Executive Director - Research Administration & Operations

HonorHealth•Scottsdale, AZ

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Under the direction of the Associate Vice President / Chief Operating Officer, Research Institute, the Executive Director, Research Administration & Operations provides executive leadership for the integrated administrative and operational infrastructure that enables the Research Institute to execute its research mission safely, efficiently, compliantly, and sustainably. The role leads through Directors and other functional leaders responsible for research financial operations, sponsored projects, research compliance, clinical research operations and designated standard-of-care operations, institutional and investigator-initiated research infrastructure, business operations and study start-up, research technology and systems, and research pharmacy. It partners with the Vice President of Research, Academic Affairs leadership, physician and scientific leaders, and health-system stakeholders to translate research priorities into scalable administrative and operational capabilities. The role is accountable for the operating model, cross-functional governance, portfolio-level performance and risk, resource prioritization, organizational capability, and transformation across assigned functions, and supports and operationalizes research strategy established by the Vice President of Research and Chief Operating Officer. The Executive Director leads clinical, administrative, financial, regulatory, systems, pharmacy, and business functions as a coordinated operating model; aligns HRI strategy, HonorHealth priorities, and academic commitments with research capabilities across the health system; and establishes disciplined performance management and continuous improvement. The role provides executive oversight of research compliance, regulatory quality, operational risk, audit readiness, investigational pharmacy, and corrective action while protecting research participants and meeting regulatory obligations. The position also stewards financial performance, technology, infrastructure, and workforce capability across assigned operations. This includes financial forecasting and stewardship, research charge-master development, operational-system data governance, organizational design, workforce strategy, succession planning, leadership development, onboarding, and competency management. The role is hybrid and based primarily on-site at the Shea Medical Office Building in Scottsdale, Arizona, with some remote work available. Candidates outside Arizona must be willing to relocate.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, business administration, finance, research administration, life sciences, or a related field.
Twelve or more years of progressively responsible leadership experience in research administration, healthcare operations, academic medicine, clinical research, research finance, or a closely related field, including substantial responsibility for complex multidisciplinary operations.
At least seven years of leadership responsibility.
Experience partnering with senior executives, physicians, scientific investigators, academic leaders, and institutional stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in business administration, healthcare administration, public health, research administration, finance, leadership, or a related discipline.
Demonstrated experience leading multiple levels of leaders and integrating distinct functional areas in a complex matrixed healthcare, academic, or research environment.
Demonstrated responsibility for significant operating and financial portfolios, budgetary performance, operational risk, workforce and capacity planning, performance management, resource allocation, and large-scale organizational or technology-enabled transformation.
Experience in an academic medical center, health system, research institute, cancer center, or similarly complex research environment.
ACRP certification upon hire.
SoCRA certification upon hire.

Responsibilities

Lead clinical, administrative, financial, regulatory, systems, pharmacy, and business functions as one coordinated research operating model.
Define decision authority, service standards, handoffs, escalation pathways, resource priorities, workforce capacity, and corrective action across assigned functions.
Own outcomes across the full research lifecycle, remove cross-functional barriers, standardize workflows, resolve handoff failures, and ensure consistent service to investigators, sponsors, research participants, and internal partners.
Establish coordinated grant and research project intake, sponsored-project governance, study startup and closeout processes, and clear operational ownership throughout execution.
Translate HRI strategy, HonorHealth priorities, and academic commitments into scalable research capabilities, operational plans, capacity, infrastructure, controls, and sustainable execution.
Partner with the Vice President of Research, HRI Chief Operating Officer, Academic Affairs, Arizona State University, physician and scientific leaders, and HonorHealth stakeholders.
Expand research access across hospitals, medical groups, service lines, physicians, and clinical programs; represent HRI operational interests in health-system planning, governance, audits, initiatives, academic collaborations, and external relationships as assigned.
Coordinate decisions and communication across HRI, ASU, investigators, sponsors, and HonorHealth partners, reinforcing approved priorities and preventing inconsistent guidance or competing operating pathways.
Lead through validated data and ensure operational leaders understand their operating models, key performance indicators, financial results, risks, trends, aging work, workforce capacity, and improvement plans.
Track commitments, close action items, address backlogs, intervene in performance gaps, and foster accountability, collaboration, succession strength, and continuous improvement.
Use Friday operational reviews, monthly operating reviews, and quarterly executive reviews to assess performance, portfolio health, aging work, financial results, capacity, risk, corrective actions, barriers, resource needs, and progress against Institute priorities.
Escalate material risks promptly through established pathways and oversee research compliance, regulatory quality, operational risk, audit readiness, investigational pharmacy, and corrective action.
Establish quality standards, validate performance data, investigate recurring deficiencies, and ensure corrective actions remain open until evidence confirms sustained improvement.
Lead development of a compliant institutional mechanism for studies requiring long-term follow-up while preserving participant protections, regulatory oversight, safety reporting, data obligations, and appropriate IRB review.
Oversee financial performance, including forecasting, revenue integrity, sponsored funding stewardship, expense management, enrollment assumptions, payment schedules, amendments, financial allocation, and investment needs.
Direct development and maintenance of an HRI research charge master with validated rates for industry-sponsored trials, investigator-initiated trials, internally supported research, and other approved categories.
Establish data governance for CTMS, Florence, Workfront, Epic, and other operational systems; ensure information is complete, accurate, timely, consistent, and decision-ready.
Ensure technology supports approved business processes and leadership needs, with Workfront serving as the consistent communication and workflow platform for study startup and operational reporting.
Lead organizational design, workforce strategy, succession planning, leadership development, onboarding, and competency management.
Align staffing and resource decisions with workload, portfolio complexity, service demand, revenue, capacity, compliance, and strategic priorities; use existing HRI capabilities before creating duplicative functions.
Ensure every operational area maintains role-specific onboarding milestones and competency standards.