Senior Director, Administration and Operations- Department of Data Science

The Senior Director operates as an expert leader in the Department/Division, overseeing the Departmental Core Administrative team that manages all financial, personnel, space, and department operations with advanced leadership skills. This includes acting as the direct supervisor of the Senior Research Administration Manager, Business Office Personnel, and other senior upper management, guiding them on day-to-day operations and personnel matters.
As a mission-driven leader and trusted advisor to the Chair of the Department of Data Science, the Senior Director is responsible for departmental goal-setting, process improvement, and standard operating procedures, and for evaluating current workflows to ensure the highest quality, efficiency, and sustainability. The Senior Director integrates deep computational, clinical, and business knowledge to ensure the department’s infrastructure empowers faculty, staff, and trainees to advance data-driven solutions and innovation in cancer research.
Reporting directly to the Department Chair/Division Chief and indirectly to Research Leadership, this individual will act as a facilitator to Institute departments, cores, business entities, and external organizations/stakeholders to achieve key business objectives for the Department/Division and the overall Institute mission. The Senior Director provides strategic guidance to ensure alignment across operations, finance, research administration, personnel, facilities, communications, compliance, and academic events. This encompasses all reporting associated with their specific line of business and all personnel issues for both faculty and staff.
Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS, and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations. We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.
Finance
Authorization and Oversight: Provide oversight and signing authority, ensuring comprehensive fiscal management aligns with donor intent and institutional policies at a higher level.
Fund Management: Lead the management of diverse funding sources—including research grants, clinical trials, and computational resource allocations—ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and compliance.
Deficit Oversight: Oversee the monitoring and projection of fund/program deficits, providing strategic financial insights to departmental and institutional leadership.
Business Planning: Guide the development of comprehensive business plans for major funding lines, computing infrastructure investments, and strategic initiatives.
Donor Relations: Partner with Philanthropy and Special Funds leadership to enhance donor relationships and optimize fund stewardship.
Financial Reporting: Collaborate with senior Finance leaders to analyze and explain departmental profit and loss, providing operational insights to institute leadership.
Budget Management: Oversee the preparation, forecasting, and strategic alignment of departmental budgets with institutional goals.
Staff Training: Lead the development of training programs for administrative staff to enhance financial consultation capabilities and decision-making support.
External Collaboration: Partner with external institutes to ensure effective management of shared faculty employment, joint funding, and collaborative research initiatives.
Human Resources
Personnel Management: Provide oversight to ensure all aspects of personnel management (including hiring, onboarding, and offboarding) align with Institute policy and strategic goals.
Complex Issue Resolution: Lead the resolution of complex personnel issues, working closely with senior HR leadership.
Strategic Staffing: Ensure optimal staffing levels across all departmental lines of business to maintain high operational productivity.
Appointments and Promotions Oversight: Lead the oversight of academic, research, and clinical appointments and promotions within the department.
Faculty Recruitment Leadership: Manage high-priority faculty searches and appointments, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities.
Performance Process Leadership: Provide oversight of the performance and annual evaluation process.
Diversity Strategy: Lead initiatives to increase diversity in recruitment, collaborating directly with HR leaders.
People Strategy Engagement: Engage with People Strategy Partners to influence workforce initiatives and computational talent retention.
Performance and Development Strategy: Lead the development of strategies for performance improvement, continuous learning, and career development.
Compliance Leadership: Ensure strict compliance with out-of-state employment laws for remote or cross-appointed computational staff.
Well-being Strategy: Lead the promotion, assessment, and implementation of faculty and staff well-being initiatives.
Organizational Communication: Serve as the primary strategic liaison for communicating HR-driven organizational changes.
HRIS Strategic Collaboration: Lead strategic collaboration with HRIS on department HR structures, security roles, and system access.
General / Strategy
Process Improvement: Lead strategic initiatives with Institute leadership to drive process, workflow, and quality improvements across the department.
Advisory Role: Serve as a core strategic advisor and thought partner to the Department Chair on complex departmental, educational, and institutional priorities.
Innovative Support Systems: Lead the assessment and implementation of innovative administrative, data tracking, and operational support systems.
Policy Leadership: Propose, develop, and enforce department-wide administrative and operational policies and procedures.
Space Planning: Oversee strategic short- and long-term departmental space planning, design, and relocations in close collaboration with leadership and facilities.
Capital and Renovation Leadership: Lead the management of capital requests and provide strategic oversight for space renovations, computing clusters, and hardware footprints.
Event Oversight: Provide oversight for high-profile symposia, research conferences, seminars, training, and educational activities.
Communication Leadership: Lead in