Director, Health Sciences Biobank; Assistant, Associate of Full Professor)(CT

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Tucson, AZ USA

The Director provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for the University of Arizona Health Sciences Biobank within the Clinical and Translational Science Initiative (CTSI). This role ensures regulatory compliance, optimizes biobanking operations, and facilitates connections among researchers, clinical partners, and the community to advance precision medicine and improve health outcomes. The Director establishes standards for consent, collection, storage, annotation, and distribution of biospecimens and associated data, and stewards a shared resource that is accessible, equitable, and sustainable.

The successful candidate will meet the requirements for a career track faculty appointment according to University guidelines and must qualify for an appointment at the rank of assistant, associate, or full professor. The successful candidate will also fulfill the responsibilities of a faculty member in an appropriate department, actively participating in teaching, clinical service, and/or scholarly work. The Director - Biobank is expected to be .20 FTE, with the remaining effort coupled to one or more areas of the academic tripartite mission, FTE of this role is .80 FTE and will be combined with other roles for a full 1.0 FTE.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more! The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please .

• Teaching, clinical services or scholarly work.

• Complete a comprehensive inventory of existing specimen banks across campus and register holdings in Open Specimen.
• Assess and remediate legacy collections to ensure appropriate consent and annotation, including destruction when required.
• Develop and implement standardized consent language and processes applicable across biobanking activities; standardize training for cons enters.
• Implement and maintain SOPs and quality systems for collection, processing, labeling, storage, chain of custody, and distribution; ensure adequate secure space and environmental monitoring.
• Prepare, submit, and manage IRB applications, amendments, and continuing reviews; ensure compliance with institutional, state, federal, and sponsor regulations.
• Oversee audits, quality control/assurance, and corrective action plans to maintain regulatory and operational alignment.

• Convene a Health Sciences campus-wide biospecimen oversight committee and sub-committees to guide policy, prioritization, and distributions.
• Create a virtual storefront/portal for researchers to browse inventory and request specimens in alignment with approvals and data privacy protections.
• Build collaborations with clinical departments, health partners, and industry sponsors to expand consent-to-contact and maximize scientific impact.
• Develop and execute a strategic plan for a federated, cohesive biobanking ecosystem that supports precision medicine and community-focused research.

• Develop, implement, and monitor annual operating budgets; analyze cost drivers and lead efforts to improve efficiency.
• Establish and manage cost-recovery mechanisms (e.g., campus-wide iLAB), set recharge rates, maintain service catalogs, and track utilization.
• Oversee procurement, vendor relationships, equipment lifecycle planning, and service/maintenance contracts.
• Develop and implement systems and processes to establish and maintain accurate operational and regulatory records; prepare regular performance and financial reports for leadership.

• Recruit, hire, train, schedule, and supervise biobank staff; provide ongoing coaching and performance evaluations.
• Ensure staff competency through standardized training, proficiency assessments, and continuing professional development.
• Foster a culture of safety, teamwork, service, and continuous improvement.

• Design and maintain secure, efficient databases (e.g., Open Specimen) and associated data dictionaries and workflows.
• Create processes for data capture, de-identification, linkage to clinical data where appropriate, and audit-ready documentation.
• Provide technical guidance to investigators and staff on study design considerations related to biospecimen collection, processing, and storage.

• Ability to develop and maintain record keeping systems and procedures, skill in policy and SOP development.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work effectively with various stakeholders…