"Director, University of Arizona Health Sciences Biobank (Assistant, Associate or Full Professor)(CT)"

Position Highlights

The Director provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for the University of Arizona Health Sciences Biobank within the Clinical and Translational Science Initiative (CTSI). This role ensures regulatory compliance, optimizes biobanking operations, and facilitates connections among researchers, clinical partners, and the community to advance precision medicine and improve health outcomes. The Director establishes standards for consent, collection, storage, annotation, and distribution of biospecimens and associated data, and stewards a shared resource that is accessible, equitable, and sustainable.

The successful candidate will meet the requirements for a career track faculty appointment according to University guidelines and must qualify for an appointment at the rank of assistant, associate, or full professor. The successful candidate will also fulfill the responsibilities of a faculty member in an appropriate department, actively participating in teaching, clinical service, and/or scholarly work. The Director - Biobank is expected to be .20 FTE, with the remaining effort coupled to one or more areas of the academic tripartite mission, FTE of this role is .80 FTE and will be combined with other roles for a full 1.0 FTE.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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Duties & Responsibilities

Faculty Responsibilities:

• Teaching, clinical services or scholarly work.

Director Responsibilities:

Operations & Compliance

• Complete a comprehensive inventory of existing specimen banks across campus and register holdings in OpenSpecimen.
• Assess and remediate legacy collections to ensure appropriate consent and annotation, including destruction when required.
• Develop and implement standardized consent language and processes applicable across biobanking activities; standardize training for consenters.
• Implement and maintain SOPs and quality systems for collection, processing, labeling, storage, chain of custody, and distribution; ensure adequate secure space and environmental monitoring.
• Prepare, submit, and manage IRB applications, amendments, and continuing reviews; ensure compliance with institutional, state, federal, and sponsor regulations.
• Oversee audits, quality control/assurance, and corrective action plans to maintain regulatory and operational alignment.

Strategic Planning & Partnerships

• Convene a Health Sciences campus-wide biospecimen oversight committee and sub-committees to guide policy, prioritization, and distributions.
• Create a virtual storefront/portal for researchers to browse inventory and request specimens in alignment with approvals and data privacy protections.
• Build collaborations with clinical departments, health partners, and industry sponsors to expand consent-to-contact and maximize scientific impact.
• Develop and execute a strategic plan for a federated, cohesive biobanking ecosystem that supports precision medicine and community-focused research.

Administrative & Financial Management

• Develop, implement, and monitor annual operating budgets; analyze cost drivers and lead efforts to improve efficiency.
• Establish and manage cost-recovery mechanisms (e.g., campus-wide iLAB), set recharge rates, maintain service catalogs, and track utilization.
• Oversee procurement, vendor relationships, equipment lifecycle planning, and service/maintenance contracts.
• Develop and implement systems and processes to establish and maintain accurate operational and regulatory records; prepare regular performance and financial reports for leadership.

Staff Supervision & Development

• Recruit, hire, train, schedule, and supervise biobank staff; provide ongoing coaching and performance evaluations.
• Ensure staff competency through standardized training, proficiency assessments, and continuing professional development.
• Foster a culture of safety, teamwork, service, and continuous improvement.

Data & Research Support

• Design and maintain secure, efficient databases (e.g., OpenSpecimen) and associated data dictionaries and workflows.
• Create processes for data capture, de-identification, linkage to clinical data where appropriate, and audit-ready documentation.
• Provide technical guidance to investigators and staff on study design considerations related to biospecimen collection, processing, and storage.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Ability to develop and maintain record keeping systems and procedures, skill in policy and SOP development.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work effectively with various stakeholders across the university and community.
• Proficiency in program planning, implementation, and change management; ability to design and implement systems to collect, maintain, and analyze data.
• Skill in examining and re-engineering operations and procedures; strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making.
• Financial acumen including budgeting, forecasting, cost recovery, and reporting.
• Knowledge of IRB processes, human subjects protections, and clinical research regulations relevant to biobanking

Minimum Qualifications

• Candidates must be eligible for a faculty appointment at the Associate, Assistant or Professor level at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. Clinically active candidates must be board certified and eligible for licensure in the state of Arizona.
• MD or PhD degree
• Pathologist
• Previous experience in banking of blood, buccal, nasal swabs, fecal microbiome, and other non-tissue samples.
• Demonstrated leadership and management experience, including strategic planning, project management, organization, and time management.
• Experience with IRB submissions, regulatory compliance, and human subjects research.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise staff and manage complex laboratory or core operations

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience implementing campus-wide cost recovery (e.g., iLAB) and inventory/LIMS platforms (e.g., OpenSpecimen).
• Experience negotiating and managing contracts, MOUs, and service agreements with industry and clinical partners.
• Experience leading committees and multi-stakeholder governance for biospecimen oversight and distribution.
• Evidence of successful collaboration across clinical and research environments and with community partners.

Rank:

To be Determined

Tenure Information

Career-Track (CT)

FLSA: Exempt

Full Time/Part Time: Full Time

Number of Hours Worked per Week: 40

Job FTE: 1.0

Work Calendar: Fiscal

Job Category: Faculty

Benefits Eligible: Yes - Full Benefits

Rate of Pay: DOE

Compensation Type: salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE)

Type of criminal background check required: Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive)

Number of Vacancies: 1

Contact Information for Candidates

Sally Radovick, sradovick@arizona.edu

Open Until Filled: Yes

Documents Needed to Apply:

Curriculum Vitae (CV) and Cover Letter

Special Instructions to Applicant

Please note: If invited to interview, please be prepared to provide three (3) professional references.