Senior Director - Department of Medicine

About the role

The Senior Director of Research Administration provides strategic and operational leadership for research administration across the Department of Medicine. Reporting to the Vice Chair for Administration, with a close working relationship with the Chair, Vice Chair for Research, and the Vice Chair for Clinical & Translational Research, the Senior Director oversees the infrastructure, processes, resources, and personnel that support the Department’s research enterprise. The Department of Medicine is a complex, multi-disciplinary organization encompassing a broad portfolio of basic, translational, clinical, and health services research across multiple divisions and research programs. The Senior Director will serve as a key strategic partner to departmental and institutional leadership, ensuring that the research enterprise is positioned for growth while maintaining strong financial stewardship, regulatory compliance, operational effectiveness, and exceptional service to faculty. The Senior Director will lead efforts to strengthen and standardize research administration across the Department, develop scalable infrastructure, improve the faculty experience, optimize research financial performance, and identify opportunities to expand research activity and external funding. The Senior Director will have a broad departmental impact and will be expected to operate at both the strategic and operational levels. Success in this role will be measured not only by compliance and effective administration, but by the Senior Director’s ability to build an infrastructure that enables the Department of Medicine to grow its research enterprise, improve the investigator experience, strengthen financial performance, and execute strategic research priorities. The position requires a highly collaborative leader who can navigate the complexity of a large academic medical center, translate institutional requirements into effective departmental practices, and build trusted partnerships with faculty and administrative leaders.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive research administration strategy aligned with the Department’s academic, clinical, and research priorities.
• Serve as a senior advisor to departmental leadership on research administration, research finance, sponsored programs, compliance, infrastructure, and operational strategy.
• Partner with the Chair, Vice Chair for Research, Vice Chair for Clinical & Translational Research, Division Chiefs, Division Administrators, research center/program leaders, and institutional leadership to identify opportunities and address barriers to research growth.