ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF DATA SCIENCES PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The Boston University School of Public Health (BU SPH) is seeking a highly-motivated, results-driven, Assistant Director of Data Science Project Management to support the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center (BEDAC). This position will report to the Executive Director, serve on the BEDAC leadership team, and oversee, mentor, and support a team of direct and dotted line reports in our research computing environment. This position will require staying abreast of best practices and industry trends, and will require oversight of operations to ensure compliance with our quality management framework. Candidates for this position must demonstrate strong leadership, oral and written communication and mentoring skills, and have a proven track record in the management of project, data, reporting and analysis lifecycles for an array of study designs and data types.

Leadership and Staff Management

• Lead development of strategic and tactical plans for the Data Science department; participate in proposal development and hiring of staff
• Serve as a member of the BEDAC leadership team; participate in leadership/management trainings
• Provide training, mentorship, and support, for up to 6 direct and up to 15 dotted line reports that consist of: project managers, developers, data managers, statistical programmers, analysts and biostatisticians
• Meet with direct reports bi-weekly to review workload, timelines, progress, obstacles and deliverables
• Work with direct reports to develop annual goals, meet quarterly to review goals, and ensure goals are in alignment with overall BEDAC goals and strategic initiatives

Project/Coordinating Center Lead

• For high profile, complex, or key investigations serve as the technical lead, ensuring that each projects activities adhere to BEDAC standard operating procedures (SOPs) and associated guidelines
• Collaborate with investigators and BEDAC staff to develop requirements and specifications to ensure project management, data management, statistical programming, reporting and statistical analysis functions based on risk assessment are in alignment with the budget and scope of work
• Work with and mentor direct and dotted line reports to perform risk assessment, develop requirements and specifications and execute project, data management and statistical analysis plans
• For larger, multi-year investigations, train and support successor(s) as a project transitions to the maintenance and archive phases
• Monitor conformance to specifications to ensure that research is conducted as planned, regulatory and reporting requirements are met and deliverables are reliable and valid
• Ensure research and compliance documentation and on-going quality management procedures are in place and systems and processes have been optimized

Lead Project Management Activities

• Provide project management and regulatory expertise for BEDAC activities. Serve as the point of contact for discussions with the IRB and regulatory agencies.
• Lead development and maintenance of the BEDAC data sharing and privacy policies.
• Lead development and maintenance of reports that provide projections regarding staff assignments and availability, incorporating timelines. Work with BEDAC leadership to assign staff to projects based on priority and staff expertise and availability.
• Work with the Directors of Small-scale Projects and Business Operations to optimize scope of work and budget to reflect actual costs.

Professional Development, New Technology, Automation, and Quality Framework

• Lead professional development activities and initiatives in service of the school and center
• Stay abreast of current technologies and industry trends and assign staff to investigate as required
• Oversee development and refinement of standards to automate processes to enhance data quality, efficiency, and reporting capabilities
• Lead development, implementation and maintenance of SOPs and related guidelines

Required Skills

Education:

• Required: Masters Degree
• Preferred: Doctoral Degree
• Additional: Masters Degree in Public Health, or public policy.
• Preferred: Project Management certification

Experience: 

• At least 15 years of experience leading a team of Project Managers for research investigations.
• At least 8-15 years experience in the following areas:
• Thorough understanding of DCAC operations, quality management frameworks, SOPs, regulations, GCDMP, risk assessment, data sharing, regulatory affairs and privacy standards.
• Requirements and specification development, software development lifecyle, application development and testing and posting to production procedures
• Development of data management plans and monitoring of data management metrics
• The software development lifecycle, particularly applications to enter participant data, monitor participant engagement, form completion and data management metrics

The Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, a center within the Boston University School of Public Health, has been supporting research since 1984. Our team is comprised of 50+ staff and faculty with a wide range of expertise in system development, data management, statistical analysis, reporting, epidemiology and biostatistics. We collaborate with investigators across all Boston University schools and departments, along with investigators at external institutions, in support of academic, government, foundation and industry sponsored research. Our project support spans all phases of the data lifecycle from system design and development, through data collection and data management, to analysis and manuscript development. Our research portfolio includes a large volume of high-impact projects that vary substantially in terms of our scope, design, complexity, and content matter. We foster a collaborative and supportive environment, leveraging the expansive resources, experience and expertise of our center. We value a healthy work life balance and take great pride in our work and support of SPH and the research community.

Please note all newly hired staff and faculty will need to be in compliance with Boston University’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Booster Requirement within 30 days of date of hire. You must upload your vaccine documentation or request a medical or religious exemption (instructions). For further information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please visit the COVID-19 Resources site. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor. 

Required Experience

Education:

• Required: Masters Degree
• Preferred: Doctoral Degree
• Additional: Masters Degree in Public Health, or public policy.
• Preferred: Project Management certification

Experience: 

• At least 15 years of experience leading a team of Project Managers for research investigations.
• At least 8-15 years experience in the following areas:
• Thorough understanding of DCAC operations, quality management frameworks, SOPs, regulations, GCDMP, risk assessment, data sharing, regulatory affairs and privacy standards.
• Requirements and specification development, software development lifecyle, application development and testing and posting to production procedures
• Development of data management plans and monitoring of data management metrics
• The software development lifecycle, particularly applications to enter participant data, monitor participant engagement, form completion and data management metrics

The Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, a center within the Boston University School of Public Health, has been supporting research since 1984. Our team is comprised of 50+ staff and faculty with a wide range of expertise in system development, data management, statistical analysis, reporting, epidemiology and biostatistics. We collaborate with investigators across all Boston University schools and departments, along with investigators at external institutions, in support of academic, government, foundation and industry sponsored research. Our project support spans all phases of the data lifecycle from system design and development, through data collection and data management, to analysis and manuscript development. Our research portfolio includes a large volume of high-impact projects that vary substantially in terms of our scope, design, complexity, and content matter. We foster a collaborative and supportive environment, leveraging the expansive resources, experience and expertise of our center. We value a healthy work life balance and take great pride in our work and support of SPH and the research community.

Please note all newly hired staff and faculty will need to be in compliance with Boston University’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Booster Requirement within 30 days of date of hire. You must upload your vaccine documentation or request a medical or religious exemption (instructions). For further information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please visit the COVID-19 Resources site. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.