Senior Director, Translational Development

About City of Hope

City of Hope is an independent biomedical research and treatment organization for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.

Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a leader in bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy such as CAR T cell therapy. City of Hope's translational research and personalized treatment protocols advance care throughout the world. Human synthetic insulin, monoclonal antibodies and numerous breakthrough cancer drugs are based on technology developed at the institution. AccessHope™, a subsidiary launched in 2019 serves employers and their health care partners by providing access to City of Hope's specialized cancer expertise.

A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope is ranked among the nation's "Best Hospitals" in cancer by U.S. News & World Report and received Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Its main campus is located near Los Angeles, with additional locations throughout Southern California and in Arizona.

City of Hope's commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe diversity, equity and inclusion is key in serving our mission to provide compassionate patient care, drive innovative discovery, and advance vital education focused on eliminating cancer and diabetes in all of our communities. Our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ensures we bring the full range of skills, perspectives, cultural backgrounds and experiences to our work -- and that our teams align with the people we serve in order to build trust and understanding. We are dedicated to fostering a community that embraces diversity - in ideas, backgrounds and perspectives; this is reflected in our work and represented in our people.

Position Summary

The Sr. Director of Translational Development is responsible for the management and support of industry-sponsored and/or investigator-initiated, pharma-funded projects from initial pre-clinical development to clinical trial performance, as needed and agreed upon between City of Hope and the industry sponsor of internal drug development projects. The Sr. Director of Translational development is a detail-oriented, responsible team player with a sense of urgency, who can ensure project completion within set timelines, budget and resources. The Sr. Director utilizes best practices for planning and tracking performance of milestones and setting priorities that are associated with preclinical and clinical projects and can ensure project completion within set timelines, budget and resources. The Sr. Director will oversee multiple project Directors to ensure their work meets the highest standards for speed, safety, effectiveness, and quality in a manner that enhances the clinical and research reputation of the organization both nationally and internationally. The Sr. Director will assist the Director of Pricing and Budgeting Ops along with the Director of Translational Development Research Finance to support building of streamlined processes associated with project budgeting and forecasting.

The Sr. Director is an integral member of the newly formed Translational Development Center (TDC) which is housed in the City of Hope (COH) Research Operations vertical ensuring effective communication among team members and with other stakeholders, and influences/gains the cooperation of others to drive projects

Key Responsibilities include:

• Coordinates the design and execution of cross-functional project plans for pre-clinical development and clinical trial performance of small / large / nucleic acid molecule and cell therapeutics. This will involve the mapping of preclinical and clinical trial development efforts and all other relevant information, with a variety of project management tools.
• Advise and assist investigators and/or their personnel with coordination of writing and preparation of agreements, budgets, meeting minutes, reports, regulatory applications, grants, as well as compliance documents.
• Maintains frequent communication with the cross-functional project team members and key internal stakeholders [e.g. Cell Therapy Governance Committee, Disease and Modality Teams] so that all parties are aware of current project status, issues, contingencies, and milestones.
• Guide the project team to ensure that protocols/applications/ continuations for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), Laboratory Information Management System (Labware LIMS), Institutional Review Board (IRB), Investigational New Drug Applications (IND) are set up, renewed and amended on time and accurately for each specific project. Prepare documents, as needed, i.e., clinical protocol, patient consent forms, IACUCC protocols, Data monitoring and safety charters, IBCs and related documents.
• Prepares summary information on program progress, timeline updates and risk assessment for periodic presentations to City of Hope oversight committees. Coordinate meetings and teleconferences as needed to facilitate the activities listed in the Scope of Work and to ensure that the appropriate COH or external entities involved in the translation for each project are well informed about project progress and milestones.
• Manage the activities listed in the Statement of Work (SOW) for each Sponsored Research Agreement, Clinical Research Support Agreement, or similar agreement with industry partners, including budgets, resources and project-related activities to ensure the completion of the projects according to the timelines and within budget.
• Leads and/or participates in team meetings and ensures that clear actions and decisions are documented, communicated and committed to, enabling timeline achievement.
• Builds strong working relationships across departments, with key stakeholders, and Senior Management to ensure transparency and to facilitate communication. Collaborates with CROs, small to medium biotechs and other critical functional areas to ensuring critical program activities are well coordinated and milestones are met.
• Oversee one or more industry-sponsored translational projects and Manages multiple industry sponsored translational projects simultaneously to include preparing project plans, allocating resources, prioritizing projects and maintaining communication regarding project status.
• Possesses a deep understanding of the translational projects to achieve the goals of each industry-sponsored project under their management, as well as of the logistics of each project from preclinical experiments and IND-enabling studies to clinical trial design, protocol and IND preparation, conduct of clinical trials, and commercialization.
• Collaborates with COH Research Operations, with the Office of Technology Licensing, Clinical Trial Support Services, Clinical Research Billing, Research Finance Clinical Trials Office, the Center for Biomedicine and Genetics, the T-Cell Translational Research Laboratory, the Office of IND Development and Regulatory Affairs, COH Shared Resources and laboratory and clinical laboratories to shepherd projects from proof-of-concept in the laboratory to clinical testing.
• Responsible for escalating appropriately and in a timely manner while identifying mitigation strategies to rectify issue(s). Communicate clear and timely deadlines, meeting outcomes (captured in minutes shared with all parties involved), issues (delays, shortcomings, disputes, etc.), and any information that impacts the project and its accomplishment.
• Manages all escalations related to TDC projects from the Project Directors, whether raised internally or externally, ensuring prompt and satisfactory resolution. Monitors trending and quickly identifies any ongoing or recurrent issues.
• Directly supports the Executive Director, CTA SRP in ongoing project development and proactive management of incoming TDC work to support City of Hope's strategic vision.
• Support the advancement of the Translational Development Core by assisting the growth of the operation through involvement in feasibility of partners and creating a best in class CRO that is attractive to sponsors.
• Oversee progress of Project Directors to maintain timelines on translational projects. Lead team to ensure occurrence of targeted weekly meetings and develop/execute escalation plans as required. Identifies bottlenecks in the TDC project developments as quickly as possible from feasibility to project completion.

Basic education, experience and skills required for consideration:

• Requires a PhD in biology, immunology, virology, or other life science; or, a master's degree with at least five years of laboratory management, clinical and animal protocol submissions and maintenance, or clinical trial regulatory experience in a healthcare/research/academic environment
• 10 years of experience laboratory management, clinical and animal protocol submissions and maintenance, or clinical trial regulatory experience in a healthcare/research/academic environment with
• 7 years proven experience managing multiple development projects.
• Familiarity and experience working with pre-clinical and clinical development partners.
• Program management experience and demonstrated contributions to successful regulatory filings (IND/CTA).

Additional Information:

• As a condition of employment, City of Hope requires staff to comply with all state and federal vaccination mandates.

City of Hope is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.