Research Specialist V, Research Support

Job Summary:

Assists with research support by managing the day-to-day operations of projects, negotiating and coordinating resources for research studies, and following federal and local regulations, standard operating procedures, and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved protocols. Contributes to the execution of research by monitoring data gathering activities, designing and implementing protocols for reviewing data for accuracy and checking for inconsistencies in data, and developing protocols for tasks related to the recruitment, enrollment, consenting, follow-up with participants, and answering participant questions. Contributes to the development of research materials and procedures by developing and implementing study protocols, and guiding and mentoring others on the development of study materials (e.g., recruitment, data collection, retention) in a variety of formats including online. Coordinates the documentation and reporting of research study activities by developing and maintaining tools, systems, and forms for project tracking and documentation, overseeing study progress, and escalating issues to project managers or investigators.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Promotes learning in others by communicating information and providing advice to drive projects forward; builds relationships with cross-functional stakeholders. Listens, responds to, seeks, and addresses performance feedback; provides actionable feedback to others, including upward feedback to leadership and mentors junior team members. Practices self-leadership; creates and executes plans to capitalize on strengths and improve opportunity areas; influences team members within assigned team or unit. Adapts to competing demands and new responsibilities; adapts to and learns from change, challenges, and feedback. Models team collaboration within and across teams.
• Conducts or oversees business-specific projects by applying deep expertise in subject area; promotes adherence to all procedures and policies. Partners internally and externally to make effective business decisions; determines and carries out processes and methodologies; solves complex problems; escalates high-priority issues or risks, as appropriate; monitors progress and results. Develops work plans to meet business priorities and deadlines; coordinates and delegates resources to accomplish organizational goals. Recognizes and capitalizes on improvement opportunities; evaluates recommendations made; influences the completion of project tasks by others.
• Contributes to the execution of research studies by: monitoring the collection of quantitative and/or qualitative data and independently conducting research surveys, focus groups, qualitative interviews, or other data gathering activities for complex projects; contributing expertise to the development of training materials and resources, delivering training sessions, serving as a resource and subject matter expert to team members; ensuring open-ended/qualitative data is adequately prepared for analysis and/or applying basic statistics, qualitative analyses, to assist investigators with data analysis; designing and implementing data quality control and quality assurance measures; developing protocols and systems for recruitment, enrollment, consenting, and follow-up with participants; and responding to participants about complex issues escalated by project staff while suggesting improvements to investigators or project managers.
• Contributes to the development of research materials and procedures by: guiding and mentoring others on the development of study materials including surveys, flyers, brochures, and newsletters and developing and implementing study protocols and/or operation manuals; and providing advanced subject matter expertise to inform the implementation and/or design of research studies and/or study methodology connected to an investigators research agenda.
• Coordinates the documentation and reporting of research study activities by: developing and maintaining tools, systems, and forms for project tracking and documentation in consultation with the PI and/or project manager; and overseeing the progress of study activities and escalating issues to project managers or investigators.
• Leads research support operations by: managing the day-to-day operations of projects; negotiating and coordinating resources for research studies; managing project budgets and providing recommendations to leadership for budget actions or decisions; assisting investigators with the development and preparation of grant proposals and/or participating in high-level discussions with leadership or funding agencies; communicating with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and drafting IRB protocols, amendments, continuing reviews, and other documentation; communicating with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and drafting IRB protocols, amendments, continuing reviews, and other documentation; and following and supporting the investigator/project manager in holding project teams accountable for compliance with federal and local regulations, standard operating procedures, and IRB approved protocols and maintaining compliance for handling research data.