Director, Research Process Optimization

Job description

OneOncology is positioning community oncologists to drive the future of medical care through a patient-centric, physician-driven, and technology-powered model to help improve the lives of everyone living with cancer and other diseases. Our team is bringing together leaders to the market place to help drive OneOncology’s mission and vision. Why join us? This is an exciting time to join OneOncology. Our values-driven culture reflects our startup enthusiasm supported by industry leaders in oncology, urology, technology, and finance. We are looking for talented and highly-motivated individuals who demonstrate a natural desire to improve and build new processes that support the meaningful work of independent physicians and the patients they serve. Job Description: Role Summary: The Director, Research Process Optimization will report to OneOncology's Vice President, Clinical Research. This role is responsible for driving cross-functional process improvement across OneR, OneOncology's site management organization — spanning contracting & budgeting, study activation, regulatory, quality, study operations, finance, and network site management. Working across all functions of the research program, the Director takes ownership of improvement initiatives end-to-end — from opportunity identification and business case development through implementation and value measurement — to accelerate study activation, increase patient accrual, and improve site satisfaction across a nationally distributed oncology research network. A defining feature of this role is the partnership with OneOncology's technology and Research Products team. The Director translates process designs into deployed solutions — including workflow platforms, tracking systems, and AI/automation tools — and is accountable for keeping technology delivery sequenced, prioritized, and on track against operational timelines. The Director defines the process requirements and success measures; actual technology build and implementation is performed by OneOncology's technology team. This is a builder’s role, not an advisory one. The Director personally designs, builds, and rolls out process changes — working in the day-to-day alongside the teams and measured on outcomes such as faster study activation and higher patient accrual. This is a demanding, high-impact role in a high-growth organization. It requires a dynamic individual who pairs deep process-improvement expertise with hands-on experience inside clinical research operations, and who can influence and align functional leaders, technical partners, and physician & practice stakeholders to deliver sustainable, scalable results. Responsibilities: Opportunity Identification & Portfolio Development: Work alongside functional leaders and their teams to identify opportunities for improvement across all research functions and develop the business cases that prioritize where to invest. Process Analysis: Conduct thorough assessments of existing processes using Lean Six Sigma and other data-driven approaches to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement; lead in-person and virtual working sessions to map current- and future-state workflows. Solution Design & Build: Design the improved processes and build it into how teams actually work — including partnering with the technology team on the automation and tooling behind it. The automation toolkit is broad, spanning intelligent automation, task automation, AI, and other emerging technologies. Technology Coordination & Delivery Oversight: Serve as the primary bridge between the research operations teams and OneOncology's technology / Research Products function. Scope requirements, prioritize and sequence platform builds (e.g., Salesforce, CTMS, and AI-enabled tools), and drive the collective team to agreed upon timelines. Implementation & Change Leadership: Collaborate with teams to implement approved process improvements and automation solutions, ensuring a smooth transition and durable integration into existing workflows across central functions and sites (where applicable). Foundational Process Infrastructure: Monitor the adoption of and adherence to standardized SOPs, work instructions, and roles-and-responsibilities matrices — the shared infrastructure that makes every other process improvement repeatable and scalable as the network grows. Process Discovery & Improvement: Partner with team members across functions to surface their operational pain points and pinpoint the blockers holding them back, translating those insights into targeted process improvements. Apply this approach across areas such as study activation, contracting & budgeting, and ongoing study management to drive smoother, more consistent workflows network-wide. Performance Metrics & Scorecards: Measure the effectiveness of implemented improvements and build the metrics, scorecards, and tracking dashboards that make progress and accountability visible to functional leaders and executive leadership. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Facilitation: Identify and manage cross-team dependencies, establish coordination mechanisms across functions, share best practices, and foster a culture of continuous improvement across the program. Continuous Improvement: Stay informed on industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in process improvement and automation, bringing innovative ideas that keep OneR at the leading edge of research operations. Additional responsibilities as assigned to help drive our mission of improving the lives of everyone living with cancer. Required or Preferred Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations Management, or a healthcare-related field; Master's degree preferred. Lean Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or equivalent) required; Black Belt or automation certification a plus. Minimum of 8 years of experience in process improvement or operations, with a proven track record of personally implementing change. Experience working within a clinical research organization is required — for example a CRO, site management organization, research site network, sponsor, or academic research operation. Oncology-specific experience is a plus but not required. Demonstrated experience coordinating with or directing technology / IT teams to implement operational solutions. Experience working in high-growth, fast-paced, matrixed organizations preferred. Proficiency in process mapping tools and data analysis software; familiarity with project management methodologies. Essential Competencies: Demonstrated track record of leading successful process-improvement and change initiatives within clinical research operations. Ability to lead large-scale change initiatives across people, processes, and technology. Skill in translating operational process needs into clear technology requirements, and in holding technical teams accountable to scope and timelines. Strong facilitation skills, with the ability to gain cross-functional buy-in and align stakeholders at multiple levels of the organization. Experience defining metrics and scorecards to drive operational performance. Knowledge of, and facility to learn, AI and other technology tools to streamline workflows. Customer-focused mindset to effectively serve OneOncology's practice partners and internal teams. Excellent project management skills with an emphasis on detail and follow-through. Demonstrated strong analytical, strategic planning, and problem-solving skills. Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills. Attendance is an essential job function. #LI-REMOTE