Senior Research Programs Lead for Grants & Implementation

University of Southern California; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Southern California (USC) seeks a Senior Research Program Project Manager to lead a portfolio of research, implementation, education, and quality improvement initiatives in clinical affairs. You will translate strategic priorities into work plans, manage budgets, and coordinate multidisciplinary teams and external partners to scale programs in patient care and pharmacist-led models of care.

The role requires hands-on leadership, exceptional communication, and a track record of

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in a relevant field.
• Five+ years of progressively responsible experience managing complex research programs or equivalent.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects with deadlines and stakeholders.
• Experience developing and managing grant proposal budgets, preferably including federal grants and multi-partner proposals.
• Ability to independently manage projects from planning through completion and track action items.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, organization, time management, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Independently manage a complex portfolio of concurrent research, implementation, quality improvement, education, partnership, and strategic initiatives.
• Develop and maintain project plans, timelines, milestones, and accountability structures.
• Translate priorities into assignments, deadlines, and measurable outcomes; monitor progress and address delays and risks.
• Follow up with faculty, staff, collaborators, vendors, and partners to ensure timely completion of commitments.
• Keep leadership informed of deadlines, decisions, risks, and recommended next steps; anticipate needs.
• Develop workflows and operating procedures to improve efficiency, accountability, and scalability.
• Coordinate preparation and submission of grant and contract applications from planning through submission.
• Maintain a forward-looking funding calendar and track opportunities, deadlines, and follow-up actions.
• Develop detailed proposal budgets and financial projections; monitor expenditures and balances.
• Coordinate with university offices for compliant financial administration.
• Coordinate program implementation to improve patient outcomes, medication safety, and pharmacist integration.
• Support scalable models of care, onboarding, enrollment, quality reporting, and analytics.
• Develop systems for monitoring quality measures, performance targets, and milestones.
• Identify operational barriers and translate pilots into sustainable processes.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder coordination

Budgeting

Quality improvement

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in public health, health sciences, business administration, healthcare administration, project management, pharmacy, or related field

Tools

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

University of Southern California (USC) seeks a Senior Research Program Project Manager to lead a portfolio of research, implementation, education, and quality improvement initiatives in clinical affairs. You will translate strategic priorities into work plans, manage budgets, and coordinate multidisciplinary teams and external partners to scale programs in patient care and pharmacist-led models of care.

The role requires hands-on leadership, exceptional communication, and a track record of