Senior Vice President – Health Sciences Research - Chicago

NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent non-profit research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to support key strategies and decision-making of governments, foundations, corporations, and nonprofit organizations. Clients around the world partner with NORC to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge in NORC’s major substantive areas -- economics, justice, and society; education and child development; health and well-being; public affairs and media; and international programs – and on emerging topics.

For 85 years, NORC has conducted groundbreaking studies on critical issues, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and upheld the highest standards of scientific integrity and quality. NORC has been a pioneer in data collection, management, analysis, and dissemination, and a leader in advancing statistical and methodological science. NORC’s success derives from its unique combination of bringing scientific rigor and insight to solve practical challenges, entrepreneurial innovation, close affiliation with the University of Chicago, and our mission of providing trustworthy data and research.

Over time, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications, and groundbreaking research findings. Our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, belief that people are our greatest asset, and commitment to collegiality underpin everything we do. With world-class benefits, a positive environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

Headquartered in downtown Chicago, NORC maintains major offices in Washington, DC, and on the University of Chicago campus, along with additional locations across the United States.

The Senior Vice President (SVP) for Health Sciences provides overall leadership and direction for the Health Sciences department as part of the organization’s senior leadership team within the Health Group (HG) division. Reporting to the Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer for HG, the SVP is accountable for advancing NORC’s mission and goals shaping department strategy; leading and managing client relationships, maintaining current portfolio, talent retention and acquisition, building new business, as well as ensuring financial performance of the department and maintaining a commitment to fostering an excellent employee experience for the department researchers.

The SVP will partner closely with the health division department heads and other department leaders, NORC’s Executive Council, NORC Research Science, Society Economics and Global Research, and NORC’s technology and operations teams. The SVP leads a department of approximately 80 professional research staff, with 4–6 direct reports, primarily Vice Presidents and Associate Directors.

This is an exciting opportunity for an exceptional leader to join the senior leadership team of a nationally renowned organization and help shape NORC’s future as the research landscape evolves. The SVP will lead an innovative department of 75 professional research staff whose work spans large, complex federal research programs; longitudinal health studies; administrative health data systems; data access initiatives; implementation science; patient-centered outcomes research; patient safety; health informatics; and aging research. The department uses innovative approaches that add value to existing data systems using artificial intelligence, linked data, and modern research platforms. The role requires a highly strategic, collaborative, and decisive leader who can maintain scientific excellence while navigating changing client priorities, constrained budgets, technological change, and new market opportunities.

Location: This is a hybrid role based in either our Chicago Loop or downtown Washington DC offices, with a minimum of 8 days per month in the office with regular travel between the two and to our other offices.

Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

Health Sciences brings together substantive health expertise, rigorous research methods, complex program delivery, and advanced data capabilities to help clients generate and apply evidence that improves health and health systems. The department serves major federal and non-federal clients, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), foundations, academic partners, and state and local entities.

The portfolio includes nationally significant programs and research platforms such as the All of Us Research Program Participant and Partner Services Center, the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, National Cancer Institute Connect for Cancer Prevention Study, the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, Add Health, and the 1972 National Longitudinal Study and the High School and Beyond project. The department also houses the Health Implementation Science Center that supports work in health implementation science, patient-centered clinical decision support, health informatics, research synthesis, technical assistance, and community-engaged research. The department enters this leadership transition from a position of substantial strength, with a large active portfolio, deep client relationships, recognized scientific expertise, and established partnerships across NORC. At the same time, the next SVP must respond to a changing federal procurement environment, pressure on program scope and budgets, evolving technology and client expectations, the need for portfolio diversification, and the importance of sustaining staff engagement and leadership pipelines.

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• Lead the Health Sciences department with overall accountability for strategy, client relationships, project delivery, financial and operational performance, business development, risk management, staffing, and organizational health, including oversight of budgets, forecasts, resource allocation, and performance against plan.
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• Develop and champion a long-term department strategy that strengthens the established portfolio, diversifies the client and funding base, and positions NORC for growth across federal, state, and local, foundation, academic, commercial, and nonprofit markets.
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• Maintain trusted senior relationships with contracting officers, program officials, scientific leaders, partners, and other key stakeholders, and ensure disciplined account planning for priority clients.
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• Provide senior oversight for complex, multidisciplinary projects, ensuring scientific quality, client satisfaction, responsible fiscal management, timely delivery, and effective risk escalation.
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• Lead department-based business development, including market and client intelligence, opportunity identification, capture strategy, proposal leadership, partnership formation, and transition from award to delivery.
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• Partner with the Health Division EVP on enterprise and cross-department bids, strategic investments, program-area growth plans, speculative hiring, and capabilities that cut across the health portfolio.
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• Advance business development in areas such as AI-enabled research operations, health data integration and dissemination, implementation science, health informatics, longitudinal research, evidence synthesis, and privacy-conscious use of health survey, healthcare claims, administrative and clinical data.
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• Recruit, develop, mentor, evaluate, and retain a high-performing and inclusive leadership team and workforce; strengthen succession planning and create visible pathways for emerging leaders.
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• Foster a collegial, transparent, accountable, and collaborative culture across a geographically distributed department, with effective communication and intentional staff engagement.
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• Delegate decisions appropriately to vice presidents, associate directors, and project leaders while maintaining clear accountability, decision rights, and escalation pathways.
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• Represent NORC externally as a visible thought leader through client engagement, professional service, publications, presentations, partnerships, and participation in relevant scientific and policy communities.
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• Contribute actively to NORC-wide strategy, executive decision-making, scientific quality, workforce development, compliance, innovation, and continuous improvement.
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Near Term Priorities:

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• Confirm a focused Health Sciences strategy, leadership operating model, and clear division of responsibilities among the SVP, vice presidents, associate directors, and project leaders.
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• Protect delivery and client confidence across the department’s largest and most complex programs while addressing workload, scope, budget, and staffing pressures.
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• Build a diversified growth agenda that expands relationships beyond traditional federal procurement while deepening priority federal accounts.
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• Advance department assets like the Health Implementation Science Center and other differentiated capabilities that can generate cross-project intellectual capital, reusable approaches, and new business.
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• Strengthen talent pipelines, succession plans, staff engagement, and leadership development across the department.
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• Improve portfolio-level visibility into project health, client risk, financial performance, staffing coverage, and business-development priorities.
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• Advanced degree in public health, health services research, health policy, epidemiology, sociology, economics, psychology, medicine, nursing, biomedical informatics, implementation science, or a related field.
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• At least 15 years of progressively increasing   leadership responsibilities in research, academic, government, nonprofit, health system, consulting, or related environment.
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• Nationally recognized expertise in one or more areas relevant to NORC Health Sciences, demonstrated through significant research, program leadership, publications, presentations, professional service, or policy and practice impact.
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• Proven success leading large, multidisciplinary research portfolios, organizations, or programs with responsibility for scientific quality, client relationships, delivery, budgets, and staff.
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• Demonstrated success identifying, pursuing, winning, and delivering complex research or analytic work, from a diversified set of funders that includes federal contracts, and grant-funded research.
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• Experience building durable relationships with senior clients, funders, investigators, partners, and other stakeholders.
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• Strong financial and operational leadership, including budgeting, forecasting, resource allocation, risk management, and performance accountability.
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• Experience recruiting, developing, mentoring, and retaining senior professionals and diverse, high-performing teams.
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• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively across scientific, programmatic, technical, operational, executive, and external audiences.
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• Leadership approach characterized by scientific integrity, collegiality, transparency, accountability, sound judgment, decisiveness, adaptability, and commitment to NORC’s mission.
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Preferred Experience:

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• Leadership of major work for NIH, AHRQ, ASPE, PCORI, or related federal and non-federal health research clients.
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• Experience with large longitudinal studies, health data platforms, implementation science, health informatics, patient-centered outcomes research, evidence synthesis, data linkage, administrative or clinical data, or AI-enabled research.
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• Experience guiding organizations through market, funding, technological, or structural change.
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• A record of expanding into new clients, sectors, methods, or partnership models while maintaining a strong core portfolio.
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• Experience leading geographically distributed teams and building collaboration across organizational boundaries.
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• Established relationships in relevant health research, policy, data, and professional communities.
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NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

NORC is an equal opportunity employer. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, and other legally protected characteristics.

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