Clinic Testing Center Lead

Job Purpose:

MBZUAI is expanding its partnership in the Global Human Phenotype Project (HPP) through the establishment of a new on-campus site comprising a Clinic and a Site Lab (“Clinic Testing Center – CTC”).

The CTC Lead will be responsible for planning, coordinating and tracking delivery of the project from establishment through steady-state operation, including hands-on operation of the on-campus CTC.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Planning and Delivery:

• Working closely with the Global HPP team to
• Develop and maintain an integrated project plan for the CTC, aligned with the agreed indicative project plan and HPP requirements.
• Define workstreams, milestones, dependencies and the critical path.
• Coordinate day-to-day execution across internal teams and external partners.
• Track progress against plan and drive timely resolution of delays and blockers.
• Ensure MBZUAI’s dependencies and inputs to the project are delivered on time.

On-campus CTC Establishment:

• Serve as the lead for establishment of the new on-campus CTC in collaboration with the Global HPP team. Responsibilities include:
• Coordinate with facilities, architects, engineers and contractors on the build-out of the site floor housing the CTC.
• Coordinate equipment and consumables procurement, delivery, installation and commissioning.
• Coordinate IT, network, security and platform access requirements with university IT.
• Coordinate recruitment and onboarding of CTC personnel.
• Localization and adaptation of HPP protocols and SOPs.
• Lead site-readiness planning and go-live preparation, in coordination with the Clinic Lead and Site Lab Lead once recruited.

Regulatory, Ethics and Approvals:

• Work closely with the Global HPP team and the relevant MBZUAI reference person to plan, coordinate and track all approvals required for the project, including:
• Ethics / IRB submissions, amendments and renewals.
• Facility and laboratory licensing with the relevant local authorities.
• Data protection, data transfer and information-security approvals.
• Institutional approvals, contracts and agreements required for delivery.

Operational Launch and Ongoing Operations:

• Once the CTC is operational, day-to-day operations are led by the Clinic Lead and Site Lab Lead. The CTC Lead supports them at project level by tracking:
• Participant recruitment.
• Operational KPIs, throughput and performance against HPP SOPs and requirements.
• Sample and data collection by the CTC.
• Follow-up of improvement actions arising from operational reviews.

Governance and Stakeholder Management:

• Act as the main point of contact for the Global HPP team for the on-campus CTC matters.
• Organize and run regular project meetings with the Global HPP team and internal stakeholders.
• Prepare materials for the project steering committee.
• Manage escalation of unresolved issues to senior representatives in line with the agreed governance.
• Build strong, collaborative working relationships across all parties.

Budget and Procurement:

• Tracking the project budget and expenditure against plan.
• Coordinating purchase orders, invoices and payment schedules with finance.
• Supporting vendor selection, negotiations and service contracts with procurement.
• Monitoring contractual deliverables and obligations under the project agreements.

Other Duties:

Perform all other duties as reasonably directed by the line manager that are commensurate with these functional objectives.

Qualifications and Criteria:

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Public Health, Business Administration or a related discipline
• Master’s degree (e.g. MPH, MBA, MSc) in a relevant field.
• Recognized project-management certification (e.g. PMP, PRINCE2).

Essential:

• Proven record of relevant experience in project or program management.
• Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects in healthcare, clinical research or life sciences.
• Experience delivering the establishment of a new clinical site, laboratory or research facility.
• Familiarity with clinical research operations, ethics / IRB processes and Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP).
• Experience managing budgets, procurement and vendor relationships.
• Experience working within, or in partnership with, academic or research institutions.
• Experience reporting to senior leadership and steering committees.
• Excellent written and spoken English; Arabic is an advantage.

Preferred:

• The UAE / GCC healthcare and research regulatory environment
• Cohort studies or population-health programs
• Clinical trial site start-up
• International or multi-site research partnerships
• Laboratory accreditation projects
• Digital health and research data platforms
• Middle East Experience