Research Program Manager (Northwest, AR)

University of Arkansas System•Fayetteville, AR

About The Position

Join our team as a Research Program Manager and make an impact on statewide maternal health initiatives! We are looking for a passionate, collaborative professional to support vital projects under the guidance of the Principal Investigator and faculty. In this role, you will plan, supervise, and execute key activities to meet project goals, coordinate seamlessly across teams and divisions, and keep projects on track with clear timelines. You'll prepare essential reports for funders and review boards, handle business functions like contracting and travel, and oversee the work of team members to ensure excellence. Additionally, you'll develop evaluation tools, contribute to data collection and analysis, and demonstrate professionalism and attention to detail in all tasks. Travel within the state will be part of your role to support project activities, with exciting opportunities to attend national conferences and contribute to published research. If you are passionate about maternal health, research, and program management, we encourage you to apply and join our dedicated team at UAMS. Together, we can drive innovation and improve health outcomes across Arkansas!

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in social science, behavioral science, health science, or related field plus five (5) years of research experience.
This position is based at our Northwest Regional Campus in Fayetteville, AR. All interested candidates must reside within the region or be willing to relocate.
Strong project management skills, including timeline development and deadline adherence.
Proficiency in preparing reports for funders and institutional review boards.
Excellent organizational and multitasking abilities
Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, with diverse stakeholders.
Experience with data collection, management, and analysis tools.
Ability to travel within the state and occasionally to national conferences.
Demonstrated professionalism, attention to detail, and problem-solving skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and familiarity with research software or tools (e.g., REDCap, SPSS, or similar).

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in public health, health administration, public policy, or a related social science field.
Project management training and/or certification
Experience with qualitative data collection and analysis.

Responsibilities

Develops and maintains project launch plans, activity plans, tracking systems, and calendars.
Tracks progress on grant activities and collaborates with project partners to ensure that activities are on track and within project timelines.
Proactively identifies potential barriers to completion of project goals and milestones and communicates with supervisor and relevant partners to address challenges.
Manages grant reporting.
Develops and maintains systems for routinely collecting required reporting data and a calendar of reporting deadlines.
Prepares the first draft of required reporting documents in advance of deadlines, including collecting information from project partners and ensuring documents are accurate and meet funder requirements.
Supports PI in maintaining communication with the program officer.
Manages and facilitates administrative activities and communications across grant-funded projects.
This includes overseeing project requisitions, procurement, contracting, and petty cash accounts, with proactive and timely communication with business services partners.
Ensures that purchasing and payments for contracts, stipends, research participant incentives, and speaker fees are completed promptly and develops and maintains systems for tracking these payments.
Schedules meetings and maintains meeting records.
Assists in meeting preparations across projects by managing registration, calendar invitations, preparation and distribution of agendas, orientation of speakers, and preparation of draft presentation materials.
Plans and manages logistics for in-person and virtual meetings, including securing venues, identifying and contracting with vendors for meeting services, and oversees execution on site.
Develops and maintains project websites with updates on project activities.
Drafts IRB protocols and study materials following guidance from investigators and manages IRB submissions and continuing approvals.
Oversees data collection processes such as participant recruitment and interview scheduling, and assists with conducting interviews.
Performs qualitative analysis according to the directions of investigators and assists with preparation of findings for presentations and publications.
Ensures that research activities are conducted with rigor and according to protocol.
Contributes to the development of research manuscripts.
May perform other duties as assigned.