vp of research (vice president of research)

Most days tend to involve a blend of executive leadership work, research oversight, and external relationships — leadership team meetings, methodology and program reviews, and engagement with academic, government, or industry partners. You'll often spend part of the time on strategic priorities — research direction, capability investment, partnership development — and part on active programs where senior judgment matters.

The hardest part is often balancing scientific rigor against the practical demands of the organization the research serves. You'll typically defend methodological standards that make findings durable, while delivering against the cycles that fund the work. Political dynamics around inconvenient findings are real.

People who tend to thrive here are scientifically expert, strategically minded, and politically literate. The trade-off is the long horizon of research outcomes and the chronic resource pressure that research functions face. If you find satisfaction in leading the work that produces the knowledge an organization or field actually relies on, this role offers one of the most influential seats in scientific leadership.