| Our department seeks a Research Project Coordinator who will be responsible for the coordination and data management of the ASAP Parkinson’s Grant and the Graduate Program of Neuroscience’s T32 program. This position will perform a broad array of tasks that promote collaborative research, in addition to project management and administrative tasks. The Research Project Coordinator is a member of key personnel and will assist with the day-to-day coordination of all team efforts to consistently maintain a high level of functionality and communication. They serve as a bridge between the team’s scientific work and its operations, and between members of other ASAP teams, allowing lead investigators to focus on the science. This position must conduct work according to regulatory requirements, institutional guidelines, and sponsor expectations.
Responsibilities of the Research Project Coordinator in facilitating collaboration are particularly critical in the ASAP initiative, because of team structures that involve multiple institutions, the inclusion of core leaders who may have never worked together, and shared responsibilities for project goals. Because the Research Project Coordinator will have both a birds-eye view of all members and labs within their teams, and a close-up view of day-to-day activities, they are in a position to prompt and facilitate shared behaviors in close association with the PIs.
Job Duties/Responsibilities: 50% ASAP Project Coordinator - (40%) ASAP Study Coordination & Administration
- Liaise with funder staff (ASAP and MJFF) including other facilitators to report on progress and any barriers or resource needs.
- Keep profiles of lab members up to date within the ASAP Virtual Hub, with an eye toward promoting interaction within and between teams.
- Ensure that researchers communicate about current work plans, problems, and resource needs (while minimizing unnecessary communications); create groups and ad hoc discussions as necessary.
- Organize and facilitate the flow of research materials (tissues, cell lines, animals) between groups. Keep schedule for the flow of research materials.
- Organize and moderate team meetings; report and follow up on action items, ensuring the team is on track with milestones.
- Assist with editing and posting presentations for easy and quick access by other teams and external associates.
- Serve as the key point-of-contact with funder staff (ASAP and MJFF).
- Facilitate new project development and start-up activities
- Support quality improvement initiatives
- Attends national and study meetings as appropriate
- Regularly meet and consult with the Project Leader (Dr. Michael Lee) to update the status of the project and action items.
- (10%) Regulatory Compliance
- Partner with the PI and the rest of the study team to ensure ethical conduct of research activities.
- Support the PI in ensuring the protection of all research activities according to Federal regulations, University policies, and sponsor expectations.
- Educate University faculty and staff of our regulatory and research obligations in relation to research activities
- Lead the preparation for and participate in site initiation visits, monitoring visits, program audits, etc. for assigned studies.
(25%) Manage Graduate Program of Neuroscience (GPN) Training Grants - Serve as primary administrative manager and prepare for multiple Neuroscience training
- grants.
- Gather, compare and analyze statistical information for annual reporting per each funding agency’s requirements.
- Work with faculty and staff to review and prepare funding requests. Responsible for ensuring compliance with changing submission requirements, policy changes, and systems used for submission of all grant-related documentation.
- Work with other units within the University or other institutions when collaboration is necessary.
- Coordinate the proposal preparation process. Collect, compile, and assemble required documents for submission to federal, non-federal and internal sponsors ensuring that all required approvals have been obtained and that budget requests comply with agency regulations. Track proposal status to ensure materials meet deadlines.
- Resolve any issues that arise and report progress to PIs and department administration. Use in-depth knowledge of specific software (Adobe Acrobat, Excel, Word) to create proposals in the required format. Prepare and submit electronic proposals using in-depth knowledge of sponsor's electronic submission system (NIH (National Institute of Health) and eRA Commons xTrain program.
- Formulate content for scheduled and ad hoc internal/external reports and analyze training data as needed for reports to faculty for individual programs. Gather, compare and analyze statistical information for annual reporting per each funding agency’s requirements.
- Oversee annual retreats and faculty meetings for individual programs.
- Attend fellowship coordinators meetings and University trainings as necessary for professional development.
- Coordinate with Centers/Lab and HR/payroll staff to recruit and hire employees in various employee groups (undergraduate and graduate students, CS/BU, P&A).
- Analyze budget reports and make recommendations while working closely with the grants manager. Advise and assist the unit's human resource staff with document processing for new appointees, appointment changes, and departures.
(25%) Graduate Program of Neuroscience (GPN) Admin. Support and Communications - Track the allocation of research funds and reporting on the status and resources required for the multiple research projects.
- Ensure accurate and timely recognition of research publications and abstracts.
- Develop, implement and evaluate efficient procedures and workflows for triaging and promptly responding to requests from internal and external entities for information, meetings or presentations. This requires an understanding of priorities, position and relationships of the given entities and leadership roles in relation to these entities.
- Act as a single point of contact and effectively coordinate responses with appropriate UMN or external offices.
- Develop and implement tracking systems for information and data requests, grant and administrative reports, expenses related to travel when more than one entity is funding the travel and academic productivity.
- Compose, edit, and distribute communications on behalf of the director of graduate studies, department head, faculty and other departmental program staff.
- Perform complex problem-solving to determine the root cause of and reasonable solution to process, communication and reporting errors.
- Manage complex faculty calendars and schedule meetings.
*This is a Civil Service Position, job code: 8352P4 with the working title of Research Project Coordinator* |
