Director - Oncology Research Finance

The Director – Oncology Research Finance provides strategic and operational leadership for the end‑to‑end activation of oncology clinical trials across industry, cooperative group, investigator‑initiated, and translational research portfolios.

• Direct oncology trial activation operations from feasibility through site activation.
• Establish startup performance metrics, dashboards, and accountability standards.
• Identify delays across budgeting, contracting, regulatory, committee review, and system build processes.
• Lead process redesign initiatives to reduce activation cycle times.
• Ensure timely movement through PRMC, IRB, coverage analysis, budgeting, contracting, and system builds.

• Provides strategic planning for the financial aspects of sponsored oncology research.
• Oversees development of budgets for industry, translational, foundation, and federally funded studies.
• Provides detailed estimates of charges and costs for standard‑of‑care and research‑related activities, ensuring oncology‑specific labor costing models are used.
• Performs financial feasibility analyses for new opportunities.
• Reviews negotiated budgets to ensure alignment with institutional policies and operational needs.
• Oversees budget amendments and financial impact assessments.

• Evaluate incoming opportunities for financial viability, staffing capacity, and strategic fit.
• Support prioritization of high‑value treatment and early phase studies.
• Monitor study startup pipeline and projected activation inventory.
• Provide leadership recommendations regarding portfolio balance and resource deployment.

• Partner with legal/contracts teams to prioritize and accelerate oncology agreements.
• Escalate delays impacting enrollment opportunities or sponsor commitments.
• Coordinate activation milestones across multiple departments.

• Oversee operational use of CTMS and related systems supporting startup.
• Ensure budget information is accurately entered into the clinical trial management system.
• Support reporting capabilities for activation timelines, finances, accrual readiness, and productivity.
• Collaborate on OnCore / EPIC integration initiatives and workflow improvements.

• Direct managers and operational leaders within the Oncology Trial Activations team.
• Establish clear performance expectations, service standards, and professional development plans.
• Build a culture of accountability, responsiveness, and operational excellence.

• Prepare reports and presentations for the Director and Oncology Cancer Institute leadership.
• Communicate startup risks, opportunities, revenue projections, and operational trends.

• Bachelor's degree required;
  Master's preferred.
• 6+ years clinical research administration experience.
• 6+ years oncology research operations strongly preferred.
• Experience with budgets, contracts, regulatory startup, CTMS systems.
• Experience leading cross‑functional teams.

• OnCore expertise.
• EPIC research billing / integration experience.
• Oncology startup leadership.

• Faster trial activation.
• Stronger budget recovery.
• Better contract speed.
• Real‑time operational visibility.
• Reduced barriers impacting the clinical trial lifecycle.
• Higher investigator confidence.
• Increased revenue opportunity.
• Scalable infrastructure.

Within 12 months, this role is expected to build a high‑performing oncology startup infrastructure that measurably reduces activation timelines, increases revenue opportunity, and creates sustainable operational scalability.

The…