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Inova
Fairfax, Virginia

Physician Vice President for Research Operations

Research OperationsIncludes callFull-Time

Listed compensation

$371K - $603K

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, weekend coverage, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 1mo ago

Job Description

Inova Health System is looking for a dedicated Physician Vice President for Research Operations to join the team. This role will be full-time with a clinical component. Sign-on bonus and relocation assistance eligible.

The Physician Vice President for Research will provide executive leadership for Inova's clinical research enterprise, ensuring strategic growth, operational excellence, financial sustainability, regulatory compliance, and national prominence.

The Five-Year Vision for the Physician Vice President for Research will position Inova among the premier integrated health-system research enterprises in the United States, recognized for clinical trial excellence, innovation, investigator development, and industry partnerships.

Inova Health System ranked #3 in the nation among Top Large Health Systems in the 2026 15 Top Health Systems study by Modern Healthcare and Premier, Inc.

Individual facilities also earned elite honors, including top hospital placements, CMS 5-star ratings, and top workplace recognitions.

Inova is consistently ranked a national healthcare leader in safety, quality and patient experience. We are also proud to be consistently recognized as a top employer in both the D.C. metro area and the nation.

Featured Benefits

  • Committed to Team Member Health: offering medical, dental and vision coverage, and a robust team member wellness program.
  • Retirement: Inova matches the first 5% of eligible contributions – starting on your first day.
  • Tuition and Student Loan Assistance: offering up to $5,250 per year in education assistance and up to $10,000 for student loans.
  • Mental Health Support: offering all Inova team members, their spouses/partners, and their children 25 mental health coaching or therapy sessions, per person, per year, at no cost.
  • Work/Life Balance: offering paid time off, paid parental leave, flexible work schedules, and remote and hybrid career opportunities.

Physician Vice President for Research Operations Job Responsibilities:

Core Leadership Responsibilities

  • Lead enterprise-wide research strategy and execution
  • Oversee clinical trial operations, budgets, compliance, and workforce development
  • Chair the Research Operations Committee
  • Partner with Service Line Presidents to expand research programs
  • Coordinate research analytics, AI initiatives, and data science resources
  • Develop industry, NIH, foundation, and academic partnerships

Strategic Priorities

  • Expand clinical trial access across all service lines
  • Accelerate study start-up and enrollment performance
  • Grow external funding and industry-sponsored research
  • Develop the next generation of physician investigators
  • Strengthen Inova's national research reputation

Key Performance Indicators

  • Active trials and participant enrollment growth
  • Study start-up and contract cycle times
  • Research revenue and external funding growth
  • Publications, presentations, and academic impact
  • Compliance, audit, and quality metrics

Physician Vice President for Research Operations Additional Requirements:

Minimum Requirements

  • Licensure: Physician Upon Start; Current unrestricted license to practice medicine in the State of Virginia
  • Experience: Physician Residency; Successful completion of physician residency program
  • Education: Doctorate Medicine MD, DO or other pertinent professional degree
  • Payer Credentialing: Ability to successfully complete the credentialing process by third-party payors and Ability to enrolled as a CMS Medicare/Medicaid payor
  • Medical Staff Credentialing: Successful completion of credentialing for Medical Staff membership and appropriate clinical privileges sufficient to perform all required services

Preferred Qualifications

  • Nationally recognized physician investigator with extensive leadership experience in multicenter clinical research, a strong publication record, and demonstrated success building research programs.

We are Inova, Northern Virginia’s leading nonprofit healthcare provider. Every day, our 26,000+ team members provide world-class healthcare to the communities we serve. Our people are the reason we're a national leader in healthcare safety, quality and patient experience.

And from best-in-class facilities to professional development opportunities, we support them at every step. At Inova, we're constantly striving to be ever better — to shape a more compassionate future for healthcare.

Inova Health is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, pregnancy (including childbirth, pregnancy-related conditions and lactation), race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristics protected by law.

Key Responsibilities

The Physician Vice President for Research Operations provides executive leadership for the clinical research enterprise, focusing on strategic growth, operational excellence, and financial sustainability. They are responsible for overseeing clinical trial operations, developing industry partnerships, and coordinating research analytics and AI initiatives.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a Doctorate in Medicine (MD, DO) or equivalent and possess an unrestricted license to practice medicine in the State of Virginia. Successful completion of a physician residency program and the ability to complete medical staff and payer credentialing processes are required.

Qualifications

Education
Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
10+ years of experience

Key Skills

Clinical research leadershipStrategic planningFinancial managementGrant fundingBudget managementClinical trial enrollment

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Physician Vice President for Research Operations at Inova a 6.4 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Physician roles — ranked against 20,799 active Physician roles listings on WeekdayDoc.

Research Operations — Physician Career Context

Physician pay on WeekdayDoc is up 4.9% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

The cost-of-living index for Virginia is 101.1 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$487k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $482k in an average-cost state. 61.1% of Virginia clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Work-life snapshot

median 5.1this job 6.4
Better work-life than 70% of Physician roles listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 20,799 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • On-site
  • Includes call

Living in Fairfax

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$687k≈ 1.9× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,472/mo≈ 8% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
28 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
108.9
State income tax
Up to 5.8%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Inova logo

About Inova

Hospitals and Health Care
Falls Church, Virginia
10,000+ employees

Benefits & Perks

Medical, dental and vision coverage
Robust team member wellness program
Retirement: Inova matches the first 5% of eligible contributions
Tuition and Student Loan Assistance: up to $5,250 per year in education assistance and up to $10,000 for student loans
Mental Health Support: 25 mental health coaching or therapy sessions per person, per year, at no cost
Paid time off
Paid parental leave
Flexible work schedules