Assistant Director, Clinical Research Analytics

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35.00
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: $125,000-$150,000

Position Summary

The Assistant Director for Clinical Research Analytics will provide strategic and operational leadership for the Clinical Data Navigator (CDN) program across Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Operating out of CUIMC Data Analytics and supported by the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, the Assistant Director will report to the Executive Director of Data Analytics in CUIMC IT. Together with the Director of Clinical Research Initiatives, the Assistant Director will work with research leadership to serve as the bridge between departments and principal investigators and the clinical data used in their clinical research and quality improvement (QI) projects.

This role will oversee a growing team of CDN personnel and work to standardize workflows for clinical data access and analytics delivery, support institutional governance around research data use, and develop relevant workforce training and onboarding programs. Additionally, this role is expected to develop clinical research datasets using SQL or scripting languages and deliver them to researchers in the most appropriate format.

Working with institutional research and IT leadership, the Assistant Director operates with a high degree of independence and accountability, translating strategic priorities into executable plans while ensuring regulatory-compliant, high-quality data delivery in support of research.

Responsibilities

Workforce & People Management (45%):

• Oversee a growing team of clinical data navigator (CDN) personnel including performance evaluation, time management, training, troubleshooting and guidance.
• Provide functional leadership and mentoring to the CDN community by promoting consistent communication, collaboration, and best practices.
• Manage the Clinical Data Navigator workforce program, including standardized career laddering, job descriptions, onboarding, training curriculum, and peer networking.
• Collaborate with institutional partners to optimize and streamline processes and governance for clinical data access for research, including collaboration with TRAC and related functions.
• Develop and manage CDN project timelines and workflows; track progress and ensure timely completion of deliverables.
• Partner with other institutional research personnel to deliver easy-to-navigate research data services featuring research data meeting data fidelity, security and compliance standards.
• Monitor and report on key performance indicators related to data access, turnaround time, and data quality; implement continuous improvement initiatives.

  Database, Business Intelligence, & Scripting Development (20%): Designs, develops, and maintains database objects using Microsoft SQL Server, and in future Snowflake, to support analytics and reporting needs, especially for those CUIMC Departments without dedicated CDN personnel. Responsibilities include writing and optimizing complex SQL queries, creating and modifying tables, views, stored procedures, and functions, and ensuring data integrity, performance, and scalability. Collaborates with data engineers, analysts, and stakeholders to translate business requirements into efficient database solutions, troubleshoot data issues, and support ongoing enhancements to analytical systems. Uses scripting languages and AI to automate tasks and integrate processes. Builds Power BI datasets and reports as needed.

  Communication/Documentation (20%): Translate research needs into technical specifications. Contribute to technical and operational documentation, including institutional data dictionaries, standard operating procedures, and knowledge base articles. Support audit readiness, issue escalation, and corrective action efforts related to clinical data operations. Take the lead on CDN program data reporting, validation, analysis, visualization, and program quality improvement activities for the research ecosystem including leadership, investigators and research teams.

  Maintains Standards & Data Quality (5%): Maintains knowledge of internal and industry-wide policies, standards, and best practices, including HIPAA, IRB, and data governance policies and procedures to ensure all deliverables meet those standards. Create a new system for storing clinical data queries and ensure CDN personnel are adhering to data reporting and storage principles as well as data integrity, performance, and scalability.

  Continuous Improvement (5%): Seeks out additional training to improve skills in the team’s technologies and new technologies, and to improve soft skills for better client and team relations.

  Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience plus a minimum of five years of experience in clinical data, analytics, or project management.
• Experience developing custom analytics with Epic clarity database structures.
• Familiarity with clinical data standards (e.g., ICD, CPT, LOINC, RxNorm).
• Proficiency with relational databases and writing efficient SQL queries.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple competing priorities.
• Commitment to fair, consistent, and respectful workplace practices aligned with institutional policies.
• Ability to communicate effectively in both oral and written form.  

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Analytics, Information Systems, Statistics, or a related field; or equivalent relevant experience preferably in an academic medical center environment.
• Experience with the clinical research life-cycle at a large academic medical center
• Supervisory experience and strong interpersonal and team-building skills.
• Experience with Power BI and/or other business intelligence tools.
• Demonstrated project or program management experience with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Experience with clinical terminology and workflows.
• Epic clinical data model certifications and/or experience with Epic Research Modules.
• Experience with Python, R, Snowflake, Fivetran, dbt, and dagster.
• Experience working with research and health system data platforms such as REDCap, Qualtrics, iLab, or OpenSpecimen.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.