Cancer Center Jobs

Oncology Trial Activation Manager
OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, Knight Cancer Clinical Research
Salary Range: $93,392 - $149,156/yr based on education/experience 
FTE 1.00 (hybrid, in-person)

Department Overview
The mission of the Knight Cancer Clinical Research organization is to support translational clinical research aimed at improving the lives of people and families with cancer by applying innovative strategies for cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Support is provided through proactive, high-quality, efficient study management in compliance with federal regulations and local policies. This fast-paced, intensive research environment involves complex clinical studies in a highly vulnerable patient population.

Function/Duties of Position

Position Summary: 
This position is responsible for oversight and improvement of activation of therapeutic interventional trials at OHSU Knight Cancer Clinical Research (KCCR). The successful candidate will identify bottlenecks, implement measurable process improvements, align stakeholders, and build a culture of accountability and speed while maintaining compliance, quality, and patient safety. Responsibilities include oversight of activation processes and development of SOPs and tools to streamline trial activation. The Activation Manager will track start-up metrics, communicate with process owners and stakeholders, and implement operational efficiencies.

Success will be demonstrated through implementation of processes resulting in significant, sustainable reductions in median trial activation timelines.

• Implement an enterprise-wide trial start-up dashboard
• Standardize workflows across departments
• Improve sponsor and investigator satisfaction
• This individual will collaborate with research administration, legal, IRB, finance, compliance, clinical departments, investigators, and sponsors/CROs to transform trial start-up performance and create a best-in-class activation model

Duties & Responsibilities: 
 
Strategic Leadership & Process Transformation

• Lead initiatives to reduce protocol-to-first-patient enrollment timelines
• Develop real-time dashboards and KPIs to monitor trial activation performance
• Identify workflow bottlenecks, manage risks, and implement standardized activation pathways for industry, investigator-initiated, and cooperative group trials
• Establish service-level agreements, accountability frameworks, benchmark against best practices, and provide leadership with actionable performance reports

Stakeholder Management

Partner with investigators, department leaders, sponsors, CROs, and institutional teams (IRB, legal, finance, contracting, compliance) to prioritize studies and remove activation barriers

Change Management

• Lead organizational change to improve efficiency, transparency, collaboration, and customer service
• Train staff on standardized processes, tools, and performance expectations

Standardization Across Disease Programs

• Recruit, onboard, mentor, and retain staff
• Balance workloads, provide ongoing performance feedback and training, and ensure adequate operational coverage for study start-up activities

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's degree and 7 years' relevant experience
• 4 years of clinical research experience and 1 year of personnel management experience
• Deep knowledge of regulatory guidelines governing clinical research
• Strong understanding of clinical research requirements for staffing, systems, and processes
• Ability to lead teams, facilitate collaboration, and create a positive work environment
• Ability to deliver a customer-service orientation that provides timely, reliable support to staff, investigators, sponsors, and other customers
• Ability to prioritize effectively and manage time

For additional details and to apply, visit the OHSU Jobs link: Oncology Trial Activation Manager.