Director, Digital Research Operations

The Opportunity

Healthcare is undergoing a huge transformation. There are numerous contributing factors such as policy/ reimbursement changes, aging of the population and a renewed focus on the patient experience. Increasingly sophisticated digital technologies (e.g. AI, cloud, smart devices and novel sensors) are also transforming the way we deliver patient care. As one of the leading integrated academic healthcare delivery systems, Mass General Brigham is dedicated to enhancing patient care, to teaching and research and to serving the community. Furthermore, Mass General Brigham seeks to build new care delivery models, to develop and translate breakthrough ideas and innovations, and generate new revenue streams. Emerging technologies, as well as co-developing new technology solutions with technology vendors and startups are critical to achieving these strategic aims.

At Mass General Brigham Digital, we pride ourselves on our ability to create maximum strategic, clinical, and operational value from established and emergent technologies for our patients, care teams, researchers, and employees. Digital health will not only enhance the equity and efficiency of healthcare delivery, but will also help make medicine more personalized and precise.

We recognize that increasing value and continually improving quality while maintaining an inclusive focus are essential to organizational excellence, and we invite you to join us on this journey. The work we do in Digital is a strategic imperative, and there is a strong and growing understanding of how together we will transform Mass General Brigham in innovative and impactful ways.

Research-infused care sets Mass General Brigham apart

As a national leader in innovation, our patient-centered mentality and systemwide collaborative approach are the keys to research breakthroughs that drive medical innovation, gain new knowledge, and improve patient outcomes. Our physician-scientists-in the lab, in the clinic, and at the bedside-work tirelessly to understand the effects of debilitating diseases and our patient's needs to help guide our studies and improve patient care.

Mass General Brigham has over 200 years of leading innovative science, with 13 Nobel Laureates for research achievements and medical firsts. As a world-recognized leader in research, we are home to one of the largest hospital system-based research medical centers in the U.S., with anannual research budget of over $2 billion. Our researchers and clinicians are conducting thousands of studies in every major medical therapeutic and technology discipline. We are currently enrolling our patients in over2,700 ongoing clinical trials to accelerate bringing new treatments and therapies to our patients and the world.

Mass General Brigham is seeking an exceptional candidate to serve as Director, Research Operations

A new Digital Research Operations function was created in 2023 to enable and accelerate biomedical research and discovery through the provision of exceptional technology and data services to researchers and investigators. Reporting directly to the Vice President of Digital Research Operations, the Director, Research Operations will be a critical member of the Digital Research Operations leadership team.

The Director of Research Operations will manage the digital research experience portfolio at the direction of the VP. The first priority is putting together a business case and solution for a research portal - a single entry point for the research community to get information, ask questions and find what they need in a user friendly and intelligent search capability. Other important responsibilities include intake / demand management, supporting the research experience advisory council and subsequent governance committees, project management and standardizing support, best practices and the budget for the entire Digital Research Ops team. The other Digital Research Ops pillars are Research Data, Research Applications, Research Computing & AI Solutions, Research Enterprise Architect, with this role coordinating across all functions.

Success in the role will be measured by portfolio and deliverable management, milestone metrics, research outcomes, service delivery and feedback from the Research community. This role is expected to design and implement processes to look across the entire Digital Research Ops portfolio and align with other digital experience teams and will be a success measure.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Build diverse and high performing team to deliver services across the following areas, adjusting skill mix and developing individuals as needed:

o Research Portal

o Research Experience Portfolio and Project Management

o Intake / Demand Management & Product / Service Catalog

o Experience, Outreach & Education

o Budget and Vendor Management

• Accountable for research portal - this is a strategic priority for the research community and will be the single-entry point, combining multiple websites and underpinned by intelligent search
• Responsible for developing process and maintaining the research experience portfolio / roadmap, includes staffing the research experience advisory committee quarterly meetings and other important governance committees
• Develop, implement and sustain a standard and scalable demand management process, product & services catalog and support experience framework
• Build partnerships with MGB research groups, understanding the diverse range of needs and working together to build short-, medium- and long-term demand forecasts for technology services
• Understand the academic research landscape, grant process and develop a plan to engage with researcher before grants are submitted to define digital requirements (includes letters of support)
• Develop approach and execution model for education and outreach for research products and self-service options in collaboration with community, focus on keeping direct and indirect costs as low as possible
• Measure service excellence with stakeholder feedback and ensure transparent process
• Work in collaboration with Research support groups (e.g. Human Research Affairs, Research Management, etc.) to ensure proper coordination approvals throughout the grant lifecycle, continuously monitoring external and internal factors changing the research landscape, including the regulatory environment and advances in medical research
• Support vendor management and department budget tracking, goal is to have single source of truth with proactive approach to managing new contracts, renewals and regular reviews
• Manage all aspects of technology operations in alignment with ITIL best practice, including incident, problem & change management and maintaining performance, resilience and security
• Use the Mass General Brigham values to govern decisions, actions and behaviors. These values guide how we get our work done: Patients, Affordability, Accountability & Service Commitment, Decisiveness, Innovation & Thoughtful Risk; and how we treat each other: Diversity & Inclusion, Integrity & Respect, Learning, Continuous Improvement & Personal Growth, Teamwork & Collaboration

Qualifications

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in Healthcare / Research or aligned field
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred
• A strong foundation and experience in working in research and a complex healthcare environment
• Deep consultative experience with demonstrated ability to translate business needs into technical programs which deliver real business value
• Extensive experience with processes and tools to manage intake, support, triage requests, training and communication to close the loop with stakeholders
• Experience in Workfront, ServiceNow and Web Applications preferred
• Extensive experience leading large, complex projects, including strategic and tactical planning
• Strong track record of operational excellence in budget, talent, and communication with demonstrated innovation in the field

Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent consultative skills, understanding business needs and translating those needs to technical requirements. Clear communication to business and technical leaders
• Storytelling: ability to communicate complex ideas in a way that is digestible to a broad audience and leads to decision and action
• Results driven, sets challenging goals, motivates colleagues and is accountable for continuously driving improved outcomes, leads change, and ensures high standards
• Strong creative problem solving with ability to craft MGB-specific solutions to meet the wide range of business needs across Research
• Demonstrated competence in leading matrixed people and large projects that cross functional areas and business priorities. Set, communicate, align on, and achieve common goals and objectives
• Adept at establishing trusted relationships at all levels across the organization and collaborating across multi-functional teams to drive accountability
• Strong project and program management skills
• Excellent change management skills with proven track-record of leading enterprise-wide change initiatives
• Will need to demonstrate Mass General Brigham's Leadership Competencies for both Performance Focused Leadership and People-Focused Leadership

Performance Focused:

• Customer/Patient Focus: Building strong customer/patient relationships and delivering customer/patient centric solutions
• Manage Complexity: Make sense of complex, high quality, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems
• Cultivate Innovation: Create new and better ways for the organization to be successful
• Ensure Accountability: Holding self and others accountable to meet commitments
• Learning Agility: Actively learn through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as a learning folder

People Focused:

• Drive Equity and Inclusion: Recognizes the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization
• Build Effective Teams: Build cohesive teams that apply their diverse skills and perspective to achieve common goals
• Collaborate: Build partnerships and work collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives
• Communicate Effectively: Develop and deliver multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences
• Instill Trust: Gain the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Create and manage new research ops team
• Directly manage ~5 staff to start and scale function as roadmap is confirmed; indirectly manage ~20 people across Digital contributing to delivery of technology services to Researchers
• Attract and retain qualified talent and provide leadership development, corrective action, etc.
• Work collaboratively with MGB Digital PMO and Human Resources to assure effective and efficient business practices

Diversity Statement

As a not-for-profit organization, Mass General Brigham is committed to supporting patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. We place great value on being a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization as we aim to reflect the diversity of the patients we serve. At Mass General Brigham, we believe in equal access to quality care, employment and advancement opportunities encompassing the full spectrum of human diversity: race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religion, ethnicity, national origin and all the other forms of human presence and expression that make us better able to provide innovative and cutting-edge healthcare and research.

EEO Statement

Mass General Brigham is an Equal Opportunity Employer & by embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law.