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. This role oversees critical startup functions including research finance coordination, budget development, coverage analysis alignment, contract execution workflows, regulatory compliance, CTMS optimization, and research systems integration. The Associate Director is accountable for reducing activation timelines, improving operational efficiency, maximizing financial performance, and building scalable oncology research infrastructure aligned with institutional growth goals.

Key Responsibilities

• 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.

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

Within 12 months, this role is expected to build a high‑performing oncology startup infrastructure…