Director / Senior Director of Research Operations

St. Kitts, Caribbean | Full-time, onsite

RPM ReSearch Solutions has been engaged by a highly respected preclinical contract research organization (CRO) to recruit a Director / Senior Director of Research Operations for its established research facility in St. Kitts.

A complex in vivo study is approaching execution. The science is defined, but the technical team needs the right mix of skills, an instrument in a surgical suite needs attention, and another program has just shifted its timeline. Who makes sure the operation can deliver?

That is the opportunity here: lead the people, technical resources, and day-to-day decisions that turn ambitious preclinical research into well-executed studies. The organization supports advanced translational work in nonhuman primate (NHP) models, particularly in ophthalmology and neuroscience, including research involving novel biologics, gene therapies, and disease models.

The Role You Would Step Into

You would lead approximately 40–50 research technical professionals, with support from two to three operations managers or supervisors, and work alongside senior scientific and veterinary leaders as part of onsite leadership. Your focus is not designing studies or owning sponsor reports. It is understanding the science well enough to anticipate what execution requires, keeping people trained and motivated, and ensuring the research teams can deliver when priorities change.

This is a role for someone who likes being close to the work without needing to perform every procedure: someone who can talk through an endpoint with a scientist, identify a staffing risk before it affects a study, coach a manager through a difficult people issue, and bring several departments together to solve an operational problem.

Where You Will Make an Impact

Build a strong technical organization. Lead and develop operations managers and research technicians with different backgrounds and experience levels; strengthen training, cross-training, accountability, and team engagement.

Keep research execution ready. Translate protocols, scientific endpoints, and upcoming commitments into staffing plans and appropriately trained technical coverage as studies and priorities evolve.

Solve the operational problems that matter. Coordinate laboratory and surgical-suite readiness, equipment availability and contingency plans, vendor support, and critical supplies so technical issues do not become avoidable study delays.

Own safety and operational follow-through. Oversee occupational health and safety within research operations, including training and risk mitigation; lead operational Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPAs) through investigation, implementation, documentation, and follow-up.

Connect the functions. Work closely with Study Directors, study execution, scientific leadership, veterinary services, Quality Assurance, and facilities to address constraints and support consistent execution of GLP and non-GLP research.

Improve how the operation works. Use staffing, training, timelines, and other operational KPIs to identify bottlenecks, improve workflows, and help the organization adapt as its scientific capabilities and research programs evolve.

Who Will Thrive Here?

You may have built your career leading in vivo operations in a CRO or NHP research setting. You may come from a large, complex vivarium or large-animal research program. Or you may have a strong scientific background and have deliberately moved into substantial operational and people leadership. What connects these paths is an understanding of how research happens, a record of managing technical teams, and the judgment to align people and resources with scientific requirements.

The right person enjoys developing people as much as solving operational problems. They can lead across functions, work effectively with a multicultural team, and stay flexible when the research does not follow a perfectly predictable schedule.

Required Qualifications

15+ years of progressive experience in preclinical research, in vivo research operations, laboratory animal research, or a comparable complex research environment.

At least 5 years of significant leadership experience overseeing research operations, technical teams, or large-scale vivarium operations.

Substantial experience in a large vivarium or animal research setting, preferably with NHPs or other large-animal models.

Scientific and technical understanding of in vivo research methods, study endpoints, workflows, and the risks that affect research execution.

Demonstrated success in people leadership, manager development, staffing and training, cross-functional coordination, and operational change.

Working knowledge of GLP principles, SOPs, occupational safety, quality systems, and CAPA processes.

Relevant scientific or technical education and substantial operational experience; an advanced life sciences degree (MS, DVM, PhD, or equivalent) is highly desirable.

Ability to relocate to St. Kitts and work onsite full-time.

Particularly Valuable Experience

Direct NHP research operations experience and leadership within a preclinical CRO.

An advanced scientific degree, particularly a PhD, paired with demonstrated operations leadership.

Experience leading through multiple supervisory levels; familiarity with IACUC and AAALAC standards, facility inspections, or LATG/CMAR credentials.

Experience improving operational systems or supporting expansion of research capabilities.

Why This Opportunity Is Different

You would have the scope to influence an entire research operations function, not just a single lab or project. You would work closely with scientific and veterinary leaders, support specialized translational research, and help shape the systems and teams that make that work possible. The position may be filled at Director or Senior Director level depending on experience and leadership scope.

The role is based full-time in St. Kitts. International candidates are welcome; work permit sponsorship is available. Relocation arrangements will be discussed during the recruitment process.

Interested in a Conversation?

If you have spent your career making complex in vivo research operations work—and enjoy leading the people who make the science possible—RPM ReSearch Solutions would welcome a confidential conversation: Marina@rpmresearch.solutions