Research Compliance Specialist

Art and Wellness Enterprises•Alice, AR

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Research Compliance Specialist supports the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine's commitment to ethical, compliant, and high-quality research by providing research administration, regulatory support, compliance oversight, investigator services, and program operations. This position serves as an important point of contact for faculty, students, research staff, institutional committees, external collaborators, sponsors, and federal agencies, helping ensure that research activities are organized, responsive, ethical, and aligned with institutional standards. This role supports the development and operation of AWSOM's Human Research Protection Program (HRPP), research compliance infrastructure, federal and sponsor reporting processes, and investigator-facing tools and workflows. The Research Compliance Specialist contributes to a service-oriented research environment by supporting research submissions and committee processes, evaluating regulatory requirements, monitoring compliance obligations, maintaining accurate documentation, implementing review and oversight activities, and helping investigators navigate regulatory and administrative expectations throughout the research lifecycle. Success in this role requires strong knowledge of research administration and regulatory compliance, exceptional attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to interpret and apply complex regulatory requirements. The role requires a collaborative, service-oriented approach, the ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment, and a commitment to supporting compliant, ethical, and effective research operations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in health sciences, life sciences, public health, research administration, healthcare administration, education, business administration, or a related field.
4 years of experience in research administration, regulatory coordination, compliance support, grants support, academic administration, healthcare administration, or a related operational role.
Demonstrated ability to analyze regulatory issues, evaluate compliance risks, and make independent recommendations regarding research administration processes and requirements.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple workflows, deadlines, documents, and stakeholder requests in a growing program environment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate professionally with faculty, students, staff, leaders, external partners, sponsors, and regulatory contacts.
Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, follow established procedures, and escalate questions or concerns appropriately.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, calendar and meeting platforms, shared document systems, and project tracking tools.

Nice To Haves

Certification or eligibility for certification such as Certified IRB Professional (CIP), Certified Research Administrator (CRA), or similar research administration or compliance credential, preferred.
Prior experience in an academic, healthcare, clinical research, medical school, research compliance, IRB, HRPP, or grants administration setting, preferred.
Experience supporting federal grants, multi-site studies, FDA-regulated research, reliance arrangements, or external IRB coordination, preferred.
Demonstrated ability to interpret and apply research regulations, institutional policies, and sponsor requirements in support of compliant research operations, preferred.
Familiarity with 45 CFR 46, FDA human subjects regulations, HIPAA privacy considerations, conflict of interest processes, sponsor requirements, or AAHRPP-aligned HRPP standards, preferred.
Experience with electronic IRB systems, ClinicalTrials.gov, federal reporting systems, CITI or equivalent training systems, or grant management platforms, preferred.

Responsibilities

Coordinate and manage day-to-day Office of Research regulatory and compliance operations, exercising independent judgment in prioritizing activities, resolving operational issues, monitoring regulatory obligations, and maintaining research administration processes that support program effectiveness.
Serve as a subject matter resource to faculty investigators, students, research staff, institutional committees, sponsors, and external IRBs by interpreting complex regulatory requirements, advising on compliance strategies, and recommending appropriate courses of action to ensure adherence to institutional, sponsor, and federal requirements.
Administer and continuously improve HRPP operations, including oversight of intake processes, workflow design, compliance tracking, reporting, metrics analysis, and development of operational tools, guidance documents, and standard operating procedures to support regulatory compliance and program effectiveness.
Evaluate regulatory requirements and compliance risks associated with human subjects and other regulated research activities, determine appropriate compliance pathways, and provide authoritative guidance regarding institutional, federal, sponsor, and ethical research requirements.
Facilitate and review protocol development, IRB submissions, amendments, continuing reviews, reportable events, study closures, and reliance activities, ensuring regulatory completeness, identifying compliance concerns, and recommending corrective actions as appropriate.
Conduct regulatory and administrative review of research submissions, evaluate regulatory and compliance risks, determine submission readiness, recommend required modifications, and resolve routine compliance issues prior to institutional, committee, or external review.
Monitor investigator and key personnel compliance obligations, assess compliance risk exposure, identify deficiencies, determine appropriate corrective measures, and advise stakeholders regarding resolution strategies to maintain regulatory compliance.
Evaluate protocol deviations, noncompliance events, participant complaints, and corrective or preventive action plans; assess regulatory implications; recommend resolution strategies; and escalate significant or high-risk matters as appropriate.
Maintain compliance calendars and deadline trackers for IRB submissions, federal and sponsor reporting, ClinicalTrials.gov obligations, grant-related regulatory requirements, audits, inspections, and committee review activities.
Analyze regulatory and sponsor reporting requirements, coordinate preparation of federal and sponsor submissions, review documentation for compliance and completeness, and advise stakeholders regarding reporting obligations, award conditions, and risk mitigation strategies.
Provide regulatory and compliance consultation for grant and award applications by evaluating human subjects protections, consent processes, privacy considerations, data-sharing requirements, regulatory approvals, and post-award compliance obligations.
Develop and maintain investigator-facing training materials, guidance documents, educational resources, and compliance communications that support regulatory understanding, promote ethical research conduct, and advance institutional compliance objectives.
Maintain accurate records in applicable electronic systems, shared drives, project management tools, and regulatory platforms while exercising appropriate confidentiality and discretion.
Lead or facilitate quality improvement, monitoring, auditing, and compliance assessment activities; analyze findings and trends; develop recommendations; and implement process improvements that strengthen research compliance and program performance.
Analyze research compliance and operational metrics, identify emerging risks and trends, develop recommendations for leadership, and contribute to strategic decisions regarding research administration and compliance program enhancement.
Collaborate with institutional stakeholders, including legal, privacy, compliance, conflict of interest, clinical operations, finance, grants administration, and academic leadership, to resolve complex compliance matters, develop operational solutions, and support institutional research objectives.
Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned to support evolving organizational needs.