Research Program Coordinator

University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 61,000 - 74,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Waisman Center invites applications for a Research Program Coordinator to lead the Bishop Lab’s operational infrastructure for federally funded projects. The role oversees SOPs, timelines, onboarding, and regulatory processes while coordinating staff, collaborators, and university units.

Responsibilities include developing workflows, supporting grant submissions, and ensuring efficient day-to-day operations to advance health and aging research in autistic

Qualifications

• Three+ years managing or coordinating complex research programs or projects.
• Ability to independently organize and coordinate complex work with multiple projects, deadlines, and stakeholders.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate needs, identify and resolve problems proactively, establish priorities, and bring projects to completion.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and collaborate effectively as part of multidisciplinary research teams.

Responsibilities

• Identifies concerns and recommends solutions to leadership.
• Assists with the development of research methodologies and procedures.
• Trains individuals and groups on equipment operations, research protocols, and techniques within a specialized laboratory or research area.
• Conducts literature reviews, prepares reports and materials, and disseminates information to appropriate entities and assists with publications.
• Collects and analyzes basic research data, conducts experiments and interviews, and documents results according to established policies and procedures.
• Coordinate regulatory and data-governance activities, including IRB protocols and amendments, data use and data transfer agreements, data-access requests and renewals, and related documentation; maintain systems for tracking approvals, renewals, and compliance requirements.
• Assists in developing grant applications and proposals to secure research funding.
• Coordinate scientific and community advisory boards and external collaborators, including meeting planning, materials, communications, documentation of recommendations and action items, and follow-through.
• Lead project and portfolio management for Bishop Lab research activities, including developing and maintaining systems to track project timelines, milestones, deliverables, dependencies, and responsible parties; proactively identify upcoming needs, risks, and delays and coordinate follow-through.
• Coordinate operational aspects of grant development and submission, including developing submission timelines, coordinating collaborators and required materials, maintaining reusable proposal resources, and working with grants administration to ensure timely completion of proposal components.

Education

Bachelor's Degree Required

Master's Degree Preferred

Job description

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Job Category

Academic Staff

Employment Type

Regular

Job Profile

Research Program Coordinator

Job Summary

The Waisman Center is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases throughout the lifespan. One of 15 centers of its kind in the United States, the Waisman Center encompasses laboratories for biomedical and behavioral research, several scientific research cores, and a clinical biomanufacturing facility for the production of pharmaceuticals for early stage human clinical trials. In addition to its research efforts, the Center provides an array of services to people with developmental disabilities, offers numerous educational and outreach programs to young children and their families, and trains scientists and clinicians who will serve our nation in the future.

The Research Program Coordinator will provide high-level program management and operational leadership for the Bishop Laboratory (PI: Lauren Bishop). The Bishop Lab’s research uses epidemiological, advanced computational, and qualitative methods to characterize health, wellbeing, and aging processes in autistic adults and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Research Program Coordinator will independently coordinate the operational infrastructure supporting a portfolio of federally funded research projects and will serve as a central point of coordination among the PI, research staff and trainees, collaborators, community partners, and university administrative units. Responsibilities include developing and maintaining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, documentation, and workflows; developing and maintaining systems to manage project timelines, milestones, deliverables, and dependencies; coordinating research personnel and trainee onboarding; managing regulatory and data-use processes; coordinating team and advisory board activities; facilitating grant development and submission processes; and supporting the effective day-to-day operation and continued growth of the Bishop Lab’s research program.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Identifies concerns and recommends solutions to leadership
• Assists with the development of research methodologies and procedures
• Trains individuals and groups on equipment operations, research protocols, and techniques within a specialized laboratory or research area
• Conducts literature reviews, prepares reports and materials, and disseminates information to appropriate entities and assists with publications
• Collects and analyzes basic research data, conducts experiments and interviews, and documents results according to established policies and procedures
• Coordinate regulatory and data-governance activities, including IRB protocols and amendments, data use and data transfer agreements, data-access requests and renewals, and related documentation; maintain systems for tracking approvals, renewals, and compliance requirements.
• Assists in developing grant applications and proposals to secure research funding
• Coordinate scientific and community advisory boards and external collaborators, including meeting planning, materials, communications, documentation of recommendations and action items, and follow-through.
• Lead project and portfolio management for Bishop Lab research activities, including developing and maintaining systems to track project timelines, milestones, deliverables, dependencies, and responsible parties; proactively identify upcoming needs, risks, and delays and coordinate follow-through.
• Coordinate operational aspects of grant development and submission, including developing submission timelines, coordinating collaborators and required materials, maintaining reusable proposal resources, and working with grants administration to ensure timely completion of proposal components.

Department

Waisman Center

Compensation

$67,412 minimum; Salary is negotiable and will be based on education, experience and skills. Employees in this position can receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts and retirement benefits.

Required Qualifications

• Three or more years of progressively responsible experience managing or coordinating complex research programs or projects.
• Demonstrated ability to independently organize and coordinate complex work involving multiple projects, deadlines, and stakeholders.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate needs, identify and resolve problems proactively, establish priorities, and bring projects to completion.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and collaborate effectively as part of multidisciplinary research teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple simultaneous projects with different timelines, stakeholders and requirements.
• Experience with human subjects and/or regulatory research processes, including IRBs, data use or data transfer agreements, data-access agreements, and/or other research compliance activities.
• Experience coordinating or supervising students or other research staff.
• Experience supporting federally funded research, particularly NIH-funded research.
• Experience coordinating grant development and submission processes.
• Experience developing or implementing project-management systems, standard operating procedures, workflows, or other organizational infrastructure for research programs.

Education

A Bachelor's Degree Is Required. A Master's Degree Preferred.

Additional Information

• The successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring eligibility for employment in the United States on or before the effective date of the appointment. University sponsorship is not available for this position.
• A Criminal Background Check will be performed.
• The successful applicant will be required to complete HIPAA training and receive certification upon hire and annually thereafter.

Contact Information

For questions regarding this position or posting, please contact Melissa Henning, Human Resources Manager, at [e-mail] or [phone]. Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.