Research Operations Manager

Experience Required

• 3+ years relevant experience in operations, vendor management, procurement operations, research operations, compliance, project management, financial operations, or a related operational role.
• Experience supporting vendor onboarding, contract administration, supplier management, compliance reviews, governance activities, and audit readiness processes.
• Experience supporting budget management, including financial tracking, forecasting, invoice reconciliation, spend management, and operational reporting.
• Demonstrated success coordinating complex cross-functional processes involving internal stakeholders, external vendors, and multiple business functions.
• Experience developing, documenting, and optimizing operational workflows, governance processes, SOPs, and business procedures.
• Experience creating and maintaining dashboards, reporting frameworks, trackers, operational metrics, and KPI monitoring tools.
• Experience utilizing Smartsheet, Monday.com, or similar workflow and operational management platforms to support vendor management, budget tracking, compliance oversight, reporting, and process execution.

Skills

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and project management skills, with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively coordinate and influence stakeholders across all levels of the organization.
• Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new systems, tools, and technologies.
• Ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, work independently, and navigate ambiguity within a fast-paced, evolving operational environment.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel and PowerPoint.

Additional Experience

• Advanced experience with Smartsheet, including workflow automation, dashboards, reporting, system administration, and process optimization.
• Experience leading or supporting operational transformation, process improvement, workflow automation, systems implementation, or governance initiatives.
• Familiarity with vendor governance frameworks, compliance programs, audit readiness practices, and risk management methodologies.
• Experience developing executive-level reporting, dashboards, performance metrics, and operational scorecards.
• Knowledge of vendor performance management practices, including KPIs, SLAs, scorecards, and vendor oversight frameworks.
• Familiarity with operating within a continuous improvement model.
• Strong systems thinking with the ability to design, optimize, and scale operational processes, governance frameworks, and workflow solutions.
• Exceptional organizational, project management, and prioritization skills, with the capacity to effectively manage multiple high-volume, cross-functional workstreams simultaneously.
• Strong analytical, financial, and problem-solving capabilities, including the ability to identify risks, evaluate tradeoffs, and develop practical, scalable solutions.
• The ability to work independently and navigate ambiguity within a highly matrixed and evolving operational environment.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to drive alignment across internal teams and external vendor partners.
• A strong attention to detail and commitment to operational excellence, accuracy, compliance, governance, and audit readiness.
• The ability to establish structure, documentation, and scalable processes in environments with evolving requirements and limited existing frameworks.
• A continuous improvement mindset focused on automation, efficiency, operational maturity, and long-term scalability.
• Strong judgment and risk management capabilities, with the ability to proactively identify issues and implement effective controls and mitigation strategies.
• Proficiency leveraging operational systems, reporting tools, dashboards, and performance metrics to drive visibility, accountability, and informed decision-making.
• Success in managing efficient and compliant vendor onboarding, contracting, governance, and vendor management processes.
• The ability to effectively manage budget planning, forecasting, tracking, reconciliation, and financial reporting activities.
• A proven track record of improving operational efficiency through process optimization, workflow standardization, automation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Strong compliance performance and audit readiness across vendor, budget, governance, and operational processes.
• The ability to build productive partnerships and effectively coordinate activities across Legal, Privacy, Procurement, Cybersecurity, Finance, business stakeholders, and external vendors.
• Success in increasing visibility, transparency, consistency, and scalability across operational processes and reporting frameworks.
• The ability to identify and eliminate operational bottlenecks, reducing cycle times and improving efficiency across vendor management, budget operations, compliance, and governance workflows.