Research Specialist V, Research Support

Kaiser Permanente; Pleasanton, Northern (CA, KY); On-site; USD 95,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Kaiser Permanente is seeking a qualified research operations professional to support day-to-day project management, IRB compliance, and data quality. You will coordinate resources, monitor study progress, and mentor team members across multi-disciplinary groups.

In this role you will develop study materials, assist in recruitment and follow-up activities, and ensure documentation meets regulatory standards while contributing to broader research objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Public Health or related field; 7+ years of health research experience.
• Experience leading teams and managing cross-functional projects.
• Knowledge of GCP, IRB processes, and data quality assurance.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day project operations and resourcing.
• Coordinate IRB documentation and regulatory compliance.
• Design procedures for data collection, recruitment, and follow-up.
• Mentor team members and foster cross-functional collaboration.

Skills

Leadership

Attention to Detail

Communication

Critical Thinking

Teamwork

Decision Making

Problem Solving

Healthcare Industry

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Public Health

Master's degree (preferred)

Job description

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.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: (Core)

• Ambiguity/Uncertainty Management
• Attention to Detail
• Business Knowledge
• Communication
• Critical Thinking
• Cross-Group Collaboration
• Decision Making
• Dependability
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Support
• Drives Results
• Facilitation Skills
• Health Care Industry
• Influencing Others
• Integrity
• Learning Agility
• Organizational Savvy
• Problem Solving
• Short- and Long-term Learning & Recall
• Teamwork
• Topic-Specific Communication

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: (Functional)

• Change Management
• Confidentiality
• Good Clinical Practices (GCP)
• Health Care Compliance
• Health Care Policy
• Interpretation & Dissemination of Research
• Literature Reviews
• Medical Terminology
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Quantitative Research Methods
• Research & Evaluation Data Collection
• Research & Evaluation Study Design
• Research Ethics
• Research Writing
• Scientific Writing
• Stakeholder Management
• Survey Methodology
• Systems Thinking

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum three (3) years of experience in a leadership role with or without direct reports.
• Bachelors degree in Public Health, Health Care Administration, Epidemiology, Health Sciences, Social or Behavioral Sciences, Health Services, Statistics, or Health Economics, or related field AND minimum seven (7) years of experience in health research, public health, laboratory or social science research setting, epidemiology, social or behavioral sciences, health services or a directly related field OR Minimum ten (10) years of experience in health research, public health, laboratory or social science research setting, epidemiology, social or behavioral sciences, health services or a directly related field.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Public Health, Health Care Administration, Epidemiology, Health Sciences, Social or Behavioral Sciences, Health Services, Statistics, or Health Economics, or related field.