Senior Manager, Community Care Centers of Excellence

CIRM•South San Francisco, CA

21d•$127,308 - $166,668•Hybrid

About The Position

CIRM was created by the people of California to fund stem cell and gene therapy research with the goal of accelerating treatments for patients with unmet medical needs. With $8.5 billion in funding allocated through both Proposition 71 in 2004 and Proposition 14 in 2020, CIRM supports stem cell and gene therapy discoveries from inception through clinical trials, trains a workforce in California to fill jobs in the state’s thriving biotech and biomedical research industry, and creates infrastructure to make clinical trials accessible for people throughout California. All of CIRM’s research, workforce development, and infrastructure programs are designed to benefit the people of California, whose vision created the agency. The Patient Access (PA) Team collaborates across CIRM’s core programs to foster innovative care delivery models and enhance the accessibility of regenerative medicine therapies. The PA Team’s operational goal is to develop and manage clinical infrastructure programs to provide enhanced access to clinical trials and approved therapies for all Californians. CIRM’s Clinical Infrastructure programs include: (1) the Alpha Clinics (AC) Network, the (2) Patient Support Program (PSP), and (3) the Community Care Centers of Excellence (CCCE). Additionally, the group serves as a bridge to policymakers and payers, coordinating CIRM’s Accessibility and Affordability Working Group (AAWG) and Standards Working Group (SWG) as outlined in Proposition 14. CIRM recently awarded $27 million through three grants across the state to create a network of CCCEs. The CCCE program is the first of its kind designed to make regenerative medicine clinical trials accessible for Californians who live far from major medical centers where most regenerative medicine clinical trials are conducted. The CCCE awards are designed to create hubs that expand the geographic reach of centers delivering clinical trials and approved regenerative medicine therapies, extending access across California. Each center will also offer training and career development for both the delivery of treatments and wider patient support services required in the expanding field of regenerative medicine. The Senior Manager serves as the operational lead for CCCE program implementation. The Senior Manager will work directly with awardees and internal CIRM teams to: Support end-to-end execution, coordination, optimization, and continuous improvement of CCCE operations at individual sites consistent with established award milestones. Facilitate broader networking and connectivity across all PA programs to ensure the CCCEs function as a connected and interoperable component of CIRM’s broader clinical infrastructure. Provide support to CIRM-funded pre-clinical and clinical programs utilizing the CCCEs. Engage relevant stakeholders (e.g. patients, sponsors, CCCE sites, community members) to optimize program impact. Operating under general direction, the Senior Manager exercises sound judgment to set priorities, manage workflows, identify operational challenges, and recommend solutions. The position reports to the Senior Director, Patient Access and supports day-to-day program operations and execution while escalating strategic considerations as appropriate. This position is classified as Senior Project Manager; however, the working title is Senior Manager, Community Care Centers of Excellence (CCCE).

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Business Administration, Healthcare Management, Economics, Science, or a related field relevant to program or clinical infrastructure management; Master’s degree preferred.
Six (6) years of progressively responsible experience in program support, community or stakeholder engagement, or clinical research in a healthcare or biotechnology environment.
Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with experience interacting with external stakeholders such as patients, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, public agencies and the public to advance program objectives and report on outcomes.
Demonstrated experience with health program planning, implementation and evaluation. The ideal candidate will have experience developing and aggregating key program performance data / metrics to support performance evaluation and publishing / reporting results.
Project management and coordination experience with multi-functional teams, networks or consortia, or CROs conducting scientific or biomedical research or implementing public health programs.
Understanding of various recruitment strategies, including community-based outreach, digital engagement, and provider partnerships.
Knowledge of clinical networks, health systems, or the biotechnology industry.
Experience in clinical research setting such as study coordination, protocol oversight, data management or patient care. Knowledge of the operational aspects of cell and gene therapy trials or treatments preferred.
Ability to be detailed, organized and forward thinking with focus on anticipated trends, challenges, and opportunities.
Ability to professionally represent CIRM in internal and external engagements.
Understanding of regulatory frameworks and compliance considerations in clinical research.
Demonstrated ability to project manage multi-site initiatives.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Experience in Cell and or Gene Therapy or other advanced therapy modalities is strongly preferred.
Experience managing grant awards including progress reporting, financial administration is a plus.

Responsibilities

Support operational planning and coordination for the CCCEs as part of an integrated statewide CIRM clinical infrastructure ecosystem.
Serve as the primary operational point of coordination between the CCCE sites, Patient Access, Clinical Development, Grants Management, Communications, Finance, CIRM awardees, and community-based organizations.
Develop, implement, and maintain internal guidance documents, workflows, and CCCE-specific SOPs that support standardized processes and cross-program collaboration.
Collect, validate, and track CCCE operational and clinical trial data; maintain program analysis documents, dashboards, and presentations that support infrastructure-wide visibility.
Support the planning and execution of CCCE network meetings, workshops, symposia, and related engagement activities.
Align CCCE operations with Alpha Clinics and PSP infrastructure to enhance patient education and engagement, improve trial recruitment, and support seamless coordination, referrals, and handoffs to reduce barriers to patient access and enrollment.
Ensure accurate, timely, and complete reporting of CCCE activities in collaboration with CIRM’s Grants Management team.
Update individual CCCE award milestones or objectives in response to evolving needs or emerging evidence.
Lead development of standardized performance metrics and dashboards across the CCCEs to evaluate equity, patient engagement, and clinical trial reach. Ensure transparency and accountability in CCCE activities.
Prepare and present reports to internal and external stakeholders, including Patient Access and CIRM leadership, the CIRM governing board and the Access & Affordability Working Group (AAWG) on CCCE performance, patient referrals and recruitment, community engagement activities, and emerging access issues.
Support execution and continuous improvement of CCCE operations through hands-on collaboration with internal and external partners, developing knowledge-sharing mechanisms to optimize CCCE operations and disseminate best practices.
Identify and document risks, gaps, and inefficiencies that affect community engagement, patient education & referrals, enrollment, or infrastructure coordination, trial start-up, and recommend process or operational improvements as appropriate.
Coordinate sponsor and investigator inquiries, facilitating meetings and cross-functional review to assess feasibility, infrastructure readiness, and network fit.
Represent CIRM in meetings with clinical sites, sponsors, and external stakeholders to support shared understanding of how the CCCEs fit within CIRM's broader clinical infrastructure ecosystem.
Engage with internal stakeholders to support transparency, coordination, and alignment across clinical infrastructure programs and clinical trial teams.
Collaborate with CIRM Communications to support accurate and effective dissemination of CCCE information to community-based organizations and to the broader public as part of CIRM's statewide access strategy.
Build and strengthen partnerships with external stakeholders, including patient advocacy groups, industry partners, and community-based organizations, to improve patient education & trial accessibility.
Demonstrate commitment to CIRM’s mission by advancing integrated, equitable, and patient-centered clinical infrastructure.
Collaborate across teams to identify efficiencies, enhance productivity, and strengthen system-wide access to CIRM-funded clinical trials and therapies.
Support team and organizational decisions and contribute to achieving shared objectives under the Strategic Allocation Framework and Access & Affordability Strategy.