Research Project Manager

Department Overview

The Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences is an independent research institute within OHSU that is dedicated to health and safety in the workplace. The Institute receives its base funding from the Oregon Workers' Compensation Fund and leverages this base funding to secure federal government grants in basic, clinical, and applied research. We perform biomedical/occupational research and innovation for a healthy workforce, aimed at promoting health and reducing disease and disability among workers across the nation, particularly in Oregon.

Function/Duties of Position

The research project manager (RPM)will oversee a diverse portfolio of research projects and a team of research staff under the direction of Dr. Nicole Bowles (PI and supervisor).

• The laboratory's research spans two primary areas: 
  • Studies examining the interrelationships among cannabis and related substances, sleep, circadian rhythms, and health; and
  • Occupational health research with firefighters, first responders, and other high-risk worker populations, with a focus on sleep, circadian disruption, and modifiable working conditions. 
• Projects include longitudinal observational and field-based studies, controlled human laboratory studies, and translational research requiring coordination across human, preclinical, and regulatory activities.
• The principal responsibility of this position is providing operational leadership across the laboratory's research portfolio by translating study and program priorities into coordinated activities for the research team.
• Working with the PI, the project manager will establish project plans, timelines, responsibilities, and milestones; delegate activities to research staff; and ensure that required activities are completed on schedule and to appropriate standards.
• This includes oversight of new study start-up, active studies, and study close-out; IRB and regulatory requirements; recruitment and participant scheduling; data collection and management; and FDA/IND and controlled-substance requirements as applicable.
• The project manager will anticipate deadlines and resource needs, identify operational barriers, and work with staff and the PI to resolve or escalate issues as appropriate.
• The position provides indirect leadership and daily oversight to research staff, students, and volunteers, including setting clear expectations, helping staff prioritize competing responsibilities for projects, providing timely and constructive feedback, and holding team members accountable for assigned work and study milestones.
• The RPM will ensure appropriate staff training and protocol adherence and coordinate staffing and resources across concurrent studies as directed by the PI/supervisor.
• The RPM will also coordinate interactions with research cores, external vendors, and regulatory groups and ensure that resulting activities, documentation, and deliverables are completed as required.
• Additional responsibilities include coordinating materials and staff activities needed for grant submissions and progress reports, manuscripts and presentations, study documentation, and the implementation of newly funded projects.
• By coordinating people, resources, regulatory activities, and study timelines across the laboratory's research portfolio, the RPM will provide the operational structure necessary to advance an interdisciplinary research program spanning mechanistic, clinical, and applied occupational science.

Required Qualifications

• Master's in relevant field AND 3 years of relevant experience in clinical or human-subjects research. OR
• Equivalent combination of Bachelor's in relevant field in conjunction with training and experience may be considered.
• Experience in clinical or human-subjects research, including experience with complex, longitudinal, interventional, and/or federally funded research studies), and understanding of human-subject regulatory requirements, such as GCP (GoodClinical Practice), FDA/ICH requirements, IRB processes, and HIPAA.
• Experience performing research project, program, or laboratory management functions, including coordinating day-to-day operations across multiple concurrentstudies or projects.

Skills and Abilities

• Background in workplace or public health interventions (safety, health or well-being),healthcare, academic institution, construction or first-responder industries within the last 5 years.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain project plans, timelines, milestones, staffing plans, and deliverables and independently track work through completion.
• Demonstrated proficiency developing or implementing SOPs, regulatory tracking systems, and quality-control procedures.
• Demonstrated proficiency supporting grant submissions, progress reports, manuscripts, and scientific presentations.
• Skill in providing functional leadership to research staff, including assigning andprioritizing daily activities, monitoring completion and quality of work, training andmentoring staff, identifying missed deadlines or performance concerns, and escalating concerns to the PI or appropriate supervisor.
• Demonstrated proficiency and experience overseeing human-subjects research and IRB activities across the study lifecycle, including study start-up, data-quality practices, regulatory compliance, amendments, continuing review/reporting requirements, protocol deviations, and study close-out.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate research activities across investigators, research staff, institutional offices, research cores, vendors, and/or other external entities, including research sponsors, regulatory agencies and community stakeholders.
• Demonstrated proficiency with research data management systems such as REDCap, including oversight of study setup, data completeness, and data-quality processes.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project management/tracking tools.
• Demonstrated project-management skills, including the ability to simultaneously manage multiple complex research projects; establish priorities, dependencies, timelines, and milestones; and consistently drive activities to timely completion.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a relevant field and at least 5 years of progressively responsibleexperience in clinical or human subjects research, including experience with complex,longitudinal, interventional, and/or federally funded research studies, as well as at least 2 years of experience performing research project, program, or laboratorymanagement functions, including coordinating day-to-day operations across multiple concurrent studies or projects.
• Experience in research involving sleep/circadian rhythms, cannabis or substance use, occupational health, or first-responder populations.
• Formal training certificate (e.g., SoCRA, CRA), coursework, and/or experience in project management.
• Knowledge/use of project management approaches and tools for tracking responsibilities, dependencies, timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
• Experience in data collection, management, and processing, including computing descriptive statistics and making charts and graphs.
• Prior involvement in studies regulated under an FDA IND or IDE (Investigational Device Exemption.
• Understanding of DEA controlled substance regulations, including storage, security, inventory, and recordkeeping.
• Ability to draft, implement, and oversee standard operating procedures (SOPs) for handling Schedule I substances.
• Prior experience with grant writing, progress reports, or manuscript preparation.

Additional Details

Working hours are typically weekday daytime hours. This is a 0.5 FTE position with work hours distributed across at least four weekdays to provide continuity for research operations, staff coordination, and project oversight.

Occasional schedule flexibility may be required for time-sensitive study or regulatory needs; however, routine evening, overnight, and weekend work is not expected. The position requires regular on-site work and may require occasional travel. Some teleworking may be negotiated.

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