Managing Director, Life Sciences Research Initiative; Office Vice Provost Research

Johns Hopkins, founded in 1876, is America’s first research university and home to nine world‑class academic divisions working together as one university.
A new Life Sciences Building is rising on Johns Hopkins’ East Baltimore medical campus, creating space for more than 1,200 lab benches and 920 scientists pursuing foundational biomedical research. This building will anchor a major new life sciences effort centered on rapidly developing technologies in imaging, artificial intelligence, and genetics—fields where scientists are making discoveries at a record‑breaking pace. It expands on Johns Hopkins’ extraordinary leadership across the life sciences: 29 Nobel Prize‑winning affiliates (including 16 in Physiology or Medicine), decades as the nation’s leading recipient of NIH funding, and a deeply embedded culture of translating discovery into advances that shape clinical care and advance public health worldwide.

To sustain strategic investments in infrastructure, training, and cross‑divisional collaboration, Johns Hopkins is establishing a Life Sciences Research Initiative to accelerate discovery across the full continuum of life sciences, from basic science to clinical application and translation. These efforts will unite life sciences research across all Johns Hopkins’ academic divisions. By launching innovative funding programs, they will invest extensively over multiple years in strategically chosen research areas and also provide smaller, high‑impact awards to fund bold, investigator‑driven projects.

The Opportunity

Johns Hopkins University seeks an accomplished executive to serve as the inaugural Managing Director, Life Sciences Research Initiative
. This is a rare opportunity to launch a new initiative in support of one of the world’s leading universities in life sciences.

Reporting directly to the Director, the Managing Director will serve as the senior operational and administrative leader, translating scientific vision into organizational reality. The Managing Director assumes broad responsibility across these initiatives, including day‑to‑day operations, strategic planning and execution, institutional relationships, budget stewardship, and staff leadership—enabling the Director to provide scientific leadership, advance strategic vision, and build a high‑impact research enterprise.

They will serve as a critical liaison between life sciences and its university partners, governing bodies, and external stakeholders.

The ideal candidate is an experienced organizational leader with a track record of building and running complex, mission‑driven enterprises. They will bring sound administrative judgment, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to work effectively across a large, decentralized university with multiple stakeholders. Familiarity with academic research environments, life sciences, or related sectors is highly valued.

• Partner with the Director to develop, update, and operationalize strategic plans, including mission, vision, goals, programs, organizational structures, and budgets.
• Oversee execution of strategy across all programmatic and operational areas, translating goals into actionable initiatives.
• Establish and maintain robust systems for tracking key performance indicators, timelines, and outcomes; prepare regular reports for the Director, governance committees, advisory boards, and university leadership.
• Identify emerging organizational needs and recommend adaptive strategies to ensure responsiveness, innovation, and long‑term impact.
• Cultivate an organizational culture of excellence, collaboration, and accountability across all Institute operations.

• Advise the Director on organizational priorities, resource allocation, governance, and stakeholder engagement; represent the Institute in key internal and external meetings.
• Lead internal governance processes, including oversight committees, advisory boards, and related charters, agendas, and reporting.
• Direct recruitment, onboarding, professional development, and performance management for the core…