Senior Project Manager, Sociome

Department
 

BSD PED - Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation - Pediatric Cancer Data Commons: Operations

About the Department
 

The Biological Sciences Division’s ‘Data for the Common Good’ (D4CG), is a rapidly growing team of experts in medicine, clinical research, public health, data standards, data infrastructure and programming, data governance, and international data sharing. Headquartered in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago, Data for the Common Good works to connect and share disparate data sets in order to alter long-standing research paradigms and enable the study of new research questions that drive cures. Its signature flagship project, the Pediatric Cancer Data Commons (PCDC), houses the world’s largest set of clinical data for pediatric cancer, uniting clinical data from across five continents for almost all types of pediatric cancer. Leveraging its expertise in establishing data commons, Data for the Common Good has expanded to create similar infrastructure across other rare diseases, including rare forms of diabetes, pediatric epilepsy, Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, penetrating brain injury, and adult cancers, as well as a university-wide initiative called the Sociome, a scalable and extensible infrastructure and architecture that will ultimately assemble, quantify and organize the entirety of social context experienced by every individual.
Non-clinical aspects of life, such as social, environmental, behavioral, economic and psychological factors play significant roles in shaping patient health and health outcomes and contribute to health disparities. We refer to the entirety of these non-clinical factors as a patient’s ‘sociome’. D4CG has created a repository of pre-harmonized, geospatial sociome datasets, called the Sociome Data Commons, that can be used in concert with clinical data to predict a variety of outcomes by developing a data governance framework using a structured, standardized metadata model that conforms to FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles. The Sociome Data Commons is now poised for scaling to be used by researchers across clinical, life, and social sciences disciplines.

Job Summary
 

The Senior Project Manager will be responsible for managing the development of the Sociome Data Commons (SDC). The role will liaise with technical teams on the development of data structures and workflows as well as with investigators across Chicagoland to build the SDC into a resource that is easy to access and use. The Sr. Project Manager will maintain product delivery according to milestones and report on overall project progress. The job uses best practices of managing projects from conception to completion.The Sr. Project Manager assembles teams and develops detailed work plans, schedules, project estimates, resource plans, and status reports while being the point of contact for the SDC.
​​Our department follows a hybrid work structure that fosters productivity, collaboration, and employee well-being. Working from the office is encouraged for tasks that require a high degree of collaboration.
This at-will position is wholly or partially funded by contractual grant funding which is renewed under provisions set by the grantor of the contract. Employment will be contingent upon the continued receipt of these grant funds and satisfactory job performance.

Responsibilities

• Develops and implements plans for SDC data and infrastructure plans. 

• Assembles and leads a project team, assigns individual responsibilities, identifies appropriate resources needed, and develops schedules to ensure timely completion of projects. 

• Coordinates the successful integration of vendor and/or consultant tasks and tracks and reviews vendor and/or consultant deliverables. 

• Plans, coordinates, and arranges meetings with stakeholders to gather, detail and refine specifications for the SDC. 

• Works with the university, affiliates and the client community to develop detailed program requirements. 

• Develops and ensures quality control of the SDC methodology and contributes to the further enhancement and application of the SDC. 

• Creates and maintains project specification documents, meeting agendas and minutes. 

• Ensures project deliverables are completed according to both internal and stakeholder timelines, notifies D4CG leadership when project timelines are at risk, and works with team members to ensure corrective measures are taken to ensure successful project completion. 

• Is responsible for tracking progress, conducting analyses, as well as preparing for and facilitating project meetings. 

• Acts as a resource for a project team and provides analytical guidance. Interprets complex project issues and provides analytical guidance to a project team. 

• ​​Performs other related work as needed. 

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications  

 

Education: 

• MS, MA, or MPH in related field. 

• Relevant technical training equivalent such as project management certification. 

Experience: 

• Experience with project management practices, tools, and software. 

• Experience working and communicating effectively with stakeholders from various backgrounds and specializations. 

• Scientific background and interest – particularly clinical trials, medicine, or public health. 

• Familiarity with clinical/phenotypic data.  

• Experience facilitating technical discussions, as well as the ability to synthesize, summarize and generate insight from large amounts of complex data and information. 

• Experience working in non-profit or university research organization. 

• Experience with grant management, budgeting, and reporting. 

 

 Preferred Competencies   

• Demonstrated success in managing the operation of complex software development projects with a broad set of stakeholders.  

• Demonstrated interest in developing programs. 

• Interest in digital tools and methods for research. 

• Demonstrated record of success in developing and maintaining strong working relationships with faculty, staff, administrators and other internal and external partners.  

• Knowledge of project management concepts, tools, software, and best practices. 

• Ability to work independently, as well as collaboratively, in a changing environment. 

• Understanding of the types of publicly available datasets that comprise the SDC as well as  clinical trial, registry and other clinical data, electronic health record data that will be combined with the SDC for research purposes. 

• Understanding of non-clinical data that correlate with health outcomes (e.g., environmental factors). 

• Knowledge of medical research and clinical data.  

• Strong and effective oral and written communication skills. 

• Ability to facilitate group decision-making processes and foster an environment of healthy team idea exchange and collaboration. 

• Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders from various cultures, countries, and knowledge bases. 

• Ability to accurately monitor project progress, to keep track of effort and funds expended and committed, and to anticipate at an early stage any need for changes in project direction, scope, objectives, funding, or timeline. 

• Ability to prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail on general, and sometimes ambiguous, instructions for projects. 

• Ability to facilitate technical discussions, as well as the ability to synthesize, summarize and generate insight from large amounts of complex information. 

• Excellent communication, time management / organization, troubleshooting, and analytical skills. 

 

Working Conditions   

• ​​Eligible for hybrid work based on business needs and the demands of specific tasks. Working from the office is encouraged for tasks that require a high degree of collaboration. 

 

Application Documents   

• Resume (required) 

• Cover letter (required)  

When applying, the document(s) MUST  be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
 

Administration & Management

Role Impact
 

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status
 

Exempt

Pay Frequency
 

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
 

40

Benefits Eligible
 

Yes

Drug Test Required
 

No

Health Screen Required
 

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Posting Statement
 

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

 

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