Project Leader - CTSI

Be You.

The Duke CTSI Accelerator turns promising ideas into progress toward better health. Through targeted pilot funding, scientific project leadership, and operational expertise, it helps clinical and translational research teams build momentum, overcome barriers, and move discoveries toward real-world impact.  It is built specifically to handle the administrative and operational "how" of research, allowing scientists to focus entirely on the "why".

The Duke CTSI Accelerator team is composed of specialized Project Leaders who occupy a unique hybrid niche in academic medicine, functioning as high-level translational strategists. Rather than acting as passive administrators, Project Leaders are embedded directly into research teams to drive internally and externally funded portfolios across the finish line.

We are seeking a Project Leader to provide project management and operational leadership essential to the successful management of research projects associated with the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Project Office (Accelerator).   The Project Leader will utilize best project management practices and knowledge of the scientific, technical, and clinical requirements for successful early development projects to achieve project goals. 

By bringing investigators, institutional resources, and community partners together, the Accelerator strengthens the connections and research processes that turn knowledge into lasting health benefits.

Minimum Requirements:

1. Completion of an allied health degree (e.g., Respiratory Therapy, Radiologic Technology, Licensed Practical Nurse) or Associate's degree in Clinical Trials Research related curriculum plus a minimum of five years healthcare experience; or

2. Completion of a Master's degree in Public Health, Health Administration or a related area with one year directly related Clinical trials research experience; or

3. Completion of a Bachelor's degree plus a minimum of three years directly related experience in clinical trials research; or

4. Completion of a Bachelor's degree plus a minimum of four years closely related research experience.

An Associate’s degree is required.

Other Preferred Skills/Experience:

• Master's degree or PhD preferred
• At least four years of experience in clinical or biomedical research, leading projects and teams with measurable deliverable outcomes, and understanding the strategic, project management, and operational requirements of research projects
• Progressively responsible experience leading and managing clinical and translational research and/or science projects in areas such as therapeutic or device development, community engagement, population health, health policy, or improving health outcomes.
• Strong project management, planning, prioritization, and organizational skills
• Demonstrated success in advancing clinical and translational research and science projects while building strong relationships with investigators, technical and professional staff, external collaborators, and community partners to improve population health and health outcomes
• Grant writing experience is strongly preferred. Strong analytical and writing skills
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills
• Ability to manage competing and changing priorities and multiple tasks under inflexible timelines with an acute attention to detail.
• Comprehensive decision-making skills to take independent and timely decisions; communicate, influence, and escalate issues, and serve as final authority, as appropriate
• Ability to interact well with employees at all levels
• Strong hands-on experience with quantitative research methods and data analyses, along with direct experience and working knowledge of early clinical application through implementation in community settings to improve health outcomes

Be Bold.

Work Responsibilities:

Translational Research and Translational Science Projects: Serve as an extension of the principal investigator (PI), combining scientific and translational knowledge, leadership, and project management to advance project goals across the research continuum.

• Lead projects with the PI and team from initiation, start-up, execution, closeout, and dissemination and follow-on activities. Define scope, objectives, milestones, deliverables, timelines, dependencies, and roles; maintain plans, assess progress, and guide adjustments.
• Lead meetings and engage investigators, staff, vendors, community partners, and external collaborators. Align priorities and decisions, connect teams with institutional expertise and resources, document responsibilities, and drive follow-through.
• Identify risks, barriers, and operational issues; lead and monitor solutions, escalate concerns, and communicate progress, needed decisions, and recommended actions to investigators, leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate with investigators and responsible offices to track IRB, IACUC, legal, procurement, sponsor, and institutional approvals and agreements; facilitate submissions and reporting; and support compliance. Approval decisions remain with the responsible authorities.
• Partner with investigators to develop proposals, standard operating procedures, clinical protocols, etc., and maintain complete, current, and stored project documents.
• Partner with Finance and Grants Manager to monitor and forecast expenditures, resolve financial issues, ensure timely and accurate invoicing, track receivables, and support compliance with institutional, state, federal, and sponsor activities. 
• Coordinate final deliverables and reports, document outcomes and lessons learned, and work with investigators to identify next steps for sustainability, development, implementation, dissemination, and other translational elements.

Collaborate with the Program Officer for Pilot Funding Programs:

• Conduct consultations, review applications for administrative and technical content, attend study sections, and draft review critiques.
• During run-in, partner with the PI and responsible offices to advance project readiness through subcontracts, regulatory, vendor, and consultant approvals; define key activities and deliverables; and report progress, issues, and recommended actions to stakeholders.
• Support the Program Officer in managing funding cycles in MyResearchProposal (MRP), including creating applications, evaluations, and follow-up workflows; reviewer assignments; award records; and program metrics reports.

• Compile project and program data for progress reports and leadership updates.

Assessing Impact: The Accelerator assesses project and program impact using metrics and frameworks such as the Translational Science Benefits Model (TSBM), with results tracked using an online tracking and evaluation platform, the Translational Research Accomplishment Cataloguer (TRACER).

• Partner with investigators to identify potential and achieved benefits and relevant indicators using frameworks such as TSBM’s clinical and medical, community and public health, economic, and policy and legislative domains, along with other measures of milestones, outcomes, and translational progress.

• Review progress reports and other sources to monitor, categorize, and summarize indicators and metrics; assess trends, distinguish anticipated from demonstrated benefits, and identify gaps, barriers, opportunities, and follow-up actions. Track publications and presentations; verify citations and project associations with investigators, and monitor outcomes beyond the award period, as appropriate.
• Clarify indicator and metric definitions, resolve missing or inconsistent information, maintain supporting documentation and accurate TRACER records, and generate reports.

Contribution to Improvements:

Improve systems, tools, and processes for project leadership and management, including timelines, finances, reporting, communication, and review standards.

Other duties as assigned:

Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.  The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this classification.

Choose Duke.

Join our award-winning team as identified by Forbes magazine as America’s Best Large Employer 2024 and be part of an inclusive culture that values excellence, innovation, and discovery. As an organization, we have exciting opportunities to be forward-thinking leaders in our field. We want talented individuals to join us, examine our current operations, and create innovative solutions that will revolutionize and enhance the way we approach our work.

Duke University is consistently ranked among the top universities worldwide and is renowned for its cutting-edge research across disciplines.

Beyond the engaging work, you'll also benefit from Duke's competitive benefits package including health insurance plans, generous paid time off, retirement programs with employer contributions, tuition assistance for employees and their children, and more.