Research Agreements Specialist

Case Western Reserve University is committed to providing a transparent estimate of the salary range for this position. The salary range is between $52,705 and $66,672, depending on qualifications, experience, department budgets, and industry data.

About the role

The Research Agreements Specialist is responsible for assisting the Executive Director of Research Compliance with the review, negotiation, and processing of research and service agreements for the university. Serving as an integral member of the agreements team, this position ensures that all agreements are executed in alignment with university policies, sponsor requirements, and the appropriate agreement type. The portfolio includes a wide range of agreement mechanisms such as sponsored research and service agreements, material transfer agreements, data use agreements, and other specialized or miscellaneous research-related contracts. Negotiation of these agreements is a highly technical activity requiring both scientific and legal fluency, as well as a strong commitment to upholding the university's positions on key terms while balancing faculty needs and institutional risk. This role also contributes to the university's conflict-of-interest and research integrity compliance programs by offering support with transactional responsibilities as needed.

Responsibilities

• Manage agreements in accordance with university policies and federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
• Review all sections of research agreements for sponsored projects administration.
• Evaluate requests in terms of compliance, circumstances, terms and conditions, appropriate templates, language, legal implications, and more.
• Identify appropriate risk level, Institutional Review Board (IRB) and/or Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) involvement, and necessary revisions.
• Prepare and negotiate the terms and conditions of all research-related agreements.
• Assist in the preparation of various types of agreements, including Data Use Agreements and Material Transfer Agreements.
• Manage the intake and storage of Addgene agreements.
• Meet with external stakeholders to negotiate terms and conditions.
• Propose and facilitate appropriate amendments.
• Develop and implement automation using AI in the workflow around the review and processing of all agreements. (75%)
• Support conflict-of-interest and research integrity compliance programs by assisting with ensuring federal regulations, sponsor requirements, and institutional policies are met.
• Lead the AI automation efforts in these spaces.
• Maintain thorough records. (20%)
• Perform other duties as assigned. (5%)

Contacts

• Department: Daily contact with the executive director of research compliance, and the other staff of the pre-award and compliance offices.
• University: Daily contact with CWRU principal investigators, researchers, and staff.
• External: Regular contact with investigators at affiliate hospitals, and contracting agents at partner organizations, companies, educational institutions, and other collaborators to negotiate and/or monitor agreements as appropriate.
• Students: Occasional contact with graduate students and postdocs as needed for agreement review.

Qualifications

• Experience: 3 to 5 years administrative experience, preferably in administrative areas such as law, management, or health care.
• Education: Bachelor's degree required. Prefer LLM or JD.

Skills

• Technical and administrative leadership skills to analyze, evaluate, and communicate contractual matters relating to areas of research compliance.
• Ability to learn and execute AI automation techniques to improve process.
• Maintains confidentiality and communicates tactfully regarding sensitive information.
• Works independently and is able to balance a variety of tasks.
• Solid critical thinking skill with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritize workload to meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication, writing, and interpersonal skills with the demonstrated ability to achieve common goals.
• Communicate effectively and professionally, orally and in writing.
• Ability to create a supportive, advocacy-oriented environment.
• Service-oriented, collaborative approach to customers and peer relationships.
• High degree of maturity, independent judgment, and critical thinking.
• Sophisticated understanding of academic and medical organizational cultures across institutions.
• Advanced competence utilizing MS Office suite, Google Sheets and other Google programs, and other various computerized databases.
• Ability to meet consistent attendance.

Benefits

University employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare, retirement plans, tuition assistance, paid time off, and a winter recess.

Schedule

This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement up to two remote days per week at the discretion of the department. New employees may begin a hybrid schedule upon approval from the supervisor, successful completion of an orientation period, and signing the remote work checklist certification form.

Working Conditions

General office environment.