Associate Director of Statistical Programming

Job Summary:

The Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research (CBAR), an organization within the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is responsible for the design, monitoring and statistical analysis of clinical trials and observational studies for several major national and international NIH-funded clinical research networks. CBAR employs over 60 statisticians and epidemiologists including Harvard faculty, research scientists, and staff.  Investigators within CBAR have provided statistical leadership and support for clinical research networks for thirty-five years. Currently this includes infectious disease networks such as: Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections (ACTG) and the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network (IMPAACT). Results from studies have helped to establish the paradigm for the treatment and prevention of HIV and other infectious diseases, and contributed to international treatment and prevention guidelines.

This position is located in the Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research (CBAR) within the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.  Since 1989, CBAR and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have provided a strong program for growth and professional development of its research staff -- including a defined career path and opportunities for continuing education and attendance of professional meetings.

CBAR has a hybrid work environment which includes a combination of on-campus/in-person work and remote work.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

Reporting directly to the Director of Statistical Programming and AI Applications, the Associate Director of Statistical Programming is responsible for leading the statistical programming efforts for a busy research center.  The individual will be responsible for collaborating with CBAR Leadership, project PI's,  biostatisticians, and Core programmers as well as the CBAR Quality Management Team, IT professionals, Internal Resource Committees, external collaborators, and other colleagues in the creation, implementation, and maintenance of statistical programming infrastructure and deliverables. The Associate Director will lead the effort to continuously improve programming processes to conform to evolving industry standards and participate in the ongoing review and development of quality systems and processes, including CDISC implementation, R programming, AI integration, and other internal/external initiatives.

The Associate Director will manage the priorities and expectations of the CBAR Programming Core comprised of approximately 10 programmers who design and implement expert applications (including SAS macros, R packages, and BASH scripts) supporting protocol-specific statistical programming and project priorities for Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections (ACTG) and the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group (IMPAACT). This includes high-level programming projects, including SAS, R, BASH, and Python, and ad hoc protocol-specific programming requests. As the process owner for Core Applications, the Associate Director is responsible for timely review and final approval of program specifications and requirements.

The Associate Director will  directly supervise programming managers and other senior Core programming staff. Responsibilities include personnel decision making at all levels of the Core, including hiring, promotion recommendations, and disciplinary actions. This position mentors programming staff and coordinates with the CBAR Training Committee with respect to the training needs of masters and doctoral-level statisticians and epidemiologists.

This individual must possess extensive experience and proven skills in the use of SAS within a Statistical Programming environment and complete knowledge and understanding of the statistical programming processes, procedures, and roles. This individual will use knowledge of CDISC SDTM and ADaM standards to provide support Biostatistics in statistical analysis, both directly, and in the development of programming tools to streamline study-specific programming.  Applicants with experience in R both SAS and R will be strongly preferred.  Additionally, the successful candidate will use their strong people management skills and supervisory skills to provide direct line management to the statistical programmers, identify training needs and opportunities for optimizing staff utilization and employing the most efficient practices.

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Signatory for CBAR Programming SOPs with responsibility for document revisions, CAPA management, response to internal audit, statistical programming representative for external audit/inspection

• Lead Programming Core priorities and commitments, including assessment of new applications, needs of statistics and requirements, allocation of resources including for ad-hoc projects, review, and final approval of program specifications and requirements

• Manage, cultivate, and establish requirements for a pipeline of statistical programming projects. Projects may include macro and script development to support the work of biostatistics teams, study-specific work, standardization efforts, ad-hoc projects, etc.

• Directly supervise the Manager of Programming Systems, the Manager of Programmer Development, and the Manager of Data Standardization providing oversight for advanced application design and planning, Core programmer training, and clinical data standardization, respectively

• Collaboration with the CBAR IT team to ensure thorough and smooth testing associated with critical hardware and software updates

• Primary liaison with the ACTG/IMPAACT Data Management Center in Amherst, NY; responsible to ensure the harmonization of programming systems and deliverables between the two organizations;

• Supporting statisticians and epidemiologists with external collaborators to ensure efficient and secure data transfer

• Coordination with the CBAR Training Committee with respect to the training needs of master- and doctoral-level statisticians and epidemiologists

• Other duties as assigned

Please attach the following when applying: 1) Resume, 2) Cover letter, 3) Sample of SAS Code (solely created by the applicant - preferably utilizing macro language), and 4) Names and email addresses for three (3) Professional references.

PLEASE NOTE: This position has a term date of November 30, 2027 with a strong likelihood of extension.