SENIOR DIRECTOR, PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY
Company: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Location: Boston
Posted on: October 3, 2024
Job Description:
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) is seeking a visionary
leader to join our team as the Senior Director of Product and
Technology, serving our esteemed research community.This pivotal
role reports directly to the Vice President (VP) of Research
Informatics Operations (RIO) and plays a critical role in the
development, implementation, and continuous enhancement of advanced
technology platforms that support our basic research labs, clinical
trial informatics, research administration, and scientific
computing.RIO is a key subdivision of Dana-Farber's Department of
Informatics and Analytics (I&A), led by the Chief Data and
Analytics Officer (CDAO). RIO is also an integral component of the
Clinical Research Support Unit for the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer
Center (DF/HCC), an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center
comprised of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical
School, Harvard School of Public Health, Beth Israel Deaconess,
Boston Children's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and
Massachusetts General Hospital.The ideal candidate will possess
extensive experience in product leadership, with a robust
background in systems architecture and a demonstrated passion for
propelling cancer research forward through technological
innovation. This role demands proficiency in product management,
systems integration, data acquisition, and IT infrastructure. The
Senior Director will be responsible for steering the strategic
planning and successful deployment of innovative products that are
aligned with the operational needs of our researchers and the
overarching goals of the Institute.As a strategic visionary, the
Senior Director will manage the introduction of new systems
implementations and integrations, specifically tailored to meet the
requirements of our research stakeholders working in research labs,
designing and conducting clinical trials, and developing scientific
computing techniques. Collaboration is key to success in this role,
requiring close partnerships with collaborators functioning at all
levels, including senior executives, faculty, research operational
leaders, and business domain experts. The Senior Director will all
also lead and influence the work of other Information Technology
(IT) and I&A functional leaders to devise comprehensive
solutions that address the complex needs of the DFCI research
community.The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in
groundbreaking cancer research and patient care, committed to
achieving life-changing breakthroughs. We are dedicated to creating
an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where
compassionate and comprehensive care is provided to patients from
all backgrounds. Located in Boston and its surrounding communities,
Dana-Farber conducts pioneering research, educates the next
generation of physician/researchers, and collaborates with
exceptional partners, including other Harvard Medical
School-affiliated hospitals.This role offers a unique opportunity
to significantly impact the capability and scalability of our
researchers to conduct innovative research and deliver superior
patient care. If you are prepared to take a leading role in
transforming cancer research and care, we invite you to apply to
join our team at DFCI.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.PRIMARY DUTIES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES:Strategic Responsibilities
- Partners with VP of RIO to develop a clear product and
technology strategy and vision, aligning the product roadmap and
product goals with the overall Institute goals, market trends, and
various client needs.
- Oversees the product planning process by leading matrixed,
cross-functional teams to prioritize features, define requirements
and create roadmaps for every product ensuring a successful product
development lifecycle for all research systems and platforms.
- Leads a large department of directors, associate directors,
product managers, developers, integration developers, quality
assurance (QA) analysts, and infrastructure specialists. Ensures
the department meets key Institute performance indicators (KPIs)s,
identifies operational risks, and provides mitigation
strategies.
- Determines the strategic value of utilizing sponsored and
outsourced staff for specific talent needs. Directly manages
technical development resources located in India.
- Develops and executes strategy for enterprise data stewardship
with DFCI and I&A leadership. Acts as DFCI leader for
democratization of data, tools, and analytics and enables
stakeholders to embark on that journey.
- Collaborates regularly with the Senior Director of Architecture
and Strategy to align the overall strategic direction for new
product designs within the context of the entire research product
landscape. Ensures product innovation initiatives are in harmony
with the overall architectural vision and strategic goals of the
organization.
- Ensures the team regularly identifies opportunities for
leveraging AI technologies, including LLMs, to enhance product
innovation and streamline research processes.Leadership
Responsibilities
- Responsible for the design, development, implementation,
scalability, and on-going enhancements of over 30 research systems
and platforms with more than 14K users at DFCI and various internal
and external research collaborating entities, including the
DF/HCC.
- Provides solutions for all oncology-related work and activities
for the DF/HCC.
- Oversees the entire lifecycle of the full suite of the product
portfolio; from ideation and development to launch and continuous
improvement.
- Collaborates closely with RIO Account Services leadership, who
support the Basic Research & Research Administration, Translational
Research and Clinical Trials Research domains, to identify and
prioritize solution delivery across the entire research enterprise
including multiple departments, labs, and external collaborators.
Collaborates with other I&A client-facing leads to provide
platform solutions for clinical and business operations, as
needed.
- Oversees the integration of AI technologies into product
management processes, ensuring continuous innovation and alignment
with emerging technological advancements.
- Ensures the product management teams follow a standardized
framework for product roadmaps, release management, security,
integration, and hardware.
- Collaborates closely with the Bioinformatics, Artificial
Intelligence and Data Science Operations (AIOS), Enterprise
Analytics, Enterprise Data Warehouse I&A capability teams to
provide comprehensive solutions delivery for products and services
that require cross-functional support.
- Provides product leadership for all research-facing systems and
services developed within the Bioinformatics and AIOS. Examples
include: the Bioinformatics workbench platform, the AI platform for
model development and deployment, and the internal DFCI ChatGPT4
platform.
- Assumes direct responsibility for the Engineering team's
efforts by overseeing product managers who are tasked with the
development and management of DFCI in-house software solutions.
Provides hands-on leadership to guide and support the product
management team, ensuring that engineering projects align with
organizational goals and deliver optimal results.
- Successfully leads enterprise product launches by ensuring the
coordination of all key departments.
- Collaborates with Office of General Counsel (OGC) and the
Belfer Office of Dana-Farber Innovation (BODFI) on creating and
maintaining system use and data sharing agreements for outside
collaborations.
- Leads the development of system architecture to provide rapid
data findability and delivery of new data types for
researchers.IDE&E/Social Responsibilities
- Utilizes Dana-Farber Cancer Institute values to govern
decisions, actions, and behaviors.
- Demonstrates, strengthens, and embeds inclusive behaviors, and
holds team and leaders accountable for the same.
- Invests in understanding diverse stakeholder cultures,
motivations, and practices to enable consensus-based
solutions.Human Resources Management Responsibilities
- Responsible for employment decisions. Receives input from
direct reports on staffing needs and builds business cases for
adding FTEs where appropriate to present at position control
meetings.
- Fosters a collaborative and innovative work environment that
attracts top talent and encourages professional growth.
- Teaches/coaches management and leadership skills to develop
people managers within the team.Financial Responsibilities
- Acts as a responsible steward of DFCI and I&A financial
resources. Consistently complies with DFCI and I&A spending and
accounting policies.
- Develops and manages a budget portfolio of $5 - 10M per year,
including capital, operating, and charge back funding; ensures the
efficient and effective use of team and departmental
resources.Functional Expertise
- Establishes enterprise product management best practices and
shares these methods with other I&A leaders of product managers
providing products and services to non-research stakeholders.
- Monitors the industry to stay current on industry trends and
latest technology offering to address ever-changing client
needs.
- Ensures the development of consistent and reliable go-live
strategies and processes to enable seamless delivery of new
solutions and features to the research community.
- Oversees consistent, high-quality deliverables, data assets,
and documentation in alignment with group operating model and
I&A principles (e.g., FAIR (Findable, Accessible,
Interoperable, Reusable))Communications/Interpersonal
Responsibilities
- Communicates consistently and proactively with senior level
stakeholders and collaborators.
- Ensures all department teams provide regular project
communication updates through various means: progress reports,
status updates at steering committee meetings, departmental
updates, etc.
- Anticipates and addresses stakeholder concerns and teaches team
members how to grow this skill.
- Provides inspiration and leadership to team, group, and
collaborators.KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:Technical
- Demonstrates knowledge of product management lifecycle and
basic software development fundamentals, such as data structures,
algorithm design, problem solving, and complexity analysis.
- Proficiency in primary tools and methods used in product
management, software development, integration and testing; examples
include:
- Product Management Software: Jira, Asana, Trello, Monday.com,
etc.
- Customer Feedback: UserVoice, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey,
etc.
- Cloud Computing Platforms: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft
Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- Analytics and Data Visualization: Google Analytics, Mixpanel,
Tableau, etc.
- Roadmapping: Aha!, ProductPlan, Roadmunk, etc.
- Prototyping and Wireframing: Sketch, InVision, Adobe XD,
Balsamiq, etc.
- Integrated Development Environments (IDEs): Visual Studio Code,
IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, etc.
- Version Control Systems: Git, GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket,
etc.
- Automated Testing/Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment
(CI/CD) Tools: Jenkins, CircleCI, Travis CI, GitLab CI, etc.
- API Design and Testing Tools: Postman, Swagger (OpenAPI),
etc.
- Database Management Tools: Oracle, MySQL Workbench, pgAdmin
(for PostgreSQL), MongoDB Compass
- Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tools: New Relic,
AppDynamics, Dynatrace, etc.
- Project Management and Issue Tracking: Jira, Asana, etc.
- Cloud Development Platforms: AWS Cloud9, Microsoft Visual
Studio Online, Google Cloud Shell, etc.Client services,
collaboration, communication
- Strong client service orientation
- Consistently leads effective prioritization and
re-prioritization discussions with stakeholder groups
- Routinely establishes new projects and collaborations
independently
- Expert at presenting results persuasively and accurately,
verbally or in writing, and in delivering both positive and
challenging news
- Able to professionally and productively say no when
necessary
- Works effectively, collaboratively, and proactively across
teams and groups, and institutionally
- Excellent interpersonal skills; able to interact effectively
with all levels of staff and external contacts
- Curious and eager to learn about others' work and perspectives
and to develop deep knowledge of client areas served
- Excellent at identifying and validating the underlying business
need behind a request, using a strategic lens to evaluate the need
in a larger context and optimally solve the problem
- Skillfully influences stakeholders to ask insightful questions
and sharpen focus on analyses that will have the highest and
broadest impact for DFCIMindset
- Demonstrates self-awareness, professionalism, agility, a strong
work ethic, appropriate humility, and the ability to lead through
challenging situations
- Thinks and acts consistently with a broader "we" mentality,
i.e., what's best for DFCI as a whole vs. self, "my team," or "my
group", or "my department"
- Ability to think strategically and make informed decisions
about product direction based on client needs, available funding &
resources, and alignment with Institute goals.
- Demonstrates adaptability and flexibility. The research
landscape is constantly changing and evolving. It is critical that
the incumbent is comfortable with change and able to embrace new
technologies, methodologies, and agile strategies.SUPERVISORY
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Manages a group of 20-40+ FTE or budget equivalent, which
includes other people managers.
- Manages multiple cross-functional teams and supervises up to 50
additional FTEs via matrix or vendor partnerships. This role does
require the direct oversight of managing both outsourced (within
the U.S.) and offshore resources (located in other countries).
- Assumes client and administrative product and services
responsibilities for VP of RIO, as needed.Minimum Education :
Bachelor's degree required, ideally in a STEM field. Advanced
degree, preferred, ideally in business administration, marketing,
computer science, software development or a related field.Minimum
Experience :
- 15+ years of relevant professional experience, with 10+ in a
biomedical or healthcare setting, preferred. A directly relevant
advanced degree may substitute for professional experience (Masters
1 yr, PhD 3 yrs).
- 10 years of experience in product management, preferably in
leadership roles, with a track record of successfully managing and
launching products/software platforms in a large-scale enterprise
environment.
- 10 years of direct people management experience.
- 10 years of exceptional planning, strategy, project management,
negotiation, and organizational skills, with the demonstrated
ability to drive multiple concurrent projects in a complex,
deadline-driven environment.
- 7 years of building and managing high-performance product
management and software development teams.At Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, we work every day to create an innovative, caring, and
inclusive environment where every patient, family, and staff member
feels they belong. As relentless as we are in our mission to reduce
the burden of cancer for all, we are equally committed to
diversifying our faculty and staff. Cancer knows no boundaries and
when it comes to hiring the most dedicated and diverse
professionals, neither do we. If working in this kind of
organization inspires you, we encourage you to apply.Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the
right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for
employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender
identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation,
genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service,
protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by
law.EEOC Poster
Keywords: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Chicopee , SENIOR DIRECTOR, PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY, Executive , Boston, Massachusetts
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