Director of Translational Research Operations

About the role

The Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (I3H) at the University of Pennsylvania seeks a Director for the Translational Research Unit. This position bridges scientific research with business and commercial goals, focusing on translating immune data into clinically actionable measurements, driving new discoveries, and shifting paradigms of clinical care.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of operations and scientific professionals, setting and monitoring goals, addressing performance challenges, and overseeing hiring and onboarding for Translational Research Unit staff.
• Develop business and product strategies; work with the Director of Immune Health to align goals and strategy of the Translational Unit with overall goals of Immune Health.
• Collaborate with the Director of Finance to develop updated service rates, oversee billing for services, and provide quarterly reports capturing itemized expenditures and revenue.
• Serve as point-of-contact for internal and external investigators interested in using Translational Research Unit services; ensure seamless communication for new study planning and onboarding.
• Establish and oversee QA and QC protocols for each service in the Translational Research Unit, ensuring data is routinely recorded, organized, and stored; create and oversee project trackers.
• Identify and propose improvements to enhance robustness, quality, and efficiency throughout the sample lifecycle, working with the Assistant Directors of Processing and Platforms.
• Lead conceptual development and maintenance of client-facing website; develop internal- and external-facing tracking system for clinical cohorts and services in collaboration with the data infrastructure team.
• Work collaboratively with the Director of R&D to develop and implement new services; partner with communications staff to develop marketing materials; draft and negotiate MOUs for external partners.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science and 7 to 10 years of experience, or Master of Science and 5 to 7 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
• Proven experience in organizational growth, change leadership, and building high-functioning teams in a biomedical science environment.
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills with the ability to represent the organization effectively at local, national, and global levels.

Benefits

The University of Pennsylvania offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.