This position serves as the central administrative director for research affairs occurring within the Department of Surgery (DOS). Under the leadership of the DOS Executive Administrator and the DOS Associate Chair for Research, the Administrative Director of Research (Director) functions as the senior administrative leadership resource for the DOS. The Director represents the DOS in high level research affairs negotiations and discussions with BWH research leadership, the BWH Research Institute (BRI), Mass General Brigham (MGB) Research Administration, Harvard Medical School (HMS), and governmental and international institutions.

The Director is responsible for ensuring that all research related administrative, financial, compliance and management operations are appropriately accomplished, monitored and reported. The Director is accountable for the planning, development, implementation and measurement of research administrative activities within the DOS including financial management, people and resource allocation and compliance.

The DOS is heavily invested in Research and requires that the Director delivers a deficit free research portfolio including the individual management of 450+ separate financial accounts, with 300 IRB reviewed protocols, 40 IACUC reviewed protocols, and upwards of 230 new proposals/ project preparations per year.

The Director works closely with Division Chiefs, Principal Investigators (PI's) and administrators within the DOS to ensure efficient communication and follow-through and coordination of short-and long-range planning. The Director also advises all levels of staff with respect to policies and procedures and acts as a facilitator between the Grants and Contracts office, Research Finance Office, Compliance Office, Human Resources, and any other ancillary department or institution.

Department Statistics

Faculty: 168+ (155 MDs, 13 PhD)

Research Fellows: 63

Central Research Support Staff: 7 (4 Grant Administrators, 1 Sr. Lab Manager, 1 Clinical Trials Manager, 1 Data Quality Director)

Research Locations: 6 (BWH Thorn Building, BWH One Brigham Circle, BWH A Building 1st Floor, BWH

Braunwald Research Building, BWH 65 Lansdowne St Cambridge, DFCI)

Research Centers: 3 (Center for Surgery and Public Health, Patient-Reported Outcomes, Value & Experience (PROVE) Center, Alliance)

Core Facilities: 2 (BWH Tissue Blood and Core Facility, LMA CyTOF Antibody Resource Core Facility) Research Spending FY20

CORE DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES:

* Oversees all Research Operations for the DOS including but not limited to all matters pertaining to administration, financial, personnel and compliance.

* Continuously interface with the DOS Executive Administrator, DOS Associate Chair for Research, the DOS Research Oversight Committee, BWH Vice President of Research, the BRI, and MGB Research Management on all matters relating to DOS Research.

* Regular meetings with the Associate Chair, Division Chiefs and Administrators and the DOS Research Oversight Committee

* Ensure that members of the DOS central research team, primarily grants administrators, meet regularly with individual PIs to review project timelines and benchmarks

* Responsible for maintaining a deficit free portfolio for the DOS including the overall department budget and individual investigator funding.

* Oversee submission (pre-award), management (post-award) and close out of numerous research grant awards submitted to governmental, non-governmental and philanthropic agencies.

* Supervise submission, compliance and conduct of industry supported clinical trials and other research. Will act as a resource regarding conflict of interest standards and liaison with the MGB Office for Interactions with Industry.

* Serve as DOS Representative on all BWH, BRI, HMS, and MGB research administration committees as assigned.

* Leads strategic planning initiatives related to research space planning for surgery, laboratory relocations including recruitment and closings, financial planning, major equipment and/or shared resource planning, and pivotal project markers for progress and sustainability.

* Organizes Departmental research initiatives such as research retreats and events, research start up projects and combined centers and programs.

* Provides senior level support for all research issues concerning funding policies, BWH/MGB policies, federal, state, local policy issues, human resource policies and proposed regulations as they relate to research.

* Interprets and implements compliance with all federal, HMS and BWH/MGB related regulatory issues. Maintains communication with PHS Central Office, BWH/MGB and HMS Compliance Offices to stay abreast of current issues and requirements. Works directly with other Administrators in support of broader departmental and organizational issues relating to compliance

* Oversees the coordination, verification and filing of Time and Effort reporting for DOS researchers in a timely manner consistent with all regulatory factors involved including appropriate effort and salary expense distribution and cost-share as governed by competing and overlapping policies of the funding sponsor, institution, Federal Code of Federal Regulations 45CFR74, and HMS.

* Directly handles sensitive research negotiations for awards, philanthropic gifts and political strategies.

* Accountable for the hiring, training, supervising, and mentoring of Grant Administrators and other central research administrative staff. Communicates appropriate information on staffing to Executive Administrator. Supervises direct reports and assesses and evaluates performance. May counsel others such as PIs in the evaluation of other research related staff.

* Supports the professional development of staff in order to increase retention and to stay current in fields of expertise and maintain knowledge of best practices within the research administration community. Communicates future goals and develops approaches for managing change through and with staff.

* Accountable for the management and resolution of all employee/faculty issues related to salary management, employee conflict resolution, performance management and compliance. Develops strong relationships with physician and administrative leaders. Serves as a mentor and works directly with Research Staff on complex issues that are precedent setting. Communicates necessary information and outcomes to Executive Administrator, Associate Chair for Research and appropriate Chiefs.

* Works with researchers and administrators to set goals and strategize on the most cost-effective means of maximizing resources.

* Represents areas of accountability, Chiefs/PIs and BWH/MGB internally and externally. Acts as a liaison and resource to external agencies as appropriate and represents research community on committees as necessary.

* Responsible for developing and fostering strong working relationships with ancillary services within BWH and MGB (i.e. A/P, HR, Purchasing) ensuring proper support to the research community and education on department specific guidelines and procedures.

* Must have outstanding organization, communication and analytical skills.

* Good judgement and strong decision-making skills

* Ability to effectively delegate responsibilities to staff

* Must have outstanding interpersonal skills and a high degree of social facility in obtaining cooperation and support from a broad range of people. Demonstrated ability to interact with all members of the organization in ways that enhance understanding, respect, cooperation and problem solving.

* Excellent verbal and written communication skills to communicate effectively with a large and diverse constituency including Department of Surgery Executive Administrator, Chair of Surgery, Vice Chair of Surgery, DOS Associate Chair of Research, Division Chiefs, Surgeon Researchers and other departmental leadership as well as collaborating institutions nationally and internationally, regulatory and funding agencies and internal offices, vendors and medical schools.

* Excellent negotiation skills in complex and often sensitive multi-institutional situations

* Knowledge of research financial management, with a high degree of analytic ability

* Expertise in submitting and managing research grant awards to major federal, state and non-governmental research grant awarding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Department of Defense, American Cancer Society, American College of Surgeons etc.

* Knowledgeable in the ethical conduct of research and standards that govern the conduct of industry supported clinical trials and other research.

* Managing professional and administrative staff, setting goals, acting as a mentor and coach while providing both direction and recognition, within the context of a large academic medical center.

* A high degree of flexibility and adaptability is necessary in order to manage and lead change in an environment with changing regulations and needs to research community.