Research Administration Manager I

Overview

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is an independent, nonprofit organization providing adult cancer treatment and groundbreaking research focused on cancer and infectious diseases. Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington.

With a track record of global leadership in bone marrow transplantation, HIV/AIDS prevention, immunotherapy and COVID-19 vaccines, Fred Hutch has earned a reputation as one of the world’s leading cancer, infectious disease and biomedical research centers. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services, and network affiliations with hospitals in five states. Together, our fully integrated research and clinical care teams seek to discover new cures to the world’s deadliest diseases and make life beyond cancer a reality.

At Fred Hutch we value collaboration, compassion, determination, excellence, innovation, integrity and respect. These values are grounded in and expressed through the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our mission is directly tied to the humanity, dignity and inherent value of each employee, patient, community member and supporter. Our commitment to learning across our differences and similarities make us stronger. We seek employees who bring different and innovative ways of seeing the world and solving problems. Fred Hutch is in pursuit of becoming an anti-racist organization. We are committed to ensuring that all candidates hired share our commitment to diversity, anti-racism and inclusion.

Our Group:

The Chief Data Officer of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Jeff Leek, established the Fred Hutch Data Science Lab (DaSL) to develop and support the overall data strategy for the organization. The mission of DaSL is to lead the Fred Hutch toward its strategic data goals through: building an institution-wide data community, bolstering data science expertise, and fostering a robust and coordinated clinical and research data ecosystem. We do this via collaborating with the community on training and documentation, building and evaluating data-oriented support resources, facilitating partnerships and philanthropy, and engaging in data infrastructure projects that span from the clinic to the lab bench.

Group Culture:

We aim to support everyone from those in wet labs, in the clinic, to large scale clinical trials, or massive cohort studies and everyone in between. We believe focusing on people is critical in building a strong, dynamic community united around using data to improve human health and cancer care. To do this, we aim to build a diverse, hybrid team that is inclusive, open, collaborative, and supportive both within our team and with our collaborators (find more about our values and culture). We are strong advocates for open science and reproducible research, thus develop our work in the open as much as possible. We rely heavily on written communication and continuous collaboration in order to support our hybrid team, as well as make our work as accessible as scalably and sustainably as possible by Fred Hutch staff.

The Research Administration Manager I is a high-level career position which is responsible for the fiscal management and daily operations of research projects conducted by faculty within the PHS Biostatistics Program and the Chief Data Office. The Research Administration Manager provides support in grants and contract management (Pre- and Post- Award), budget development, negotiation and monitoring, regulatory administration, and other activities as necessary. This position requires understanding of research protocols and data security and the translation of the research and data needs into operations. The financial portfolio is comprised of various sources of NIH, foundation, donations, endowments, revenue, industry, professional society, internal pilot, subawards, and institutional support and includes regulated activities.

This position will report to the Program Operations Director in the Chief Data Office (Data Science Lab, DaSL) and will act independently in performing responsibilities, partnering with program faculty, and interfacing with other departments as needed to provide research administration.

This role can be hybrid-remote or remote. There may be a period of required on-campus training.

Responsibilities

Funding Source Administration

• Responsible for all pre- and post-award operations for each faculty in their assigned research funding (e.g., grants, contracts, etc.) portfolio, providing operational oversight of the administrative implementation and financial management of research studies and associated agreements within the Program.
• Manage and oversee the fiscal and operational lifecycle of grant-funded research and other projects, from study implementation through closeout, to include:
  • Create, negotiate, and finalize budgets based upon protocol requirements.
  • Collaborate with project manager and research staff to ensure appropriate logistical implementation of protocols within all sites of practice. Attend study implementation meetings.
  • Amend and negotiate budgets as needed through the life of a study.
  • Manage multi-site components as needed.
• Manages grant submissions and post-award activity by conducting tasks such as:
  • Preparing grant application budgets
  • Completing/collating of all technical/non-scientific steps and assigned technical or scientific portions of funding/grant submissions
  • Review budgets, identify discrepancies and provide recommendations to the PI and project manager on scenarios to resolve the issues with appropriate stakeholders
  • Identify/forecast personnel and other resource requirements (including long-range forecasting across multiple budget years)
  • Working with faculty and staff to respond to requests from other departments and external organizations
• Perform post-award activities, including annual progress report submission and sub-award activation and management.
• Establish staff assignments for research graduate students and faculty, as appropriate
• Manage non-sponsored budgets, such as discretionary accounts, gift funds, endowment, (3) Center program budgets, pilot funding, etc.
• Prepare monthly budget summaries and reports for PIs and POD.
• Ensure project invoices are submitted and sponsor payments are received in a timely manner.

Fiscal Support

• Develop, monitor, track and forecast the budgets for a portfolio of projects with multi-variable aspects (multi-site, sub awards, milestone-based budgets etc.)
• Monitor spending for adherence to grant/contract guidelines and policies, as well as internal policies.
• Develop, run, and analyze reports to identify funding issues and develop recommendations.
• Develop customized report formats to share information with each PI, POD, and project manager and for broad audiences across the organization.
• Provide ongoing cost analysis for studies to ensure projects are adequately funded; provide budget information to internal partners for negotiation of budget revisions with sponsors.

Regulatory Support

• Prepare non-scientific portions of regulatory grant applications/submissions related to human subjects research; may include preparing human subjects applications for internal review.
• Identify missing regulatory components that are required and resolve issues to ensure successful submission, modification, or renewal.
• Serve as a central point of contact to answer questions and facilitate solutions.
• Prepare/consult/advise PIs, POD, and project manager and maintain Data/Material Use Agreements and other data compliance documentation.

Administrative Support

• Partner with the POD to develop short- and long-term goals, procure necessary resources and determine courses of action to accomplish goals.
• Participate in divisional or institutional improvement projects and problem resolution related to research administration.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Five years in pre-award and post-award grants and contracts management, or relevant experience.
• Proficient with complex budget development and management, and use of reporting tools for multiple types of funding mechanisms (Industry, NIH, Foundation, and pilot funding).
• Ability to navigate complex internal systems and departments while exercising sound judgement and discretion.
• Ability and willingness to learn and effectively communicate asynchronously with collaborators and DaSL staff using Slack, Teams, BaseCamp, and other software supporting documentation and sharing used in the group. 
• Excellent time management and prioritization skills, with the ability to effectively manage multiple and competing demands.
• Demonstrated ability to function independently while exercising skill and informed professional judgment, as well the ability to work as part of a team, seeking/providing guidance from/to team members and peers
• Highly organized and detail oriented.
• Demonstrated ability to work successfully as part of a diverse team.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively with personnel in a variety of roles.

Preferred:

• Master’s Degree in public administration, business administration, or other relevant field
• Prior administrative experience in a research or academic setting.
• Experience with contract negotiation.
• Understanding of data use and material transfer agreements.
• Experience reviewing IRB administrative documents.
• Experience with foundation and donation funding.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirement, with exceptions only for approved medical or religious accommodations. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees must, prior to their first day of employment:
Provide proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 ; OR
Initiate the accommodations process to request a religious or medical accommodation (medical accommodations require a healthcare provider’s certification).

A statement describing your commitment and contributions toward greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism in your career or that will be made through your work at Fred Hutch is requested of all finalists.

The annual base salary range for this position is from $91,936.00 to $145,318.00 and pay offered will be based on experience and qualifications.  

This position may be eligible for a sign on bonus.

This position may be eligible for relocation assistance.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center offers employees a comprehensive benefits package designed to enhance health, well-being, and financial security. Benefits include medical/vision, dental, flexible spending accounts, life, disability, retirement, family life support, employee assistance program, onsite health clinic, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation (12-22 days per year), paid sick leave (12-25 days per year), paid holidays (13 days per year), paid parental leave (up to 4 weeks), and partially paid sabbatical leave (up to 6 months).