Director of Research Operations

About this role

Director of Research Operations
Clinical Research | Multi-Site Research Network
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced Director of Research Operations to lead the day-to-day operational execution of a growing, multi-site clinical trials portfolio.
Reporting to the Vice President of Research, the Director will translate the organization’s research strategy and growth objectives into consistent, measurable operational execution across the clinical trials enterprise.
This role is responsible for the operational foundation of clinical trial delivery: ensuring studies move efficiently from award through startup, activation, recruitment, enrollment, conduct, and closeout; sites have the resources and support required to perform; operational teams work cohesively across functional areas; and leadership has clear visibility into performance, risks, and resource needs.
The Director will lead and coordinate the functional areas supporting clinical trial execution, including site operations, study startup and activation, regulatory operations, recruitment and enrollment, trial delivery and project management, research systems and training, and operational data and performance management.
This is an execution-focused leadership role. Enterprise research strategy, organizational growth strategy, executive and sponsor relationships, research portfolio development, financial and business oversight, quality governance, and expansion of new research service lines remain under executive research leadership. The Director of Research Operations will be responsible for ensuring that those strategic priorities are translated into effective day-to-day clinical trial operations.
The successful candidate will be a highly experienced clinical research operations leader who knows how to build structure, establish accountability, develop teams, solve operational problems, and create scalable processes without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
Key Responsibilities
Lead Clinical Trial Operations

• Own the operational execution of the clinical trials portfolio from study award through closeout.

• Translate organizational priorities into clear operational plans, responsibilities, timelines, and performance expectations.

• Create consistent operating practices across centralized research functions and participating research sites.

• Maintain visibility into the health of the clinical trial portfolio, including startup progress, enrollment performance, operational milestones, staffing and workload, and significant risks or barriers.

• Ensure issues are identified early, assigned to the appropriate owner, escalated when necessary, and followed through to resolution.

Drive Site Performance & Operational Excellence

• Ensure research sites have the infrastructure, processes, staffing support, training, and centralized resources necessary to execute clinical trials successfully.

• Establish clear expectations for site performance and routinely evaluate operational readiness, workload, enrollment performance, study execution, and barriers to success.

• Partner with site and practice leadership to address operational challenges while maintaining appropriate accountability for performance.

• Balance network-wide standardization with the practical needs of individual practices, investigators, and studies.

• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, reduce duplication, and improve the experience of conducting research within participating practices.

Oversee Study Startup & Activation

• Drive efficient movement of studies from award through site activation.

• Ensure coordination of regulatory activities, site readiness, systems setup, training, investigator preparation, operational planning, and other startup requirements.

• Establish measurable startup expectations and monitor studies against those expectations.

• Identify recurring causes of activation delays and implement process improvements to address them.

Strengthen Recruitment, Screening & Enrollment

• Ensure effective operational processes for identifying, screening, and enrolling appropriate research participants.

• Coordinate centralized recruitment resources with site-based recruitment and clinical-practice workflows.

• Strengthen integration of clinical research into routine patient care so that investigators and clinical teams can effectively identify potential participants.

• Establish visibility into recruitment funnels and enrollment performance and ensure underperforming studies have actionable recruitment plans.

• Drive follow-through and accountability for enrollment initiatives.

Establish Strong Trial Delivery & Project Management

• Create consistent project-management standards across active studies.

• Ensure studies have appropriate operational plans, timelines, meeting structures, deliverables, action-item tracking, escalation pathways, and communication processes.

• Establish clear ownership of study activities and ensure commitments to sponsors, investigators, sites, and internal stakeholders are tracked through completion.

• Develop processes that allow leadership to identify studies requiring intervention before significant milestones are missed.

Integrate Regulatory Operations into Trial Delivery

• Ensure regulatory activities are effectively integrated into startup and ongoing study operations.

• Maintain efficient processes for submissions, essential-document management, investigator documentation, amendments, continuing reviews, and closeout activities.

• Ensure regulatory workload and timelines are visible within overall study planning.

• Partner with quality and compliance leadership to address operational findings and ensure corrective actions are translated into sustainable operational practices.

Optimize Research Systems, Technology & Training

• Ensure research technology supports efficient trial execution across the network.

• Drive effective adoption and utilization of clinical trial management,…