinical Operations Leader, your core responsibility is to drive people to reach deliverables with simplicity, unity, and efficiency. Sometimes it feels like all you do is keep the lights on!
  
  
• When did you join Parexel, and why did you choose Parexel above our competitors?
  I joined Parexel in 2015 and it was the best choice ever. 😊 I grew up here, personally, and professionally and… I am still seeing myself here in the upcoming years.
  
  
• What traits and/or skills are needed to be successful in your role?
  Patience, perseverance, and desire to learn through experience and exposure.
  
  
• What would you like people to know about your job or department?
  Being a Clinical Operation Leader is the role that I enjoy the most in my 12 years of experience in Clinical Trials. I will invite people to dream and dare to join the wonderful and life-changing experience of working with heart and passion for the future of medicine.
  
  
• What is it about your position that challenges you most?
  Dealing with people is beautiful and challenging. We are not robots. Sometimes you must be “the weight of feelings”. Having conversations with people that are sad, impatient, anxious, or feeling down compounds over the day. It is our role to learn to work with those emotions and not let the weight drag us down.
  
  
• How would you describe what it’s like to work at Parexel?
  It feels like home, it gets in your blood, in your routine. Here we all stay and work for years, your Parexel colleagues will soon become your second family.
  
  
• What excites you most about the work you do?
  I love the feeling of doing it “as a team”, clinical trials are not a “one-man show”, I love to interact, lead, communicate and succeed.
  
  
• How has Parexel supported your career development?
  I joined Parexel 8 years ago and it is still my first choice, every day! I joined a wonderful team that supported me all the time to be better, grow and become more efficient. Here, we manage with love and passion, we tailor careers for a lifetime!
  
  
• How has Parexel supported you? Is there anything Parexel could have done, or done better?
  In Parexel I met the best Line Managers and colleagues, I was encouraged to grow and glow, there is nothing that Parexel could do better for me.
  
  
• How do you support your colleagues?
  I will follow my Line Managers` approach and what all the years of management experience taught me. People need people to succeed, they must be empowered, supported, sustained, and encouraged to expose and experience. They must be guided and driven by professionals with hearts, and this is how the magic happens.
  
  

• Tell me something most people don’t know about you.
  I am passionate about Japanese culture, food, and lifestyle.
  
  
• What habit or behavior or belief have you recently acquired? Why is it now in your life?
  Mothers are super-employees! 😊 I recently became a mom and have huge respect and appreciation for all the women and mothers who are the majority of the workforce in our industry and make it shine every day!

Do you want to work with Madalina and her colleagues? Look for available Clinical Operations opportunities here.

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