Assistant Vice President Head of Clinical Research Operations

Hospital for Special Surgery•New York, NY

9d•$198,500 - $268,000

About The Position

The Assistant Vice President Head of Clinical Research Operations provides enterprise leadership for clinical research operations across all service lines at Hospital for Special Surgery. Reporting to the Chief Research Officer and maintaining a dyadic leadership relationship with the SVP of Service Lines, the role develops and executes the operational vision and strategic plan for clinical research, establishes consistent standards and practices, and aligns research operations with institutional and service-line priorities. The position provides direct administrative leadership, mentorship, and support to Service Line Administrative Research Directors, and oversight of centralized research operations leaders and programs, including the Clinical Trials Unit, Clinical Registries, and Biorepositories. Working in partnership with physician research leaders, service-line leadership, Research Administration, Research Finance, Research Quality & Compliance, and the HSS Data team, the role advances research infrastructure, workforce strategy, quality and compliance, performance measurement, and financial and resource stewardship. The role requires a master's degree in a related field or 12+ years of leadership experience, at least 10 years of progressively responsible clinical research, research administration, or research operations experience, and at least 5 years of leadership experience. A doctoral degree is preferred. The position is regular, full-time, and day shift. The stated base pay scale is $198,500 to $268,000, with eligibility for additional benefits consistent with the role.

Requirements

Master's degree in Public Health, Clinical Research, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Epidemiology, Nursing, Health Services Research, or a related field, or 12+ years of leadership experience.
At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in clinical research, research administration, or research operations.
At least 5 years of leadership experience overseeing research programs, personnel, or institutional initiatives.
Demonstrated success leading large-scale research operations and multidisciplinary teams.
Experience within an academic medical center, health system, or research-intensive organization.
Experience overseeing clinical trials, registries, quality programs, and research infrastructure initiatives.
Advanced knowledge of clinical research regulations, GCP, FDA regulations, human subjects protections, and research compliance requirements.
Strong strategic planning, organizational leadership, and workforce development capabilities.
Experience leading organizational change and process improvement initiatives.
Strong financial, operational, and analytical skills.
Demonstrated ability to build partnerships across complex stakeholder groups.
Excellent communication and executive leadership abilities.
Experience with CTMS platforms, electronic regulatory systems, research databases, registries, and enterprise reporting solutions.

Nice To Haves

Doctoral degree.

Responsibilities

Support development and execution of the operational vision and strategic plan for clinical research across all service lines.
Establish enterprise-wide standards, policies, procedures, and best practices for clinical research quality, efficiency, consistency, and compliance.
Align clinical research operations with institutional strategic priorities and service-line goals; lead initiatives to improve investigator support, operational performance, and research depth.
Identify opportunities to expand and strengthen research infrastructure and shared services.
Oversee registry submissions to support data integrity, regulatory and submission requirements, and timely completion.
Support development and oversight of the clinical research workforce strategy and lead workforce planning for current and future research growth.
Support recruitment, onboarding, training, mentorship, and leadership development; foster career progression, employee engagement, accountability, and operational excellence.
Partner with Research Leadership to establish and maintain standardized job families, career ladders, competency models, and professional development pathways.
Provide direct administrative leadership, mentorship, and support to Service Line Administrative Research Directors; establish expectations, goals, and performance metrics for research operations leadership.
Support Administrative Research Directors with staffing strategy, budget planning, portfolio management, operational problem solving, and program development; encourage alignment and sharing of best practices across service lines.
Collaborate with the SVP of Service Lines, physician Research Directors, Department Chairs, and Service Chiefs on service-line research strategies, growth plans, resource alignment, and research operations advice.
Ensure clinical trials, clinical registries, and biorepositories align with overall goals, are appropriately governed and staffed, and meet applicable regulatory, ethical, and institutional requirements.
Partner with the Director of Research Quality & Compliance to lead enterprise research quality management and compliance programs; oversee audit readiness, quality improvement, risk mitigation, and corrective action frameworks.
Partner with Research Leadership and the HSS Data team to enhance research infrastructure and support governance and operational adoption of clinical trial management systems, electronic regulatory systems, registries, and reporting tools.
Drive process improvement initiatives that improve transparency, efficiency, and user experience.
Monitor study startup, enrollment, workforce utilization, quality, compliance, and operational performance; establish service-line-specific key performance indicators and report results to executive leadership and governance committees.
Partner with Research Finance on financial reporting, budget development and management, and long-term workforce planning; support grant and external funding opportunities, resource monitoring, efficiency, and sustainable models for research growth and shared services.
Partner with Research Administration to optimize budget development for sponsored clinical research projects.