Associate Director of Research

Job Description

OVERVIEW:

The University of Washington Department of Ophthalmology a complex academic and clinical department in the School of Medicine has an excellent opportunity for the newly created role of Associate Director of Research. The Department has an annual budget of approximately $46 million including $24 million in research funding from numerous federal industrial and philanthropic sources. The Department of Ophthalmology is one of the 31 departments in the School of Medicine with approximately 50 faculty members 35 trainees and 75 staff. The mission of UWs Department of Ophthalmology is to alleviate suffering from eye disease. We do this by providing state-of-the-art compassionate care to our community advancing the state-of-the-art through rigorous research and sharing our knowledge with our trainees and the community. The Department of Ophthalmology shares UWs commitment to creating and maintaining an environment striving toward healthcare equity for all our patients; maintaining an inclusive and safe learning environment; and fostering diversity in our faculty staff and trainees. The faculty provide care at eight major sites of practice: the UW Medicine Eye Institute at Harborview; the Harborview Medical Center 4W Clinic (which includes our consult and trauma services); the Eyes on James optical shop; UW Medical Center Eye Center; VA Puget Sound Health Care System (Seattle and American Lake); Seattle Childrens; the Roger and Angie Karalis Johnson Retina Center at South Lake Union and the UW Medicine Primary Care Clinics. Last year our faculty and trainees provided approximately 100000 patient visits and performed over 5000 surgeries. The Department serves as a major referral center seeing patients from the five-state WWAMI (Washington Wyoming Alaska Montana Idaho) region. The Department continues to provide many services rare in the community including managing eye cancer (ocular oncology) uveitis and medical and hereditary retinal disease. The Departments faculty remain highly committed to the educational mission of the Department. We currently train 20 residents five fellows and scores of medical students annually. Our residency training program remains one of the most competitive in the country. The Departments vision scientists are committed to improving diagnosis treatment and ultimately finding cures for diseases of the eye and visual system. Collectively the department published 175 papers during the 2024-2025 academic year. This past year our department rose to #3 in the nation in NIH funding among ophthalmology departments and the University of Washington sits in the top 10 among universities in the US in funding from the National Eye Institute.

POSITION PURPOSE:

The Associate Director of Research oversees all financial and administrative functions related to research conducted within the Department of Ophthalmology. This position requires a broad scope of knowledge and experience in the following areas: academic research in medicine conformance and compliance to policies and procedures at local state and national levels. This position collaborates with a wide range of research faculty and staff in developing and implementing research processes and managing programs. This role is expected to exercise independent judgment in its oversight of daily operations strategic planning communications pre- and post-award grants management coordination of personnel space and other resources across multiple projects. This position maintains adherence to regulatory requirements for human subjects research and timely and meticulous record-keeping systems related to clinical research and clinical trials. This includes the responsibility to advise faculty investigators and staff of current institutional and agency policies and procedures and to provide timely notification of policy changes.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

This role oversees and provides leadership for the department across all research-related activities including policy development operations strategy finance grants and contracting regulatory support rick management research staffing and events.

Leadership (30%)

• Provide overall management of pre- and post-award grant and contract activities including the development implementation and administration of internal grant related policies and procedures including financial management record keeping monitoring and reporting.

• Oversee and manage compliance with policies and procedures of the School University and external funding agencies.

• Serve as contact for sponsors and central administrative offices on the substance of funded work and contractual arrangements.

• Monitor policies processes and researcher relations for consistent application and to inform continual improvement.

• Design prepare and interpret analytical reports on departmental research funding and expenditure trends and projections.

• Participate in the clinical trial feasibility committee to shape departmental research priorities.

Research Finance & Operations Management (20%)

• Design and implement consistent processes for clinical research and clinical trial infrastructure from the application stage through study startup to closeout and reporting.

• Manage departmental space needs across vision science research labs research faculty and clinical trial locations including equipment and material requirements.

• Maintain rhythm of business throughout research activities and ongoing trials with a focus on financial stability and forecasting departmental need.

• Ensure timely reporting activities for research products including philanthropy state and federal sponsors (RPPR).

Grants & Contracts Management (15%)

• Direct grant managers on matters concerning research administration grant submission compliance conflict of interest pre- and post-award management.

• Provide subject matter expertise and support to grant managers on research-related activities in Workday finance such as award set-up request cost share and effort reporting.

• Monitor grant funding trends to anticipate internal and external financial problems.

• Ensure timely reporting activities for research products including philanthropy state and federal sponsors (RPPR).

• Serve as backup for research grant and contract proposals including eGC1 submissions development of budgets subawards IRB/IACUC concerns and related research matters.

Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management (15%)

• Ensure all departmental research activities comply with federal state and institutional regulations as well as ethical standards and guidelines.

• Ensure all departmental research activities are in compliance with UW EH&S IRB and IACUC guidelines.

• Stay updated on changes in research administration and compliance including new sponsor and university procedures and systems and adjust document workflows accordingly.

• Provide strategic oversight to researchers to ensure adherence to compliance requirements and mitigate risks associated with their research activities this will include working collaboratively with UW offices that oversee various compliance areas for the University such as Intellectual Property (IP) Conflict of Interest (COI) Export Controls Data Security Significant Financial Interests (SFI) and others.

Human Resources & Supervisory (10%)

• Oversee the day-to-day activities of the Research Operations Team including recruitment and hiring processes training oversight performance management and leave approval. Advise research labs on hiring needs and best practices.

• Offer consistent coaching and feedback to enhance employee performance; actively engage in performance management initiatives including setting clear objectives regular performance evaluations and career development planning.

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement by regularly assessing and updating policies and procedures.

• Compose and disseminate routine communications regarding policy changes compliance updates sponsor requirements and emerging research trends as necessary.

Departmental Research Initiatives (10%)

• Represent the department at university and research meetings acting as a strategic liaison.

• Lead high-impact project management for emerging initiatives strategically mobilizing resources and directing efforts to ensure alignment with organizational goals and successful project outcomes.

• Oversee the development and execution of high-profile events featuring distinguished guests enhancing the departments visibility and impact.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervise and manage four 1.0 staff members: Research Finance Manager Grants & Contracts Manager Research Coordinator Lead and Regulatory & Compliance Specialist.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelors Degree in Business Sciences or Health-related field.

• Five (5) years of progressive experience including a combination of research administration grants and contracts management clinical research operations regulatory and compliance support and/or clinical research finance.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements such as a license/certification/registration.

Additional Requirements.

• Experience with managing budgets and running projections.

• Ability to communicate respectfully effectively and professionally in written and verbal formats; and the ability to explain present or distill complex information for various audiences.

• Proven ability to effectively collaborate with diverse stakeholders and manage complex projects.

• Experience in leading meetings and giving presentations.

• Advanced analytical problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

• Experience working independently and leading individuals or groups of faculty administrators and/or staff in a research setting.

• In-depth knowledge of federal state and institutional regulations and ethical standards related to research.

• Ability to work effectively in the face of ambiguity maintain an openness to new ideas and facilitate innovation within a distributed organization.

• Ability to effectively manage up including anticipating superiors needs providing timely updates and proactively seeking guidance to ensure alignment with organizational goals and priorities.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Masters or Doctoral Degree in a health sciences-related field.

• Project or program management experience within an academic or medical environment involving complex and/or open-ended projects development of project charters setting program requirements prioritizing program goals and evaluating success criteria.

Compensation Benefits and Position Details

Pay Range Minimum:

Pay Range Maximum:

Other Compensation:

Benefits:

Temporary or Regular

FTE (Full-Time Equivalent):

Union/Bargaining Unit:

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 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 or .

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.