Associate Director, Research Operations

Job Description

Come join our team! Cedars-Sinai is hiring an Associate Director of Research Operations for Women's & Guerin Children's. Learn more:

• Guerin Children's Research
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• Center for Research in Women's Health Science
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What will you be doing in this role?

This Associate Director will be responsible for administrative oversight of both basic science and clinical research, including clinical trials. This role is responsible for the daily twenty-four (24) hour planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of the daily operations of assigned areas, to meet the needs of all customers and support the Medical Center philosophies. They are accountable to the service area Executive Director. The Associate Director serves as liaison with medical staff and other personnel, promotes the maximum growth and development of each employee, supports research, participates in strategic planning, both long and short term, and assures patient advocacy. The Associate Director guides staff in meeting customers' needs consistent with the Medical Center's philosophy, mission, vision, and strategic plan, and The Plan for Provision of Patient Care, The Performance Improvement Plan, and Professional Organization Standards. They maintain competency skills, including the ability to interact with customers with diverse cultural backgrounds.

What are the Primary Duties and Responsibilities?

• Monitors department & research operations ensuring appropriate governance & compliance with local, state and federal laws, accreditation, professional and regulatory agency standards, and licensure requirements. Maintains staff and department compliance with medical center policies, procedures, and protocols and external regulatory, legal, and financial agencies.
• Assumes fiscal responsibility for the department, which includes unit budget preparation, labor and supply cost management, and revenue enhancement.
• Collaborating with the Executive Director, develops business and operations plans for the unit and for specific programs and services within it.
• Supervises employees, including responsibility for determining qualifications, hiring, maintaining and improving competence, assigning work, coaching, training (e.g., orientation, in-service and continuing education), evaluating performance, compensation, discipline, and terminating employment in collaboration with Laboratory Directors.
• Maintains constructive collegial relations within the service line, division, and research/clinical/support medical staff, including research employees and research administrative management.
• Collaborates with other Managers in cross- functional process improvement, collaborative teamwork, open communication, and problem-solving to ensure the effective coordination and integration of services within and between units.
• Handles the effective utilization of human resources & supplies within the unit, including the development of appropriate staffing and management of productivity. Develops staffing plans in response to patient volume and activity. Recommends a sufficient number of qualified and competent persons to provide care. Recommends space and other resources & participates in selecting outside for needed services.
• In partnership with leadership, responsible for planning, monitoring, and managing program fiscal budgets and financials, and resolving or escalating issues.
• Maintains data system integrity and ensures quality assurance measures are followed based on departmental standard operating procedures. May provide ad hoc reporting to support recommendations observed through trend analysis for future planning and enhancements.

Department-Specific Responsibilities

• Serve as the administrative liaison for research efforts throughout the health system and with external funding sources and regulatory agencies. Develop and promote productive working relationships with CROs, vendors, and clinical trial sites.
• Oversee and facilitate pre- and post-award management and grant transfers in conjunction with the Cedars-Sinai Office of Research Administration (ORA).
• Assemble and lead multi-disciplinary study management teams charged with establishing project goals for protocol development & trial implementation.
• Provide PIs with administrative and financial support during protocol development and budgetary planning.
• Review budgets for completeness and accuracy prior to submission to external agencies. Facilitate communication between research and clinical teams to ensure understanding & compliance with protocol documentation and internal charge capture.
• Collaborates with Human Resources to recruit research personnel. Supervises staff, in a dotted line reporting relationship, and conducts staff performance evaluations. Ensures compliance with required competencies and training. Serve as a liaison to Immigration Services for immigration specific issues. Provides mentorship and growth opportunities for staff by fostering a cohesive environment.
• Evaluate transferred or new research-related equipment purchases for compatibility with CSMC facilities. Collaborates with Clinical Engineering, EIS, and Safety to ensure proper space allocation and compliance with internal and external regulatory requirements.
• Assist PIs in effectively managing grant and clinical trial funds. Ensure time and effort reporting compliance with research awards.
• Provides leadership, coaching, and opportunities for professional development to facilitate self-directed work processes, collaboration, and focus on quality research practices and patient care outcomes.
• Promotes an organizational focus by establishing goals consistent with organizational goals, facilitating collaboration and coordination for interdepartmental problem-solving, and supporting new concepts that enhance the functioning of area operations.
• Functions as a positive, creative, and effective leader, actively participating in performance improvement activities and consulting in the implementation of education programs.
• Assures that their area of responsibility maintains a customer focus by serving as a role model with consistent focus on customer relations, providing feedback regarding positive and negative customer comments, and participating in customer satisfaction initiatives.
• Recognizes the worth of their human resources and uses them effectively. Maintains a positive work climate, ensures appropriate staff education, promotes an environment that fosters self-directed staff, assists employees to develop and contribute to the organization, and applies human resource policies fairly and consistently.

About Us

Cedars-Sinai is a leader in providing high-quality healthcare encompassing primary care, specialized medicine and research. Since 1902, Cedars-Sinai has evolved to meet the needs of one of the most diverse regions in the nation, setting standards in quality and innovative patient care, research, teaching and community service. Today, Cedars- Sinai is known for its national leadership in transforming healthcare for the benefit of patients. Cedars-Sinai impacts the future of healthcare by developing new approaches to treatment and educating tomorrow's health professionals. Additionally, Cedars-Sinai demonstrates a commitment to the community through programs that improve the health of its most vulnerable residents.

About the Team

Cedars-Sinai is one of the largest nonprofit academic medical centers in the U.S., with 886 licensed beds, 2,100 physicians, 2,800 nurses and thousands of other healthcare professionals and staff. Choose this if you want to work in a fast-paced environment that offers the highest level of care to people in the Los Angeles that need our care the most.

Diversity and Inclusion at Cedars-Sinai

Cedars-Sinai is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.

Cedars-Sinai does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of the race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, physical or mental disability, legally protected medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics or any genetic information), marital status, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, age (40 or older), military and/or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal or state law. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at Applicant_Accommodation@cshs.org and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

Cedars-Sinai will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories, in accordance with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

At Cedars-Sinai, we are dedicated to the safety, health and wellbeing of our patients and employees. This includes protecting our patients from communicable diseases, such as influenza (flu). For this reason, we require that all new employees receive a flu vaccine based on the seasonal availability of flu vaccine (typically during September through April each year) as a condition of employment, and annually thereafter as a condition of continued employment, subject to medical exemption or religious accommodation. For the same reason, you may also be required to receive other vaccines as a condition of employment. Cedars-Sinai reserves the right to make modifications to its required list of vaccines as required by law and/or policy.