Business and Financial Action Officer: R&D Programs

Intertwine Associates•Mount Pleasant, SC

About The Position

Key Role: Serve as a Business Chief of Staff and Financial Action Officer supporting senior executives and leadership teams overseeing large-scale, high-impact research and development initiatives. This role functions as the central operational, administrative, and financial integrator for executive leadership—ensuring priorities move forward, decisions are documented, approvals are secured, and nothing falls through the cracks. You will manage executive calendars, workflows, financial data, and action items while coordinating across program, finance, legal, contracting, and technical teams. Acting as a trusted extension of executive leadership, you will ensure leaders stay on schedule, prepared, compliant, and focused on the highest-value work. This position is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy, execution, finance, and administration—bringing order to complexity and momentum to mission-critical programs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting, public administration, or a related field
5+ years of experience supporting senior leaders or executives in a government, consulting, or R&D environment
Experience working within or alongside federal agencies, research organizations, or large regulated programs
Demonstrated ability to manage complex schedules, approvals, documentation, and cross-functional coordination
Strong experience handling financial data, budgets, funding documents, or resource tracking
Familiarity with federal financial processes, internal controls, and compliance requirements
Exceptional organizational skills with a proven ability to track actions through completion
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for briefing executives and coordinating stakeholders
High level of discretion and professionalism when handling sensitive information
Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance; U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency required

Nice To Haves

Experience with ARPA-style organizations (e.g., ARPA-H, DARPA, ARPA‑E, IARPA)
Experience functioning in a Chief of Staff, Executive Operations, Program Operations, or Action Officer role
Familiarity with Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) or similar decision-making frameworks
Experience supporting science, technology, or healthcare innovation programs
Ability to synthesize complex information into clear, executive-ready products
Strong problem-solving instincts and comfort operating in ambiguous environments

Responsibilities

Act as a chief-of-staff–style partner to senior executives, managing day-to-day operations, follow-ups, and priority execution
Maintain and actively manage executive calendars, meeting agendas, decision logs, and action-item tracking
Prepare executives for meetings by coordinating briefings, financial summaries, approvals, and background materials
Track and manage financial actions, including budget requests, funding documents, justifications, and approval packages
Ensure all required documentation is completed, routed, approved, and archived to enable timely next steps
Serve as the coordination hub between leadership, finance, contracting, legal, program teams, and external stakeholders
Monitor deadlines, dependencies, and deliverables to ensure schedules are met and risks are surfaced early
Develop and maintain dashboards, trackers, and reports that provide clear visibility into financial status, actions, and decisions
Support compliance with federal regulations, internal controls, and organizational policies
Anticipate executive needs, resolve bottlenecks, and proactively drive issues to closure
Operate with minimal guidance while balancing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment