Study Start-Up Associate

RHO Inc; United States; On-site; USD 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Vision benefits

Dental benefits

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Job summary

RHO Inc is seeking a Study Start-Up Associate to partner with a multidisciplinary team across the project life cycle. You will ensure thoughtful planning and timely delivery of study start-up activities from site assessment to activation, collaborating with sites, internal teams and Sponsors.

The role involves regulatory submissions, SED/ICF handling, budget coordination, and robust stakeholder communication. A Bachelor’s Degree and 1+ year in clinical research are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree with at least 1 year in clinical research, preferably in a CRO.
• Strong written and verbal communication abilities.
• Good organizational and time management skills; able to manage priorities and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Participates in start-up processes through site activation and provides professional, timely service to internal and external stakeholders.
• Collaborates with Feasibility, CTL, SSUL, Rho Legal, Sponsor and site staff to obtain site lists, ensure CDAs, and contribute to trial feasibility with questionnaires and follow-up.
• Maintains SSU trackers, databases and TMF documentation; files site feasibility docs.
• Supports Regulatory & IRB/IEC submissions including preparation, formatting, QC checks, versioning and uploading to platforms; coordinates with sites for approvals.
• Creates, distributes, collects, reviews and approves Site Essential Documents (SED) and adapts ICFs under SSU Lead guidance; maintains SED in trackers/TMF.
• Liaises with Legal and sites to facilitate site budgets and contracts; tracks progress and documents.
• Maintains systems to monitor site-level progress and enabling SSUL to analyze progress against targets and timelines.
• Partners with SSU Lead to time handoffs to Clinical Operations on a site-by-site basis.

Skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Time management

Team player

Initiative

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Job description

Join us in redefining what it means to work for a CRO.

When you work at Rho, it’s more than just a job—you become part of the Rho Factor. We’re a proud bunch of science nerds who love tackling big challenges together. We’re not your typical CRO, and we’re not trying to be. Here, curiosity is encouraged, fresh approaches are welcome, and collaboration is at the heart of everything we do.

Whether you’re a data wizard, analytical genius, project mastermind, or any other role, you’ll fit right into the equation of the Rho Factor. Expect plenty of geeky jokes, eccentric personalities, spontaneous brainstorms, and a supportive community where people genuinely care about their work—and each other.

You’ll have the opportunity to experience a thriving company with real stability - financial, workforce, and corporate, which has created a safe environment to innovate and develop over a long and rewarding career.

As our next Study Start-Up Associate, you will have the opportunity to work closely with the multidisciplinary project team across the life cycle of the project to ensure Study Start-Up is thoughtfully planned and delivered in a consistent, timely, and high quality manner. The Study Start Up (SSU) team provides successful end to end coordination of Study Start-Up planning and execution activities including, but not limited to, investigator assessment and identification, pre-study development, site qualification, and site activation. SSU is a pivotal role requiring collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, working closely with the clinical study team, other internal functional areas, and Sponsors to support the study start-up process.

Our Start-Up will tell you, joining Rho has been one of their best career moves in terms of contentment, financial rewards and career growth, which is why we have such stability in the group!

What You'll Be Doing:

Project Oversight & Support

• Participates in the start-up process through site activation, providing excellent customer service to internal and external parties in a timely and professional manner

Feasibility & Site Identification

• Collaborates with the Feasibility team, CTL, SSUL, Rho Legal, Sponsor, and relevant site staff to obtain site lists and ensure fully executed CDAs are established; contributes to the trial feasibility process, specifically distributing questionnaires and following up with site personnel to ensure comprehensive responses are collected
• Maintains SSU trackers, databases, and shared documentation to track relevant metrics related to site identification and selection activities o Ensures required site level feasibility documentation is filed in the TMF

Regulatory & IRB/IEC Submissions & Approvals

• Collaborates with and supports SSUL on the required document collection, preparation and execution of the Regulatory & IRB/IEC approach for submission and approval at specified regional levels, including country level approval, and participates in local approval activities; provides administrative support during the Regulatory and IRB/IEC submission and approval workflows (e.g., formatting, QC checks, document versioning, uploading documents to Regulatory and IRB/IEC platforms)
• Ensures Regulatory and IRB/IEC documents are filed and maintained accurately in SSU trackers, TMF, and databases
• Coordinates with sites to ensure site level Regulatory and IRB/IEC submissions and approvals are obtained

Site Essential Documents (SED) & ICF

• Supports and may lead the creation, distribution, collection, review and approval of Site Essential Document (SED) package under the guidance of the SSU Lead
• Supports the adaptation of site level Informed Consent Forms (ICFs), including the review, QC checklist, negotiation and approval with relevant internal and external parties with support and oversight from the SSU Lead
• Tracks, maintains, and files SED documentation in SSU databases, trackers, and TMF

Budget & Contracts

• Liaises with Rho Legal and sites to facilitate and support the negotiation and execution of site budgets and contracts
• Provides administrative support, maintains timely tracking, database updates, filing, and handling of budget and contract progress and documents
• Assists with collecting required site-level information needed for initial budget and contract preparation

Systems, Metrics & Handoffs

• Ensures relevant systems are maintained and up to date to keep track of site-level progress, enabling the SSUL to analyze SSU progress metrics against study-level targets and timelines

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Partners with the SSU Lead to identify and execute the suitable timing of handoff to Clinical Operations on a site-by-site basis

• Bachelor’s Degree along with at least 1 year of experience within the clinical research setting, preferably within a CRO
• Good knowledge of general clinical research processes and medical terminology; basic understanding of Regulatory and IRB/IEC submission processes for assigned countries; working knowledge of current ICH GCP guidelines and applicable regulations
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Takes initiative to complete project responsibilities, seeking guidance as needed
• Good organizational and time management skills, able to meet deadlines; strong attention to detail
• Positive attitude and ability to interact with all levels of staff to coordinate and execute study activities
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities within various clinical trials and work as a strong team player

A few more things to know about us:

Benefits: Rho provides a comprehensive benefits package for all benefit-eligible employees, which includes medical, vision, dental, HSA, FSA, EAP, life & disability insurance and 401(k). All employees are eligible for paid time off, holidays, parental leave and bereavement leave.

Flexibility: We encourage a work-life balance that allows employees to bring their best selves to work while being passionate about their lives outside work.

As required by pay transparency laws in some states, Rho provides the range of starting compensation (annual salary or hourly rate) it reasonably expects to pay for a given role. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to role responsibilities and location as well as candidate skill set and level of experience. The range of starting pay for this role is $60,000 - $70,000 per year.

EOE. Veterans/Disabled