Assistant Director of the Clinical Trial Financial Group

University of Chicago•Hyde Park, IL

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Director of the Clinical Trial Financial Group (CTFG) provides direct supervision and oversight of financial management for clinical trials within the Biological Sciences Division (BSD). The role supervises Financial Managers and Financial Coordinators and reports to the Associate Director of the CTFG within the Office of Clinical Research (OCR). The position leads clinical trial post-award financial activities, supports financial planning and compliance, develops consistent policies and procedures, and serves as a resource to faculty, staff, departments, and other stakeholders across the BSD. The Office of Clinical Research supports the management and administration of clinical research at the University of Chicago. Its mission is to catalyze clinical research by providing expertise, resources, infrastructure, and systems that facilitate operations and collaboration while promoting compliance and human subject protection. This is a people-manager role in an office environment with a hybrid work arrangement. The position is scheduled for 40 hours per week. Occasional in-person meetings, presentations, or conferences may be required. The stated salary range is $100,000 to $130,000, and the position is benefits eligible.

Requirements

A college or university degree in a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Five to seven years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills, including the ability to manage complex projects and competing deadlines.
Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to advise faculty, administrators, staff, and other stakeholders clearly and professionally.
Ability to collaborate effectively with finance, operations, regulatory, and departmental leadership in a complex academic or healthcare environment.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in business administration, healthcare administration, public health, finance, or a related field.
Five to seven years of experience managing clinical trial post-award activities in an academic medical center, healthcare organization, or similarly complex research environment.
Experience in clinical trial financial management and compliance.
Experience developing and monitoring key performance indicators, dashboards, and financial summaries to support operational and strategic decision-making.
Advanced knowledge of clinical trial financial management, including budgeting, invoicing, reconciliation, revenue tracking, and financial reporting.
Strong understanding of industry-sponsored, federal, private, and investigator-initiated research funding mechanisms.
Ability to develop, implement, and standardize policies, standard operating procedures, and best practices across teams.

Responsibilities

Supervise a team responsible for clinical trial post-award activities across the BSD, including financial management and reconciliation for faculty working with industry, federal, and private funding agencies.
Monitor clinical research revenue and expenditures using financial targets, clinical trial budget reports, and quarterly and annual financial summaries.
Support development and adoption of financial policies and procedures for post-award clinical trial staff.
Partner with Department Administrators to develop and implement the research staff salary Program Support Model across the BSD.
Support clinical research budget planning with departments, service lines, and BSD Finance.
Serve as a local expert and key resource for clinical trial financial management and compliance across the BSD.
Align standard operating procedures with other divisional groups and promote consistent processes across the CTFG and BSD.
Develop metrics to ensure appropriate staffing levels to meet objectives and timelines.
Work closely with Operations and Regulatory teams across the BSD.
Provide input and analysis for multi-investigator grants, multi-site investigator-initiated trials, and single-site investigator-initiated trials.
Advise BSD faculty and staff on clinical trial budgets and contracts clearly and professionally.
Read and interpret clinical trial protocols, budgets, contracts, informed consents, and laboratory manuals.
Provide input into clinical trial management system and financial system implementation and utilization.
Work with departments, sections, core facilities, and administrative offices to support efficient operations.
Build professional relationships with pharmaceutical, contract research organization, and nonprofit counterparts to facilitate timely negotiations.
Contribute to data analysis using established and novel metrics to advance unit and department efficiency and profitability.
Manage multiple concurrent projects while balancing deadlines, complexity, and priorities.
Attend in-person meetings, presentations, and conferences as required on an occasional basis.
Supervise daily team activities, set priorities for direct reports, and coordinate work to meet departmental objectives.
Supervise employees providing specialized research-enterprise support, including pre-award and/or post-award administration for sponsored activity.
Serve as liaison among principal investigators, University administrative offices, and external agencies.
Supervise employees directly, including selection, training, performance appraisal, and work allocation.
Ensure service and communication to principal investigators, standardized information, development of best practices, and awareness of grant policy updates among faculty and research staff.
Perform other related work as needed.