Senior Director – Scientific Program Officer

Primary Work Address: 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815

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The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) advances the discovery and sharing of scientific knowledge to benefit us all. As a biomedical research organization and philanthropy, HHMI supports a vibrant community of academic researchers, educators, students, and administrative professionals. Together, we’re unlocking the fundamentals of biology and building an open, inclusive future for science.

HHMI’s Headquarters is located on a beautiful 40-acre campus in the greater Washington DC metro area that is home to over 300 employees with strong cross-departmental collaboration between biomedical, legal, human resources, communications, information technology, investments, science education, and more.

The HHMI Science Department supports and augments the groundbreaking research conducted in HHMI labs across the nation, and you can be sure that your contributions while working here are making a difference.

Summary: 

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) seeks an academic scientist interested in an outstanding professional opportunity to serve as a Senior Director – Scientific Program Officer at HHMI to support our early career Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program and Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program. Applicants must hold, or have previously held, a tenured academic position or equivalent role, and must have a minimum of 10 years of experience as a lab head overseeing basic biomedical research. This is a full-time appointment that requires weekly on-site work at HHMI’s headquarters in Chevy Chase, MD. 

 

Senior Directors – Scientific Program Officers are members of the HHMI Science Department and play a key role in HHMI’s efforts to evaluate and advance science as well as to reshape the scientific ecosystem to make it more inclusive and supportive for mentees. 

 

This role focuses on the following areas: 

• Participate in the evaluation of current and future HHMI Scientists, including HHMI Investigators, Freeman Hrabowski Scholars, Hanna Gray Fellows, Gilliam Fellows, and Cech Fellows \

• Support the early career scientists in the Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program and the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program 

• Liaise with HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholars at universities and research centers across the U.S. regarding scientific and administrative matters 

• Coordinate programmatic and operational initiatives by developing policies for the Science Department that focus on promoting the best possible institutional framework for groundbreaking science that focuses on people, not projects 

• Join the team of Senior Director – Scientific Program Officers who oversee all of HHMI’s early-career scientist programs 

• Work with the Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer to design and implement early career scientist competitions and Freeman Hrabowski Scholar Midpoint Progress Evaluations to ensure that they align with HHMI’s overarching mission, values, and internal policies.  

• Serve as an impactful leader by developing and vetting ideas in collaborative sessions with the Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer and other senior leaders at HHMI to implement actions designed to transform the scientific ecosystem. 

 

We are looking for someone who is passionate about supporting early-career scientists and eager to collaborate with HHMI’s Senior Directors, a team of highly committed profession