Sr Project Manager

The Brain Tumor Institute (BTI) Bioinformatics Core at Children's National Hospital is seeking a highly skilled Technical Project Manager to join our team. This position will play a critical role in advancing pediatric brain tumor research of multiple PIs focused on uncovering oncogenic mechanisms in pediatric brain tumors and developing novel therapies. The role involves close collaboration with the BTI Bioinformatics Core staff (Director, bioinformatics scientists and engineers, Principal Investigators), researchers, and clinicians within both Children's National as well as external partners.

The Technical Project Manager will drive the planning, execution, and completion of technical projects, serving as the critical link between research objectives and technical implementation. This role demands expertise in agile methodologies, risk management, stakeholder coordination, and compliance with data governance standards such as HIPAA and GDPR. The individual will ensure that the Bioinformatics Core operates efficiently by fostering collaboration among cross-functional teams, overseeing database development for sequencing data, managing data transfers, harmonization timelines and deliverables for multiple projects, and maintaining core technical documentation to enable cutting-edge pediatric brain tumor research. This position may also provide the opportunity to contribute to bioinformatics analysis and/or code review, depending on the individual's interest and skill set. This is a unique opportunity to advance pediatric brain tumor research and accelerate the discovery of novel therapies in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.

Key Responsibilities:

- Technical Documentation Management

- Create and maintain clear, accurate, and up-to-date technical documentation using platforms that integrate with GitHub (e.g., ReadTheDocs, Slab, GitBook).

- Manage version control for documentation updates, ensuring traceability and consistency across projects.

- Sprint Planning and Agile Management

- Organize and manage agile sprints, including scheduling, task prioritization, and progress tracking.

- Collaborate with technical and scientific teams to ensure goals are realistic, measurable, and aligned with broader research objectives.

- Stakeholder Liaison

- Serve as the primary point of contact between internal Principal Investigators (PIs), external collaborators, and research consortia.

- Ensure timely and effective communication between all parties to streamline project execution.

- Data Transfer Coordination

- Oversee and manage the secure and efficient transfer of research and clinical data between institutions and collaborators.

- Collaborate with data scientists and IT teams to ensure data integrity, compliance with institutional policies, and adherence to data governance regulations (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR).

- Data Organization Management

- Oversee standardization of processes for data organization

- Ensure maintenance of comprehensive data inventories

- Cross-functional Team Coordination

- Work closely with computational researchers, clinicians, and external collaborators to align technical deliverables with clinical and scientific goals.

- Proactively identify and address bottlenecks or conflicts in project workflows, leveraging cross-team expertise for resolution.

- Monitoring and Reporting

- Regularly track project milestones, deliverables, and key performance indicators (KPIs), providing updates to leadership and stakeholders.

- Prepare comprehensive project reports and presentations to communicate progress, challenges, and solutions.

- Technical Proficiency

- Maintain familiarity with technical tools and platforms commonly used in data science, computational research, and documentation (e.g., GitHub, Jira, Slack, Confluence).

- Quickly adapt to new tools, frameworks, and workflows as needed by the project or organization.

- Contract Management & Compliance

- Oversee contract development, execution, and tracking for multi-institutional research collaborations.

- Coordinate with legal, administrative, and external partners to streamline approvals and renewals.

- Risk and Compliance Management

- Identify potential risks related to timelines, resources, and data handling, implementing mitigation strategies proactively.

- Ensure compliance with institutional, consortia, and funding agency policies related to data sharing, privacy, and security.

- Lab and Core Supply Management

- Oversee the procurement and inventory management of software, hardware, and computational resources for the Rokita Lab and BTI Bioinformatics Core.

- Work with institutional procurement teams to ensure timely acquisition of essential tools and infrastructure.

- Team Development and Training

- Facilitate training sessions for team members on tools and processes related to project management and documentation.

- Foster a collaborative team environment that encourages knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.

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The Senior Project Manager will plan, schedule and manage assigned projects to achieve organizational objectives within defined timeframe, scope and budget. Responsible for project work plan development, establishment of project communication and risk management plans, workflow process redesign, metric development and measurement, and return on investment analysis. Will work closely with IT Services as well as clinical and non-clinical departments on organizational projects. Assist in the planning, testing and project audit process and information technology system implementations/conversions to assure the desired outcome is achieved. Assign project tasks to designated team members and manage project staff as assigned. Identify and escalate issues as appropriate. Use project management tools and standards as outlined by the Project Management Institute to ensure the business and technology projects stay on track to complete deliverables. Ensure project integration with other CNH initiatives.

Level I:

- Required Education:

- B.S. in biological or computational discipline.

- At least three (3) years of experience leading technical projects

- Preferred Education:

- M.S. in biological or computational discipline.

Level II:

- Required Education:

- M.S. in biological or computational discipline.

- At least five (5) years of experience leading technical projects

- Preferred Education:

- Ph.D. in biological or computational discipline.

Senior:

- Required Education:

- M.S. in biological or computational discipline.

- At least seven (7) years of experience leading technical projects

- Preferred Education:

- Ph.D. in biological or computational discipline.

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Minimum Education
Bachelor's Degree Business Administration, Health Administration or equivalent in healthcare, information technology or general business (Required)
Master's Degree MBA/MHA or equivalent in healthcare, information technology or general business (Preferred)

Minimum Work Experience
5 years Related and progressive experience, preferably in healthcare, information technology and/or project management. (Required)

Required Skills/Knowledge
Demonstrates strong project/program management skills, leadership attributes (strategic thinking, ability to drive business change, sharing of organizational goals, leading multidisciplinary groups), ability to multi-task, excellent organizational skills and effective communication and presentation skills.
Knowledge in project management, process redesign techniques and skills, audit techniques, financial analysis, problem solving, change management and customer service skills.
Working knowledge of Visio, MS project, Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Word

Functional Accountabilities
Project Management

• Develop project plans & timelines.

• Identify task's status and highlight critical pathways and vulnerabilities.

• Ensure progress toward, and achievement of milestones.

• Identify and resolve obstacles/barriers to success and risks associated with project.

• Serve as the liaison among various stakeholders (clinical & non-clinical depts., IT services, vendor, etc.).

• Participate in ongoing Project Planning Activities to include Project Schedule development, Resource Allocation, and Issue Prioritization.

Issue Management

• Maintain issues list for assigned projects.

• Integrate resolution of ongoing operational issues into solution design as possible.

• Assure ongoing changes are incorporated into new application build and testing.

• Identify quality management and risk issues associated with the implementation and develop appropriate mitigation strategies.

Workflow Process Redesign

• Create, design, and review detailed current state workflow processes, and implement alternative solutions as appropriate.

• Understand project product's benefits and limitations.

• Leverage technology to improve processes as appropriate.

• Facilitate change with end stakeholders.

Project Communication

• Develop communication plan for each initiative with assigned teams to include updates and status reports associated with each project.

• Develop and implement stakeholder satisfaction tools for each project to ensure stakeholder buy-in and satisfaction.

• Keep executives informed of progress, barriers, etc.

• Facilitate team discussions and provide detailed feedback and follow-through.

• Listen and provide feedback to end user suggestions and issues.

Staff Development

• Assist in development of templates and tools to improve project management organization wide.

• Mentor junior project managers and analysts in established project management techniques.

• Manage and train staff as assigned.

Organizational Accountabilities
Organizational Accountabilities (Staff)
Organizational Commitment/Identification

• Anticipate and responds to customer needs; follows up until needs are met

Teamwork/Communication

• Demonstrate collaborative and respectful behavior

• Partner with all team members to achieve goals

• Receptive to others' ideas and opinions

Performance Improvement/Problem-solving

• Contribute to a positive work environment

• Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to change

• Identify opportunities to improve clinical and administrative processes

• Make appropriate decisions, using sound judgment

Cost Management/Financial Responsibility

• Use resources efficiently

• Search for less costly ways of doing things

Safety

• Speak up when team members appear to exhibit unsafe behavior or performance

• Continuously validate and verify information needed for decision making or documentation

• Stop in the face of uncertainty and takes time to resolve the situation

• Demonstrate accurate, clear and timely verbal and written communication

• Actively promote safety for patients, families, visitors and co-workers

• Attend carefully to important details - practicing Stop, Think, Act and Review in order to self-check behavior and performance