Director of Finance and Administration, Biomedical Data Science

Our Purpose

Stanford Medicine is leading the biomedical revolution in precision health and medicine. We are transforming health care away from after-the-fact diagnosis to prediction and prevention and away from one-size-fits-all medicine to personalized care that empowers individuals to lead healthy lives. We are leveraging the art and science of medicine to predict and prevent disease before it strikes and cure it decisively if it does.

To achieve our Precision Health vision, we are integrating, building, and leveraging our strengths in fundamental research, the new field of biomedical data science, and nine transformative biomedical platforms. As a learning health system, we will apply these advances in our hospitals and health care delivery systems within Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Health.

Our Values

Fulfilling our promise to humanity requires the engagement of a diverse, creative, and collaborative team of professionals who work together to advance our research, education, and patient care mission. We strive to create a culture of inclusion and belonging to ensure all employees have the meaningful employment experience that is necessary to do their best work. We value and integrate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion into all that we do to ensure equitable outcomes for our faculty, staff, and students. We are looking for leaders who can contribute to making excellence inclusive.

Our Work

The Department of Biomedical Data Science (DBDS) works collaboratively across academic disciplines, harnessing the power of biomedical informatics, biostatistics, computer science, and advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make fundamental discoveries and revolutionize health care. We are driven by a deep commitment to research and education and a strong desire to explore the boundaries of what is possible and thereby transform biomedical science and human health.

As one of 19 Clinical departments and 12 Basic Science departments within the School of Medicine (SoM), DBDS has a total annual budget of $24 million, over 65 faculty and staff, and over 150 graduate students working towards Stanford’s innovative culture: cross-disciplinary interests and a collaborative approach generate a prime incubation environment for transformative thought, learnings, processes, and systems.

The DFA must be an experienced operational leader with a strong ability to support strategic long-range planning activities. They must understand a multitude of functional areas while also demonstrating the soft skills of collaboration and working across the organization to create cultural and operational change.

Reporting Relationships

The Director of Finance and Administration (DFA) has a primary reporting relationship to the Chair of Department of Biomedical Data Science, with a secondary reporting relationship to the Associate Dean/Chief Financial Officer for the School of Medicine, which ensures organizational alignment between DBDS’ strategy and the broader SoM mission. The DFA partners with the chair, and other faculty and staff, to manage the financial and administrative areas of the department to include grant management, faculty and academic affairs, student affairs, external relations, and human resources. Additionally, the Director of Finance and Administration works with the Chair, and other faculty and staff, on areas of strategic planning and execution, grant portfolio development, educational programs and process excellence. The DFA partners with the Associate Dean/Chief Financial Officer, peers, and cross-functional teams to enhance the SoM’s operations in support of its research, teaching, and patient care mission.

Job Summary

• Lead finance and administration operations for a School of Medicine's unit or units (institute and academic department). Manage staff to achieve one or more School of Medicine missions, goals and objectives. Ensure compliance in all areas. The duties of this position are typically split between 50% operational and 50% strategic activities.

• Develop operational and financial plans for new departmental strategic initiatives, with a focus on execution, implementation, and scaling of these initiatives, in partnership with DBDS Chair, DBDS Executive Director, Associate Dean/CFO, CIO, CTO, and direct and indirect reports. New initiatives include the development of a new center in the department focused on AI in precision medicine, with DFA providing support of strategic planning and execution, with oversight of center’s operations and finances, and its coordination with partners including SOM/SHC’s Technology Digitals Solutions (TDS).

• Partner with senior leadership on departmental affairs and advocate the unit's needs and goals to internal and external parties. Evaluate business processes and operational and/or financial effectiveness Working with the senior administration, develop or revise current processes where needed for better efficiencies and outcomes, participate in execution and oversee implementation. Develop annual operational business plans, including financial modeling, to support departmental goals.

• Analyze department needs and make recommendations to senior leaders for changes in staffing, facilities, health and safety compliance, finance, technology and/or administrative functions. Work with the Chair and /or Dean's Office regarding resources to support faculty activities and interests.

• Responsible for overall fiscal wellness and financial operations. Develop and monitor consolidated budget and analyze research funding; implement financial growth and sustainability strategies.

• Recommend and develop strategies for general cost containment, strategic investments, and growth management.

• Direct department operations. Responsible for hiring and retaining staff, clarifying role and responsibilities, career coaching, ensuring required training is completed, personal development of direct reports and accountable for the performance of employees. Ensure work completion within schedule and constraints.

• Oversee management of core department activities, including management of faculty affairs and research portfolios, and related pre- and post-award activities; management of all student, fellow, and education-related activities and graduate program administration; and management of events, communications and marketing activities.

• Recommend and develop strategies for general cost containment, strategic investments, and growth management.

• Oversee Chair’s Executive Assistant and relevant staff to ensure effective management and coordination of the Chair's activities.

• Guide faculty supervisors in the interpretation and implementation of human resources policies, procedures and programs.

• Represent the unit's needs in regard to research and service facilities; negotiate on behalf of the unit's current and future needs with the school.

• Interpret, implement and ensure compliance with academic and administrative policies and procedures within the unit.

Minimum Required Education and Experience

• Master’s degree (MBA, Public Health, Health Care Informatics or related field) or combination of education and relevant experience. Five years of progressively responsible managerial experience, including financial and budget preparation. Three years of supervisory experience.

Minimum Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated leadership and supervisory, planning and change management skills.

• Demonstrated experience implementing financial funding concepts and regulatory agency policies and guidelines throughout multiple unit(s). Working knowledge of grants and contract administration.

• Demonstrated expertise in business and management concepts; demonstrated success in operationalizing large strategic initiatives in a complex environment.

• Strong knowledge of industry standards and/or regulatory requirements.

• Demonstrated ability to identify and analyze all pertinent information/data to make and communicate decisions to meet the unit(s) current and future financial, research, academic and administrative needs.

• Strong negotiation and effective interpersonal skills.

• Excellent communication skills. Able to influence people, solve problems, troubleshoot, think creatively and resolve conflicts.

• Ability to establish a culture of integrity, supportive teamwork, respectful communication, positive intent, inclusivity, and continual improvement within their unit(s) and with those external to the unit.

• Demonstrate to others that they are direct, truthful and credible.

• Demonstrated skills as a receptive listener, influential and persuasive and seeks to understand the differing sides of each situation. Makes decisions effectively and decisively.

The expected pay range for this position is $205,050 - $283,688 per annum.

The DFA leadership role will start the position on the Stanford campus 4 days a week, with the possibility of flexibility to 3 days a week.

Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.

At Stanford University, base pay represents only one aspect of the comprehensive rewards package. The Cardinal at Work website (https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/benefits-rewards) provides detailed information on Stanford’s extensive range of benefits and rewards offered to employees. Specifics about the rewards package for this position may be discussed during the hiring process.

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