Assistant Director Clinical Research

Job Title: Assistant Director, Clinical Research Job Description
The Assistant Director, Clinical Research provides senior operational and people leadership across multiple community-based clinical research sites in the Atlanta metro area, with a primary focus on oncology clinical trials. This role oversees clinical research operations for several community locations and the Breast and GI working groups, ensuring high-quality trial execution, consistent processes, and strong collaboration with investigators and site leadership. The position is ideal for an experienced clinical research operations leader who has progressed through hands-on roles in clinical trials, understands the complexity of multi-site and multi-disease group research, and can design scalable solutions to operational challenges across a Clinical Trials Office.
Responsibilities
- Provide operational and people leadership across multiple community clinical research sites and the Breast and GI working groups.
- Oversee a mix of direct and indirect reports, including site managers, supervisors, clinical research coordinators (CRCs), clinical research nurses (CRNs), and other research staff.
- Manage clinical research operations across sites with differing staffing structures, patient populations, trial portfolios, and operational needs.
- Maintain a regular in-person presence at community locations, typically visiting each site weekly or every other week based on operational needs.
- Recruit, hire, onboard, train, develop, and manage clinical research staff to build high-performing teams.
- Support managers and supervisors in resolving staffing, workload, performance, and day-to-day operational challenges.
- Lead process-improvement initiatives across clinical research operations to enhance efficiency, quality, and consistency.
- Develop, implement, and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), guidance documents, and standardized workflows for clinical research activities.
- Identify operational problems at individual sites and design solutions that can be implemented across the broader Clinical Trials Office.
- Support audit readiness and FDA inspection readiness, ensuring that sites operate in compliance with applicable regulations and institutional policies.
- Partner closely with physicians, working group leadership, site leadership, and senior Clinical Trials Office management to align operational strategies with research priorities.
- Provide project management and operational leadership across multiple simultaneous priorities and initiatives.
- Oversee and support clinical trials primarily involving solid tumors at community locations, ensuring appropriate staffing, timelines, and quality standards.
- Promote a mission-driven culture focused on improving cancer outcomes and advancing oncology research.
- Represent community sites operational needs in broader organizational discussions and help translate strategic goals into practical operational plans.
Essential Skills
- At least 5 years of experience in research, nursing, and/or clinical trials.
- At least 3 years of management experience leading a sizeable team, including responsibility for hiring, performance management, and, when necessary, termination decisions.
- Hands-on oncology clinical trial experience, including managing a large trial load across multiple disease groups.
- Demonstrated experience managing multi-site and/or community-based clinical research operations.
- Proficiency with EPIC or similar electronic medical record systems in a clinical research context.
- Proven experience implementing process improvement initiatives within clinical research operations.
- Strong operational leadership skills with the ability to manage complex workflows and competing priorities.
- Excellent people management skills, including coaching, mentoring, and developing staff at different levels.
- Ability to identify operational issues, analyze root causes, and design scalable, practical solutions.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills to partner effectively with physicians, site leadership, and senior research leadership.
- Solid understanding of clinical research compliance, audit readiness, and FDA inspection expectations, particularly in oncology.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- SOCRA (Society of Clinical Research Associates) or ACRP (Association of Clinical Research Professionals) certification.
- Solid tumor clinical trial experience, particularly in community-based oncology settings.
- Experience supporting or leading Breast and GI oncology working groups or similar disease-focused teams.
- Demonstrated success managing teams across multiple locations with varying operational needs.
- Experience in community research environments and comfort working with diverse trial portfolios.
- Ability to lead the development and rollout of SOPs, guidance documents, and standardized workflows across multiple sites.
- Strong project management skills, including the ability to prioritize and manage multiple concurrent initiatives.
- Commitment to a mission-driven environment focused on improving cancer outcomes and advancing oncology research.
- Interest in contributing to an NCI-designated cancer research program with strong investigator engagement and support.
Work Environment
This role is based within a network of community oncology clinical research sites in the Atlanta metro area and requires significant local travel. The Assistant Director will regularly travel among several community campuses, including locations such as St. Josephs, Johns Creek, Decatur, and the VA. The position emphasizes in-person leadership and presence at community sites, with the expectation of visiting each campus weekly or every other week depending on operational needs. The environment is fast-paced and mission-driven, supporting a broad mix of oncology clinical trials, primarily focused on solid tumors, and leveraging technologies such as the EPIC electronic medical record system. Work involves close collaboration with investigators, site leadership, and Clinical Trials Office leadership in a setting recognized for conducting trials that contribute substantially to FDA-approved oncology therapies. The culture values strong investigator engagement, operational excellence, and a shared commitment to improving cancer outcomes, with much of the Assistant Directors time spent embedded in the community sites rather than exclusively at the main cancer center.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Atlanta, GA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $84.00 - $94.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:

Medical, dental & vision
Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
Short and long-term disability
Health Spending Account (HSA)
Transportation benefits
Employee Assistance Program
Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Atlanta, GA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Nov 16, 2026.
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in Atlanta,GA. About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

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