Director, NW BioTrust

Job Description

Who we’re looking for:

The UW Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology (DLMP) in Seattle, WA has a fantastic opportunity for a Director with NW BioTrust .

This role reports to the NWBio Medical Director in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (DLMP). The Director serves as a member of senior management responsible for providing strategic, operational, administrative, and business management direction for NWBioSpecimen/NWBioTrust (NWBio), ensuring effective governance, optimal resource allocation, excellent customer service, and long-term financial and organizational sustainability, while maintaining the highest standards of regulatory compliance. The role is accountable for setting direction, ensuring effective governance, optimal resource allocation, excellent customer service, and long-term financial and organizational sustainability, while maintaining the highest standards of regulatory compliance. The Director will work closely with Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (DLMP) and School of Medicine (SOM) leadership, NWBio staff, and internal and external customers to ensure excellent service, patient safety, and the advancement of academic research. The Director provides direct leadership oversight to a team of eleven staff, cultivates a culture of transparency, consistency, and accountability, and ensures the program meets high customer service standards and the evolving institutional and national principles for biobanking and biospecimen management in a regulatorily compliant manner.

Major responsibilities of this position include ensuring broad access to archival and prospective research tissue specimens for researchers across the University of Washington, UW Medicine, and affiliated institutions including Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, while operating within the confines of all applicable regulations (e.g., CAP, CLIA, IRB, institutional policies, Joint Commission). This role requires excellent organizational and project management skills to support change management initiatives, improve organizational processes and efficiency, optimize use of physical resources and digital platforms, manage NWBio finances, implement innovative technical directions, and act as a liaison between NWBio, DLMP, UW Medicine departments and leadership and affiliate institutions. Lastly, the Director will strengthen collaboration with operational teams within Anatomic Pathology and across DLMP, fostering alignment of workflows, resources, and priorities to ensure seamless biorepository integration into both clinical and research activities.

The Director oversees the development, approval, and continuous evolution of SOPs, policies, and governance frameworks to support biorepository operations and collaboration with Anatomic Pathology, including overseeing specimen collections at multiple UW Medicine hospital sites. The role leads enterprise-wide standardization of procedures and actively collaborate with DLMP and UW Medicine leadership (including, but not limited to, the Vice Dean of Graduate Research and Education, Vice Dean of Administration and Operations, Associate Dean of Clinical Research, the School of Medicine Chief Financial Officer and clinical and departmental leadership), affiliated institutions, clinical areas, and researchers to ensure seamless integration of biorepository services with our patient care and academic missions.

Work schedule:

• 100% FTE
• Monday – Friday
• Day shift

What you’ll contribute:

Program Oversight

• Consult with DLMP administrative leadership, NWBio Medical Director, Vice Chairs, and Chair in strategizing and determining staffing and space needs, resource allocation, technical decisions, and overarching goals and metrics for the research biobanking and NWBio aligned with biorepository activities with institutional goals and scientific advances.
• Coordinate with NWBio personnel, departmental and institutional leadership, principal investigators (PIs), clinical areas (e.g., nursing, OR leadership, etc.), hospital administrators, and external stakeholders to enhance biospecimen access capabilities, address operational or regulatory concerns, and ensure alignment with the broader missions of UW Medicine and affiliated entities.
• Oversee the continuous availability of biospecimens and develop strategies to address identified gaps.
• Provide strategic direction for developing and executing the operational strategies of NWBio.
• Oversee the expansion of the internal and external customer base by engaging with PIs, federated biorepositories and industry partners to drive additional business.
• Oversee honest brokering and gatekeeping functions for NWBio related to the Clinical Anatomic Pathology tissue archive for supporting archival research requests to ensure that archived specimens are accessible for research under the appropriate regulatory oversight.
• Ensure ongoing program evaluation and continuous improvement of systems, workflows, and performance metrics.
• Leads the implementation of research specimen initiatives identified by the Joint Research Specimen (JRS) Steering Committee. • Leads the development and implementation of new, replacement of outdated, and/or expanded technical capabilities that will impact future research projects.

Operational Oversight

• Lead the development of center budgets, including detailed information on capital equipment, leases, contracts, inventory, staffing, and fee-for-service rates.
• Oversee the NWBio budget planning, cost analyses, and management of fund expenditures to ensure fiscal responsibility (e.g., financial reports with variance analysis and budget deviation justifications).
• Lead collaboration efforts across departmental and institutional finance teams to identify efficiencies and align resource use with each research program.
• Lead the planning and development of multi-year capital budgets and department strategic planning (exploring opportunities for cost saving and commercialization) in collaboration with DLMP leadership.
• Serve as a senior consultant by providing expertise on best practices for optimal and consistent workflows, efficiency, and productivity.
• Lead day to day coordination of all NWBio biospecimen services, including workflow execution for research specimen handling, annotation, storage, and distribution.
• Recommend, develop, and implement policies and procedures that standardize and streamline operations across all of NWBio and hospital sites in collaboration with DLMP leadership.
• Ensure customer expectations for quality and timeliness of specimen registration, retrieval, discard, and preservation are uniformly and consistently met by managing customer complaints, feedback, and inquiries from all clients.
• Proactively manage and drive resolution of client issues to maintain strong relationships with investigators, research partners, UW Medicine and affiliated entities.
• Ensure all nonconforming events and workflow deviations are identified through established reporting systems and operational monitoring processes.
• Implement and monitor escalation processes and communication standards to ensure transparency and responsiveness across the organization.

Management of Staff

• Create and foster a culture of teamwork, accountability, professional development, and continuous learning to support growth and retention across all levels.
• Thoughtfully and equitably delegate responsibilities, duties, and other tasks to optimize the use of management staff and employee time, skill, strengths, and expertise to allow their growth and independent functioning without compromising quality of operations and regulatory needs.
• Ensure NWBio teams are appropriately staffed and scheduled to maintain coverage for required hours of operation.
• Oversee hiring, orientation, training, and ongoing education for NWBio and lab personnel.
• Assess staff performance and implement corrective actions and professional development plans as necessary to address concerns and improve outcomes.
• Model professionalism and a growth mindset by actively seeking, receiving, and constructively acting on feedback from staff, peers, and leadership.

Compliance and Regulatory Oversight

• Ensure that all NWBio operations adhere to all applicable regulatory and compliance standards, institutional requirements, and policies, while balancing the need to consistently deliver high-quality customer service.
• Communicate complex regulatory, compliance, legal, and policy requirements in an accessible way, facilitating institutional alignment and helping customers understand how these standards support their goals.
• Lead coordination efforts with departmental and institutional quality and compliance teams (e.g., IRB) to track metrics, continuous improvement initiatives, and corrective actions.
• Lead efforts to maintain and update the current policies/procedures/protocols/job aids, and develop new documents as necessary, coordinating with key stakeholders (internal and external) to ensure all records and documentation are accurate.

What you’ll need:

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Physical, Biological Science, Medical Technology, Clinical Lab Science, Health Administration, Business Administration, Public Health or related field. Experience may substitute for education requirements.
• At least six years of progressive leadership experience with direct oversight responsibility in program management (including project and financial), process improvement, or personnel management.
  • Proven success managing complex, cross-disciplinary programs within large healthcare or business organizations.
  • Advanced oral and written communication skills, including demonstrated ability to oversee cost centers within a large organization.
  • Demonstrated ability to influence across disciplines, departments, and leadership levels.
  • Demonstrated professionalism and discretion in handling confidential and sensitive information.

Desired qualifications:

• American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) certification
• Experience working within a clinical or life sciences environment (e.g., anatomic pathology)
• Experience in client/customer-facing role(s)
• Experience leading, managing, or launching a biobank in a large clinical system

What we offer:

• Relocation incentive for eligible new employees.
• Vacation time and sick time off that accrue monthly, including 12 paid holidays.
• State Employee Tuition Exemption Program covering up to 6 credits of qualifying coursework per quarter at the University of Washington or other participating colleges or universities.
• Fully subsidized public transit pass (U-PASS) that covers multiple forms of public transportation in the region.
• Excellent healthcare, dental, disability, retirement, and other plan options.
• Lots of free fantastic fitness, healthy eating, finance, and stress reduction classes offered through the Whole U.
• And much more!

About the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology:

A regional resource for clinical laboratory services required for innovative patient care, research and educational programs, the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology at UW Medicine combines the sophisticated testing and informatics capabilities of fully accredited laboratories with the resources of an academic institution in its delivery of clinical and anatomic pathology services. Recognized for excellence in clinical training, world-class research initiatives, and a commitment to community service, we serve labs and medical facilities both nationally and internationally.

Please visit our website to learn more about our department.

About the UW:

Working at the University of Washington provides a unique opportunity to change lives – on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees bring their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to building stronger minds and a healthier world. In return, they enjoy outstanding benefits, opportunities for professional growth and the chance to work in an environment known for its diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

Compensation, Benefits and Position Details

Pay Range Minimum:

$180,000.00 annual

Pay Range Maximum:

$216,000.00 annual

Other Compensation:

Benefits:

For information about benefits for this position, visit https://www.washington.edu/jobs/benefits-for-uw-staff/

Shift:

First Shift (United States of America)

Temporary or Regular?

This is a regular position

FTE (Full-Time Equivalent):

100.00%

Union/Bargaining Unit:

Not Applicable

About the UW

Working at the University of Washington provides a unique opportunity to change lives – on our campuses, in our state and around the world.

UW employees bring their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to building stronger minds and a healthier world. In return, they enjoy outstanding benefits, opportunities for professional growth and the chance to work in an environment known for its diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

Our Commitment

The University of Washington is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful and welcoming community for all. As an equal opportunity employer, the University considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, pregnancy, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, or veteran status consistent with UW Executive Order No. 81 .

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu .

Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law .