Project Manager - Cancer Research Operations

Ali Aydi; Lansing (MI); On-site; USD 91,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Brown University Health Office of Cancer Research seeks a Project Manager to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives strengthening the clinical research portfolio and supporting infrastructure. You will design governance, plans, metrics, communication strategies, and change-management approaches for study start-up, regulatory operations, budgeting, and access to trials.

Role involves coordinating resources and stakeholders to ensure timely, compliant, and financially responsible delivery

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in healthcare administration, business, public health, clinical research, nursing, life sciences, or related field.
• Master’s degree preferred in related fields.
• Project management certification preferred.
• Clinical research certification (ACRP or SOCRA) preferred.
• 7–10 years of progressively responsible healthcare/clinical research leadership experience.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leadership and investigators to translate strategic priorities into actionable initiatives and operating plans.
• Lead a portfolio of initiatives to improve clinical trial activation, operational quality, compliance, and financial performance.
• Design governance, charters, milestones, and executive reporting for projects and portfolios.
• Establish and monitor KPIs for study start-up, budgeting, billing readiness, and financial reconciliation.
• Lead process-improvement efforts to reduce handoffs, cycle time, and operational variation while maintaining regulatory controls.
• Coordinate cross-functional work across investigators, clinical staff, finance, contracting, IT, and analytics.
• Support governance and optimization of research systems, including trial management and reporting platforms.
• Collaborate on protocol budgets, sponsor negotiations, cost allocation, and revenue-cycle workflows.
• Ensure adherence to federal regulations, GCP, IRB, and sponsor obligations.
• Develop change-management and communication plans; prepare dashboards and SOPs for diverse audiences.
• Use data to identify performance gaps and opportunities to improve access to cancer trials.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Change management

Data analysis

Regulatory knowledge

Budgeting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business, public health, clinical research, nursing, life sciences, or related field

Master’s degree in healthcare administration, business administration, public health, clinical research, or related field

Project management certification

Clinical research certification (ACRP or SOCRA)

Tools

CTMS

EHR systems

Regulatory platform

ERP systems

Job description

Reporting to Brown University Health Office of Cancer Research leadership, the Project Manager leads complex, cross-functional initiatives that strengthen the clinical research portfolio and its supporting infrastructure. The role designs governance, implementation plans, performance measures, communication strategies, and change-management approaches for initiatives involving study start-up, regulatory operations, clinical trial finance, research billing compliance, participant access and accrual, workforce models, and research technology. The Project Manager coordinates project resources and stakeholders to achieve timely, compliant, and financially responsible delivery while supporting a consistent investigator and participant experience.

Brown University Health employees are expected to successfully role model the organization's values of Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence as these values guide our everyday actions with patients, customers and one another.

In addition to our values, all employees are expected to demonstrate the core Success Factors which tell us how we work together and how we get things done. The core Success Factors include:

Instill Trust and Value Differences

Patient and Community Focus and Collaborate

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Partners with Brown University Health Office of Cancer Research leadership, investigators, disease-site programs, and health-system leaders to translate strategic priorities into actionable initiatives and measurable operating plans.
• Leads a portfolio of complex initiatives intended to improve clinical trial activation, operational quality, compliance, financial performance, and service to investigators.
• Designs project and portfolio governance, including charters, decision rights, prioritization criteria, workplans, milestones, resource requirements, escalation pathways, and executive reporting.
• Establishes and monitors key performance indicators for study start-up, contract and budget development, coverage analysis and billing readiness, and financial reconciliation.
• Leads process-improvement efforts that reduce unnecessary handoffs, duplicate work, cycle time, and operational variation while preserving essential regulatory, billing, privacy, safety, and financial controls.
• Coordinates cross-functional work involving investigators, research nursing, clinical research coordinators, regulatory staff, finance, contracting, pharmacy, laboratory services, supply chain, information technology, data analytics, and other clinical and administrative partners.
• Supports governance and optimization of research systems and integrations, including clinical trial management, departmental resource planning, and reporting platforms.
• Collaborates with finance and research administration partners on protocol budgets, sponsor negotiations, cost allocation, research billing compliance, account setup, revenue-cycle workflows, effort planning, and portfolio financial reporting.
• Partners with regulatory and compliance stakeholders to support adherence to applicable federal regulations, Good Clinical Practice, institutional policies, IRB requirements, and sponsor obligations.
• Develops change-management, communication, training, and adoption plans; prepares dashboards, workflow documentation, standard operating procedures, and decision materials for diverse audiences.
• Uses data to identify performance gaps, operational risks, capacity constraints, and opportunities to improve access to cancer clinical trials, including equitable participation across the communities served by Brown University Health.
• Facilitates multidisciplinary working groups, resolves barriers, manages interdependencies, and escalates risks requiring leadership action.
• Evaluates the operational and financial impact of proposed initiatives; supports business cases, staffing models, return-on-investment analyses, and implementation recommendations.
• Provides project leadership, coaching, and functional guidance to project managers, coordinators, analysts, and subject-matter experts assigned to initiatives.
• Maintains productive relationships across Brown University Health, affiliated research entities, sponsors, cooperative groups, vendors, and external partners as appropriate.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business, public health, clinical research, nursing, life sciences, or a related field required.

Master’s degree in healthcare administration, business administration, public health, clinical research, or a related field preferred.

Project management certification preferred.

Clinical research certification, such as ACRP or SOCRA, preferred.

EXPERIENCE:

• Seven to ten years of progressively responsible experience in healthcare, academic medicine, clinical research administration, oncology research operations, project/program management, or consulting, including leadership of cross-functional or multidisciplinary initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience translating strategy into operating models, implementation plans, governance structures, and measurable outcomes.
• Working knowledge of the clinical trial lifecycle, including feasibility, activation, regulatory review, contracting and budgeting, billing compliance, participant enrollment, study conduct, closeout, and financial reconciliation.
• Experience with applicable clinical research regulations, Good Clinical Practice, IRB processes, sponsor requirements, and institutional compliance controls.
• Demonstrated success leading change across complex organizations and engaging senior leaders, investigators, clinicians, administrators, and technical teams.
• Strong analytical skills and experience developing performance measures, dashboards, business cases, staffing models, budgets, and financial or operational forecasts.
• Experience with clinical research and enterprise systems, such as a clinical trial management system, electronic health record, electronic regulatory platform, and enterprise resource planning system, preferred.
• Experience in oncology, an NCI-designated cancer center, an academic health system, or a similarly complex research environment preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor project staff and build collaborative, accountable teams.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

None. Provides functional leadership to multidisciplinary team members and subject-matter experts assigned to projects, programs, or portfolio initiatives.

Pay Range:

$90,729.60-$149,697.60

EEO Statement:

Brown University Health is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and maintaining a work environment free from all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment.

Location:

Location:

Work Type:

Work Shift:

Day

Daily Hours:

8 hours

Driving Required:

No