Call for applications and nominations: Senior Director of SMPH Shared Resources

The School of Medicine and Public Health is seeking candidates from among its current faculty for the position of Senior Director of SMPH Shared Resources. Qualified candidates are invited to apply for this key leadership role. Please consider nominating potential candidates, as well as alerting qualified candidates who may be interested in applying. This individual will succeed Professor Richard Halberg, the current Senior Director of SMPH Shared Resources, who plans to retire from the university in July, and Professor Emeritus Jim Shull, who is stepping away from his role as Associate Director of Shared Resources for the UW Carbone Cancer Center. With these departures, the school is joining efforts with the UWCCC, which houses many of the school’s shared resources, for this leadership position.

All applications received by Wednesday, August 20 will be given full and equal consideration. The position description is below.

How to apply

Interested candidates should submit a CV and personal statement/cover letter detailing the following:

  1. Your interest in this position and vision for the Office of Shared Resources
  2. A summary of your background and qualifications for this position

Send applications, nominations, and questions to:

Andrea Poehling, Chief of Staff – Office of Basic Research, Biotechnology and Graduate Studies, andrea.poehling@wisc.edu


Position Description

Degree and area of specialization:

PhD, MD or equivalent

Minimum number of years and type of relevant work experience:

The successful candidate will have a compelling vision for the future of shared resources in a leading public academic institution and medical center. The Senior Director will possess proven leadership and management skills and an outstanding academic background. Applicants must be a current SMPH tenure track faculty member at the rank of associate professor or professor and able to devote approximately 25-50% of their time and effort to this position. The Senior Director will continue to engage in their research, education and service commitments for their remaining effort within their SMPH department.

Applicants must have a PhD, MD, or equivalent; experience with shared resources; a demonstrated record of excellence in scholarship and relevant academic leadership experience; a history of extramural funding in a relevant biomedical field; leadership experience at school, campus and/or national levels; and a broad appreciation of the research missions of the UW SMPH.

Position Summary:

The Senior Director of SMPH Shared Resources is responsible for the leadership and oversight of all SMPH shared resources, including those of the UWCCC, through development and implementation of strategic goals and overall administrative and fiscal management. In addition, the Senior Director assumes the responsibility of assessing the scientific direction and research impact of current and future shared resource activities and evaluating the prioritization of shared resources within the strategic research mission of the SMPH.

This position reports directly to the Senior Associate Dean for Basic Research, Biotechnology, and Graduate Studies at the SMPH with an additional reporting line to the Director of the UW Carbone Cancer Center.  The Senior Director will actively engage in school-wide initiatives that support accreditation, strategic priorities and building an inclusive, equitable and respectful working and learning environment.

Principal duties:

  1. Develop, evaluate and oversee SMPH shared resources, including promoting efficiencies and coordinating administration and operations.
  2. Develop and oversee the financial plan of SMPH shared resources.
  3. Lead faculty and staff directors and managers of all SMPH shared resources.
  4. Participate in UWCCC leadership meetings and in Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) activities, including the grant renewal application and site visit, external advisory board reviews and other activities.
  5. Work closely with the UWCCC Assistant Director of Shared Resources, who is formally supervised by the UWCCC Associate Director of Administration, for oversight of shared resources and CCSG activities, including reporting and renewal.
  6. Organize quarterly meetings of directors of individual or groups of shared resources.
  7. Develop approaches to facilitate interactions among investigators, staff and trainees.
  8. Review requests for augmentation of staff and equipment based on directors’ recommendations and determine cost sharing models.
  9. Develop a standardized approach to address requests for funding to support instrument acquisition. Define standardized processes by which shared resources can be responsive to RFAs to support instrument acquisition.
  10. Facilitate, develop and where appropriate and feasible, lead grant funding opportunities that involve multiple stakeholders.
  11. Survey investigators to obtain data on the frequency of use, accessibility, timeliness, expense and overall quality of shared resources.
  12. Develop training modules for shared resources staff and associated administrative units on culture/customer service, as well as a mechanism for shared resources/units to receive feedback.
  13. Promote shared resources via facility open houses, training events and the website to engage new users and facilitate interaction among investigators.
  14. Participate in professional, public and university service appropriate to the faculty rank.

Number of individuals supervised: 2

Compensation: The directorship includes a base adjustment that is coterminous with this administrative role.