Director of Research, Weitzman Institute-Remote

Job Description Summary

Job Description

Summary:

Job Description:

The Weitzman Institute is a national leader in evidence-based, stakeholder-informed primary care innovation and transformation, serving over 2 million patients across all 50 U.S. states, DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam through partnerships with FQHCs and other health systems. Established in 2007 as the first research, education, and policy center embedded within a large safety-net primary care health system, the Institute is part of the Moses/Weitzman Health System (MWHS), a family of organizations that includes Community Health Center, Inc.,

one of the country’s leading FQHCs, and affiliates spanning workforce development and eConsults. The Director of Research position affords a rare research environment: direct access to real-world clinical and EHR data, established pathways to patients, providers, and community partners in the safety net, and the ability to move from study design through implementation and dissemination within a large integrated health system, translating evidence into practice and policy at national scale.

The Institute’s research portfolio is anchored in primary care integration, social drivers of health, community-engaged and stakeholder-driven research, health workforce development, and practice transformation, with growing bodies of work in digital health transformation. Across all of it, we ground our efforts in the lived experiences of patients and healthcare teams, ensuring our work is both practical and impactful for vulnerable populations nationwide.

This is a pivotal moment for safety-net research. To lead this next chapter, the Institute seeks a visionary, entrepreneurial, and collaborative Director of Research who will help build and lead a high-performing, nationally recognized research enterprise.

• Research Strategy and Portfolio Leadership

  Develop and implement a strategic, forward-looking research and evaluation portfolio aligned with the Institute’s mission, organizational strategy, emerging health priorities, and the needs of safety-net populations. Build a balanced portfolio of research, evaluation, and learning initiatives that advances scientific excellence while generating meaningful impact in practice and policy. Identify emerging scientific, clinical, policy, and funding trends and position the Institute to respond strategically.
  
  Evaluate potential opportunities and make recommendations regarding organizational priorities, investments, partnerships, and resource allocation. Serve as a scientific and strategic thought partner to the Chief Scientific Officer and Institute leadership. Ensure research activities are appropriately prioritized based on scientific merit, strategic alignment, organizational capacity, funding potential, impact, and sustainability.

• Funding Strategy and Business Development

  Develop and execute a diversified, multi-year funding strategy and pipeline for the Institute’s research and evaluation portfolio. Identify and pursue opportunities across government, philanthropy, private-sector, academic, health-system, and other mission-aligned funding sources. Lead and contribute to competitive grant and contract proposals, including scientific strategy, proposal development, writing, budgeting, and supporting materials aligned with funder priorities. Build and cultivate long-term relationships with current and prospective funders, including government agencies, foundations, corporations, academic institutions, health systems, and other strategic partners.
  
  Develop strategic approaches to converting emerging opportunities and relationships into sustainable funded programs. Partner with business development, finance, grants administration, contracts/legal, communications, and other teams to ensure successful development and execution of proposals and contracts. Monitor the research funding landscape and proactively position the Institute for emerging opportunities. Contribute to the financial sustainability and growth of the Research and Evaluation portfolio.

• Research, Scholarship, and Dissemination

  Serve as Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator,…