Sr Manager, Research Project Management

Job Summary:

In addition to the responsibilities listed below, this position is also responsible for serving as the project manager working in coordination with the principal investigator of highly complex research projects; collaborating on and/or leading portions of writing, preparation, and timely submission of proposals from conceptualization to submission, and providing direction to team members through the process; leading the development and management of resources and budgets for a portfolio of research projects; managing the execution of research studies by leading teams or projects in data gathering activities; directing compliance with local, federal, and industry requirements (e.g., Standard Operating Procedures, IRB), as well as adherence to grant/contract and regulatory requirements for a complex portfolio of projects; providing direction on the development of infrastructure, and leading the development and implementation of research protocols; overseeing the identification of training needs and resources, providing strategic direction on the creation training materials, and overseeing the training and certification programs for new team members and clinical staff while ensuring all administrative requirements and certifications are current; ensuring that qualitative and/or quantitative data is prepared for analyses; and overseeing the development and ensuring the effective use of tools, systems, and forms used for documentation, reporting, and dissemination of research study activities.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Creates and advocates for developmental opportunities for others; builds collaborative, cross-functional relationships. Solicits and acts on performance feedback; works with leaders and employees to set goals and provide open feedback and coaching to drive performance improvement. Pursues professional growth; hires, trains, and develops talent for growth opportunities; strategically evaluates talent for succession planning; sets performance management guidelines and expectations across teams / units. Oversees implementation, adapts, and stays up to date with organizational change, challenges, feedback, best practices, processes, and industry trends; shares best practices within and across teams. Fosters open dialogue amongst team members, engages, motivates, and promotes collaboration within and across teams; motivates teams to meet business objectives. Delegates tasks and decisions as appropriate; provides appropriate support, guidance and scope; encourages development and consideration of options in decision making; fosters access to stakeholders.
• Manages designated units or teams by translating business plans into tactical action items; oversees the completion of work assignments and identifies opportunities for improvement; ensures all policies and procedures are followed; partners with key stakeholders and business leaders to ensure products and/or services meet requirements and expectations while aligning with departmental strategies. Aligns team efforts; builds accountability for and measuring progress in achieving results; assumes responsibility for decision making; fosters direct reports to resolve escalated issues as appropriate. Communicates goals and objectives; incorporates resources, costs, and forecasts into team and unit plans; ensures matrixed resources are fulfilling service or performance requirements across reporting lines. Removes obstacles that impact performance; identifies and addresses improvement opportunities; guides performance and develops contingency plans accordingly; influences teams and units to operate in alignment with operational and business objectives.
• Enforces compliance practices by: managing adherence of project activities to policies and procedures by ensuring project plans and team members follow KP, departmental, and/or business line policies and procedures.
• Guides others by: managing project team(s) and holds team members accountable for results; providing guidance to teams in reference to internal and/or external resource requests based on the alignment of team member skills and project demands; empowering teams to develop and communicate a clear vision of project goals and objectives to the team; and delivering performance feedback to project managers.
• Manages project management activities by: managing the delivery of large-scale projects with responsibility and accountability for project outcomes from initiation to close-out; overseeing development and execution of assigned project plans, including scope identification and management, schedule, inter-dependencies, and resource forecast; ensuring project financials of assigned projects are managed within budget allocations; proactively monitoring project performance (e.g., on time, on budget, within scope, and with quality) against plan, ensuring measurement of business benefits and outcomes, and makes adjustments as needed; managing project activities related to organizational change management (e.g., development and execution of user adoption, implementation, and training plans) as defined by the project; and establishing proper allocation of resources, establishes schedules, and task assignments to ensure established project management practices are in place.
• Addresses project concerns by: proactively monitoring, identifying, and mitigating project risks, issues, and trigger events across multiple inter-dependent projects by developing mitigation plans and strategies; and resolving or escalating risks or issues as appropriate.
• Leads stakeholder management by: managing the alignment, buy-in, engagement and support of diverse project stakeholders by building and maintaining relationships as well as communicating appropriately with internal customers, third party vendors, senior and/or executive management, and business leaders; clarifying accountability and authority across stakeholders; building close relationships with key stakeholders across multiple functions based on their level of influence and decision making; managing project goals, influences the prioritization of deliverables, coordinates all business processes (e.g. project change management, communication) and facilitates decisions necessary for project delivery by partnering with project sponsors and/or review boards; and communicating tough issues to stakeholders while maintaining an independent opinion, providing recommendations, delivering formal presentations, and providing reports to senior and/or executive audiences.
• Leads vendor management activities by: managing vendor performance and provides guidance for service improvements or revisions to strategy; partnering with Procurement and/or Legal to develop service level and/or scope of work agreements as appropriate; and managing relationships and contract negotiations with vendors, and resolves issues with vendor invoices.