Vice President for Center Business Operations

Seattle Children’s, one of the premier children’s hospitals in the nation, invites inquiries, applications, and nominations for the position of Vice President, Center Business Operations (VP CBO) for Seattle Children’s Research Institute (SCRI). Reporting to the Chief Research Operations Officer, Eric Tham, MD, MS, the VPCBO will have a broad range of responsibilities from strategic business planning to process improvement to employee training and education in support of the research mission of SCH and SCRI. Seattle Children’s serves the largest region of any pediatric hospital, covering nearly one million square miles across four states. Seattle Children’s generated almost $3 billion in gross revenue and had over 370,000 patient visits in 2021. The 407-bed hospital in Seattle anchors the health system, but care is also provided at 43 outreach sites across the Pacific Northwest. 

The SCRI was established in 2006 and is already in the top five for research funding among pediatric research institutes with over $211 million in extramural awards in 2021. The expansive research portfolio of the SCRI is spread across seven research centers, including the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research; the Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development; the Center for Clinical and Translational Research; the Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine; the Center for Global Infectious Disease Research; the Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies; and the Center for Integrative Brain Research. The SCRI hosts a broad range of academic research, including basic, translational, clinical, health equity, and outcomes research. 

The VP CBO provides leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for all seven research centers. The VP CBO will be a member of the Research Institute’s Senior Leadership Team, collaborating with the Chief Research Operations Officer, Chief Scientific Officer, Chief Academic Officer, Center Directors and other Research, Hospital, and Foundation senior leaders to develop and implement the vision and goals for the academic future and sustainability of the SCRI. This position, in partnership with Center Directors, will create operational strategy and business operations delivery that realizes SCRI’s strategic research initiatives.

Please direct all correspondence including inquiries; nominations; and applications, including a CV and letter of interest, electronically below. 

Rebecca Kennedy is leading this search with Nicholas Strand and Ibaad Nazeer.


Seattle Children’s complies with applicable federal and other civil rights laws and does not discriminate, exclude people or treat them differently based on race, color, religion (creed), sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin (ancestry), age, disability, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.