Research Operations Coordinator, Psychology

UVA Health•Charlottesville, VA

10d•$70,000 - $80,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Psychology in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia seeks a proactive, collaborative Research Operations Coordinator to manage departmental research operations. The role manages operational elements of the department’s research portfolio and ensures grant-funded activities are planned and integrated with departmental staffing, financial, and administrative processes. Reporting to the Assistant Chair, the Coordinator partners with Principal Investigators, departmental staff, and the College’s central research administration team. The role coordinates departmental activities and handoffs throughout the award lifecycle, anticipates operational needs, and resolves practical research operations issues. Work ranges from coordinating personnel funding across grant and non-grant sources and processing transactions to addressing complex operational challenges. The position is based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and must be performed fully on-site. It is an exempt-level, benefited, restricted position dependent on funding availability. The anticipated hiring range is $70,000–$80,000, commensurate with education and experience. The position does not consider candidates who require immigration sponsorship now or in the future. Background checks are conducted on new hires before employment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
Experience in research operations, project management, finance, or a related administrative field.
A foundation in financial monitoring, reconciliation, procurement, and personnel funding or payroll costing.
Organizational and analytical skills, including the ability to prioritize multiple workflows, recognize dependencies, and carry work through to completion independently and collaboratively.
Ability to communicate effectively in writing and conversation, translate complex requirements into practical guidance, and navigate competing priorities with diplomacy, discretion, and emotional intelligence.
Ability to collaborate with stakeholders who may have different or competing priorities.
Position must be performed fully on-site in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Candidates must not require immigration sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

Experience in an academic research environment.
Familiarity with federal and private or foundation research funding.
Experience with Workday or a comparable enterprise financial system.
Familiarity with laboratory operations.

Responsibilities

Maintain an understanding of research portfolio timelines, funding commitments, personnel needs, milestones, and operational dependencies.
Coordinate departmental operations across the grant lifecycle with research administration staff, including project kickoff, implementation, funding changes, approvals, renewals, and closeout.
Anticipate the effects of grants and renewals on staffing, teaching commitments, budgets, effort allocation, and departmental resources.
Track deadlines and handoffs across UVA offices, resolve gaps and delays, and elevate matters requiring specialized expertise or leadership decisions, including compliance concerns.
Work with post-award administrators to review grant expenditures, reconciliations, balances, and spending rates, support grant fund spend-down, and anticipate project commitments.
Coordinate personnel funding, including summer salary, graduate student support, payroll costing, and funding-source changes.
Support effort allocation and certification by coordinating information and resolving questions with appropriate partners.
Manage or coordinate financial research transactions, including equipment purchasing and fabrication, service purchase orders, consulting agreements, invoices, and fixed-asset tracking, in accordance with applicable UVA and sponsor policies.
Coordinate departmental approvals for subaward matters, including invoice review and approval, in collaboration with the research administration team.
Serve as a departmental contact for research operations and liaison with the A&S research administration team on operational questions and research-related issues throughout the grant lifecycle.
Translate financial information, requirements, and institutional processes into clear guidance and actionable next steps.
Facilitate solutions across faculty, staff, and administrative offices, communicating proactively about deadlines, risks, and decisions.
Manage a substantial volume of work accurately, responsively, and with consistent follow-through.
Improve workflows, tracking tools, and documentation in collaboration with College partners to strengthen coordination and make research operations easier to navigate.