Women's Health Research at Yale (WHRY) Director Search Committee

Women’s Health Research at Yale (WHRY), one of the first centers in the country dedicated to studying the health of women, was founded in 1998. Over the last 25 years, WHRY has played a major role in developing women’s health as a nationally and internationally recognized field of scientific study that extends beyond reproductive health and is an established leader in this area marked by an exponential growth in published data, innovations in care, and new careers.

WHRY takes advantage of the breadth of faculty expertise at Yale and supports studies of a wide array of conditions, ranging from cardiovascular disease to cancers to behavioral disorders. The center is committed to furthering understanding of biological sex, the social construct of gender, and the evolving ways in which people identify their genders, for the purpose of studying the intersection of biological and social determinants of health.

The center has also addressed cultural norms that reduce health equity for women through a variety of mechanisms, including funding and guiding research promoting the inclusion of women and all representative populations–as study participants and as scientists. It also includes influencing research and health policy perspectives.

The new director will set the strategic vision for the center for the coming years. The Center benefits from an active and generous Advisory Council. The Advisory Council for Women’s Health Research at Yale includes community leaders from across the country with a commitment to advancing women’s health research. Philanthropic support provides $300,000 to $500,000 per year for pilot funds.

The new Director will be an accomplished scientist and thought leader in this field, one with a strong record of extramural funding, impactful publications, and a profound passion for advancing the broad scientific study of women’s health. The successful candidate will have experience building multidisciplinary research teams and infrastructure to enhance broad collaboration.

Critical to their success, the new Director must be an expert at building internal and external relationships, with a demonstrated track record of working collaboratively with academic partners, physician and PhD scientists, physician leaders, diverse management teams, affiliated partnerships, as well as community, state, and federal stakeholders. They will possess communication skills that inspire others, build positive working relationships, and align individuals and teams to work synergistically.

The new Director will lead the development and execution of a strategic plan for enriching existing research programs and fostering development of new ones. They will ensure that the infrastructure support is sufficient and robust to meet projected requirements of current and future science.

The new Director will have a deep understanding of the role of culture in organizational success and a willingness to be both strategic and tactical in achieving center objectives. The candidate must be committed to identifying and promoting opportunities for faculty and trainees to collaborate across the School of Medicine and the larger University. They will be seen as a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion and will be measured in part by success in the developing, mentoring, and promoting women and underrepresented minorities.

Fundraising plays an important part in ensuring WHRY continues to thrive. The next Director must have a strong interest in fundraising, ideally with prior experience in this domain. They will need to identify opportunities to expand philanthropic gifting, attracting and engaging donors interested in advancing the important missions of WHRY and Yale.

• Grow and expand WHRY’s research activity and funding, as well as continue to build its interdisciplinary research partnerships, taking advantage of the extraordinary intellectual resources of both Yale University and its School of Medicine.
• Foster WHRY’s culture of faculty mentorship and development, broadening the faculty’s independent and collaborative research efforts and training the next generation of physicians and physician-scientists on the study of Women’s Health and the health outcomes of sex and gender biology.
• Maintain a network of investigators, community representatives, and policymakers to help insure the relevance and impact of the work.
• Serve as a national and global voice to promote science-based interventions and health policy, by communicating cutting edge discovery findings and results to all stakeholders, to ensure WHRY continues to bring distinction to study of Women’s Health to Yale, both nationally and internationally.

Qualified candidates are those who hold a medical degree, a PhD, or equivalent advanced degree. Candidates must be eligible for a faculty appointment at the Professor level in the Yale University School of Medicine. Clinically active candidates must be board certified and eligible for licensure in the state of Connecticut.

The ideal candidate is expected to be a highly respected scientist/physician scientist, possess dynamic leadership skills and administrative expertise, and to lead in a manner that supports and contributes to the success and unity of WHRY, the school, the campus community and Yale. In addition, the Director will:

• Bring a proven track record of progressive leadership experience within a matrixed institution.
• Articulate a compelling vision for the future of WHRY and Women’s Health within a highly regarded academic medical center and to the community in general.
• Understand the organizational landscape and be able to anticipate the critical issues, opportunities, and threats in the foreseeable future.
• Demonstrate the ability to drive the implementation of strategic and annual research plans that ensure people, systems, and processes are coordinated, integrated, aligned and dynamic.
• Promote an environment of accountability and continuous performance improvement by establishing and monitoring concrete performance measures to drive achievement of targeted outcomes.
• Support Yale’s goal to recognize the value of all employees, embrace diversity and contribute to a positive, collaborative culture that leads to commitment to the organization’s success.
• Display impeccable values, ethical standards, and high emotional intelligence.

Leadership

• Appreciates and understands the value of team building – skilled at getting individuals and teams to perform at a higher level and to embrace change; negotiates skillfully to achieve a fair outcome or promote a common cause; communicates a compelling vision and is committed to what needs to be done; inspires others, builds motivated, high-performing teams; understands what motivates different people.
• Leads from the understanding that the enterprise of academic medicine requires system thinking and decision making that are in the best interests of the institution.
• Demonstrates an understanding of how to work most effectively in a complex environment with a matrix accountability structure.
• Is collaborative and transparent in all interactions.
• Acts with honor and integrity in personal and professional actions.
• Understands the organizational landscape and anticipates and articulates the critical issues, opportunities, and threats in the foreseeable future.
• Exhibits an appreciation for the need for preparation, collaboration, planning, communication, and benchmarking of results in her/his approach to problem solving and program building.
• Exhibits ability to recruit and retain talent and value the role of mentors.
• Demonstrates ability to appreciate and motivate faculty and staff.

Management

• Participates as a leader in the management of the research enterprise and demonstrates an understanding of the issues involved.
• Demonstrates skill at organizing and managing human resources, including resolving conflict.
• Delegates effectively while maintaining focus on strategy and goals of the Center.
• Understands the nuances of administration of educational and research activities.
• Passionately advocates for compliance with institutional and external regulations.

Mission Performance

• Has a clear vision for advancing the mission of the WHRY and the organization’s commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Demonstrates an appropriate understanding of and enthusiasm for each of the three missions of an academic medical organization.
• Demonstrates commitment to Yale’s teaching mission through participation in didactic activity and collaborative curriculum development.
• Demonstrates enthusiasm for training and mentoring.
• Understands, advocates, and supports Yale’s broad research mission – basic, clinical, translational – and is committed to its growth.

Personal and Interpersonal

• Exhibits a style that fosters and supports change and innovation, with an ability to delegate yet maintain overall control and sets high standards.
• Exhibits self-awareness, humility, and empathy in her/his interactions with others.
• Demonstrates the courage to act on convictions after adequate communication and gathering of facts and input.
• Exhibits optimism and a high energy level.
• Exhibits the values and behavior of a good citizen in their actions within the organization at large.
• Demands trust, transparency, and optimism by their actions.
• Communicates naturally, frequently, and effectively.
• Demonstrates cultural sensitivity and a commitment to diversity.

External Activities

• Works effectively with all leadership, as well as other mission-critical institutions as appropriate.
• Develops and sustains open and collaborative relationships with faculty throughout Yale and professionals in the broader enterprise.
• Works closely with other leaders to establish research priorities and foster research growth to create an interdisciplinary, collaborative research environment.
• Exhibits the ability to build productive relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Works effectively with donors and philanthropists who are interested in supporting the Center.
• Demonstrates sensitivity to the culture, needs, and aspirations of the community.

This is a national search and faculty should nominate candidates within and beyond Yale. We encourage self-nominations. Interested faculty should submit their CV and a one-half to one-page description of their interest in the position by August 28.