Research Project Manager

University of Texas at Austin; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin seeks a Research Project Manager to plan, coordinate, and oversee moderately complex research initiatives, ensuring scope, timeline, quality, compliance, and budget objectives.

This role interfaces with investigators, physicians, biostatisticians, regulatory staff, finance, and grants administration to translate scientific aims into executable plans across clinical and translational research programs.

Responsibilities

• Develops and maintains detailed project plans, timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
• Coordinates sequencing of tasks and dependencies across multidisciplinary teams.
• Tracks project progress against scope, schedule, and budget.
• Identifies and resolves execution issues that impact project outcomes.
• Ensures adherence to IRB requirements, institutional research governance, sponsor terms, and applicable federal, state, and funding-agency regulations.
• Coordinates protocol submissions, amendments, renewals, and project close-out activities.
• Maintains accurate and audit-ready project documentation.
• Partners with regulatory, compliance, and research integrity teams to address findings or issues.
• Serves as the primary liaison among investigators, research teams, and administrative partners.
• Facilitates project meetings, decision forums, and routine status reporting.
• Aligns stakeholders on priorities, risks, timelines, and resource needs.
• Escalates issues appropriately to leadership or sponsors.
• Develops and monitors project budgets and forecasts.
• Tracks expenditures, effort allocation, invoicing, and sponsor payments.
• Collaborates with finance and grants administration to ensure financial compliance.
• Identifies variances and recommends corrective actions.
• Identifies project risks and develops mitigation strategies.
• Implements quality control measures to support deliverable accuracy and integrity.
• Monitors performance indicators such as milestones, enrollment, reporting, or deliverables.
• Prepares projects for internal or external reviews and audits.
• Prepares project reports, dashboards, and leadership updates
• Develops standardized tools, templates, and workflows
• Contributes to continuous improvement of research project management practices

Job description

Job Posting Title: Research Project Manager

Hiring Department: Department of Neurology

Position Open To: All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40

FLSA Status: Exempt from FLSA

Earliest Start Date: Sep 28, 2026

Position Duration: Expected to Continue

Location: AUSTIN, TX

Job Details

GENERAL NOTES
Dell Medical School is seeking a Research Project Manager.

JOB SUMMARY

The Research Project Manager plans, coordinates, and oversees moderately complex research projects to ensure successful delivery of scope, timeline, quality, compliance, and budget objectives. This role typically reports to a Director of Research Operations, Principal Investigator, or Research Administration leader and works closely with investigators, physicians, scientists, biostatisticians, regulatory staff, finance, grants administration, and operational stakeholders. Acting as the central point of accountability, the Research Project Manager translates scientific and operational objectives into executable project plans, manages cross-functional dependencies, mitigates risk, and ensures compliance with institutional, sponsor, and applicable regulatory requirements. Projects may span clinical research, translational and bench research, population health, health services research, quality improvement initiatives, and grant-funded academic studies.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Manages Research Project Planning and Execution

• Develops and maintains detailed project plans, timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
• Coordinates sequencing of tasks and dependencies across multidisciplinary teams.
• Tracks project progress against scope, schedule, and budget.
• Identifies and resolves execution issues that impact project outcomes.

Oversees Compliance and Regulatory Adherence

• Ensures adherence to IRB requirements, institutional research governance, sponsor terms, and applicable federal, state, and funding-agency regulations.
• Coordinates protocol submissions, amendments, renewals, and project close-out activities.
• Maintains accurate and audit-ready project documentation.
• Partners with regulatory, compliance, and research integrity teams to address findings or issues.

Leads Stakeholder and Team Coordination

• Serves as the primary liaison among investigators, research teams, and administrative partners.
• Facilitates project meetings, decision forums, and routine status reporting.
• Aligns stakeholders on priorities, risks, timelines, and resource needs.
• Escalates issues appropriately to leadership or sponsors.

Manages Budgets and Financial Controls

• Develops and monitors project budgets and forecasts.
• Tracks expenditures, effort allocation, invoicing, and sponsor payments.
• Collaborates with finance and grants administration to ensure financial compliance.
• Identifies variances and recommends corrective actions.

Manages Risk, Quality, and Performance Metrics

• Identifies project risks and develops mitigation strategies.
• Implements quality control measures to support deliverable accuracy and integrity.
• Monitors performance indicators such as milestones, enrollment, reporting, or deliverables.
• Prepares projects for internal or external reviews and audits.

Supports Research Process Improvement and Reporting

• Prepares project reports, dashboards, and leadership updates
• Develops standardized tools, templates, and workflows
• Contributes to continuous improvement of research project management practices

MARGINAL OR