Job Posting: Deputy Director

Summary

About the LHNCBC

The LHNCBC was established by the United States Congress in 1968, to further biomedicine through data science research and application product development. The LHNCBC consists of the Immediate Office of the Director and two branches: the Scientific Computing Branch (SCB) and Applied Clinical Informatics Branch (ACIB). The LHNCBC has an operating budget of $14 million and human resources support of approximately 70 personnel. LHNCBC personnel include a diverse mix of scientific and technical staff consisting of federal employees, contractors, fellows, and special volunteers who have backgrounds in medicine, biomedical informatics, clinical informatics, imaging, computer science, data science, library and information sciences, linguistics, cognitive science, scientific computing, cloud computing, and engineering.

About the LHNCBC Deputy Director Position

The Deputy Director will be appointed into a position in the Senior Biomedical Research and Biomedical Product Assessment Service (SBRBPAS). Candidates for this position must have outstanding and broad expertise in program administration, software development and deployment, and scientific computing as they relate to the fields of biomedical and clinical informatics. The position serves as a senior technical leader of NLM who collaborates across NLM, NIH, and the broader research community by providing expert advice and consultation on clinical and biomedical informatics. The position oversees design and implementation of programs supporting NLM and NIH intramural research that provide development of methods to gain insights from large health databases while learning the strengths and weaknesses of datasets and improving them, when possible; development and evaluation of computer algorithms for automated text analysis; and, data science research in biomedical image and signal processing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to support automated clinical decision-making. Candidates should be customer-focused, service oriented, and have experience in working in a biomedical research environment. Outstanding communication skills and a collaborative work style are critical. This is a full-time leadership position located at NIH facilities at the Bethesda, Maryland area campus.

Duties

The NIH National Library of Medicine’s Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (LHNCBC) is looking for a Deputy Director to share responsibility with the Director for overall program development, program evaluation, policy formulation, direction, and coordination of all LHNCBC activities. In addition, the Deputy Director will serve in a key leadership role in assisting the LHNCBC Director in overseeing the diverse scientific and technical staff. Specifically, the Deputy Director will be responsible for the following in coordination with the Director:

• Providing strategic and operational guidance to the LHNCBC branch chiefs and staff within the Office of the Director including:
• Reorganization and modernization of the technology product development activities, and assessment of processes supporting them, in the recently reorganized and refocused Applied Clinical Informatics Branch (ACIB).
• Coordination and assessment of research technology, as well as product transitions to real-world production environments. Facilitating the transfer of research activities to improve health and health care through methodological advances in clinical informatics.
• Research, assessment, and production activities of the Scientific Computing Branch (SCB) to design, develop, and maintain leading-edge, cost-effective computational infrastructure and computing resources that support research and development across all LHNCBC activities, as well as the NLM Intramural Research Program.
• Developing assessment criteria to support project reviews of projects, identify new programmatic opportunities, and provide oversight for LHNBC’s expanding portfolio of new and continuing projects,
• Ensuring that appropriate administrative and scientific computing support is available to scientists,
• Establishing LHNCBC organizational goals and assessing progress toward strategic objectives,
• Directing the LHNCBC financial budget of $14 million and overseeing about 70 staff
• Directing day-to-day LHNCBC operations.

In addition, the LHNCBC is executing a reorganization to modernize its longstanding mission as a research and development center to better reflect the evolution of biomedical communications as relying on interoperable data, scalable methods, and translation of research discoveries into operations. The reorganization also spotlights the fact that the future of LHNCBC will be centered around leveraging clinical data in biomedical research and translational science, with the accompanying need for continuous technological improvements to provide staff the resources they will need to do this work.

A process is underway to establish a long-term vision and roadmap for LHNCBC. A Deputy Director with a well-rounded background in technology, research, and product assessment is needed to support this process. Another important role of the Deputy Director will be to assist in the recruitment, development and retention of the LHNCBC leadership team, of which some positions are currently in acting capacity.

Who Can Apply

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

To be eligible for this position, candidates must be a U.S. citizen, or U.S. National. Foreign nationals or legal permanent residents are not eligible for consideration. Candidates must indicate their U.S. citizenship status on their CV or within their email application submission.

In order to qualify for this position, candidates must possess either a doctoral-level degree in biomedicine or a biological related field, or a master's level or higher degree in:

• engineering
• bioinformatics
• or an emerging or related scientific field.

In addition, candidates must have at least one year of experience related to the position, including achievements in one or more of the following areas to demonstrate the individual has received recognition as an expert in the field:

• Has significant experience dealing with complex, precedent-setting evaluation, scientific policies or development issues (e.g., those associated with novel biomedical products, novel approaches to biomedical product manufacturing, or use of novel evaluation methods)
• Demonstrated cutting-edge expertise in a scientific or technical discipline critical to design, development, manufacturing, clinical performance assessment, or technical aspects of effective oversight of biomedical products
• Played a leadership role in planning and conducting public meetings to seek public input and communicate regulatory scientific policies
• Received invitations to speak at or chair major national or international meetings and symposia or
• Meets other criteria demonstrating sufficient rigor or accomplishment in a relevant or closely related activity or field that is necessary to the accomplishment of NIH's mission.

If you are a current Federal Title 5 employee, you must have one year of equivalent experience at the GS-14 level or above.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for federal employees & job applicants.

Standards of Conduct/Financial Disclosure

If selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 450 to determine if a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists between your financial interest and your prospective position with the agency.

Foreign Education

This position has an education requirement. You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts (or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed and grades). Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer. Learn more about Foreign Education.

Reasonable Accommodation

You can request a reasonable accommodation at any time during the application or hiring process or while on the job. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should email a complete application package consisting of:

1. A cover letter including a description of experience and expertise;
2. Curriculum Vitae; and
3. Three letters of reference.

Applicant information should be sent to: Lister Hill Center Administrative Officer, Nikeia Miller at [email protected] . The position will be open until the closing date.