Research Operations Manager – Contract, 3 Months

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in New York.

📋 Description

• Oversee the complete lifecycle of research vendors, encompassing onboarding, contracting, renewals, offboarding, and continuous relationship management.

• Act as the main point of contact between internal stakeholders and external research vendors, collaborating with Legal, Privacy, Procurement, Cybersecurity, Finance, and other partner groups to ensure smooth vendor onboarding, approvals, compliance reviews, contract execution, and governance requirements.

• Facilitate the creation, review, execution, and administration of vendor agreements, including SOWs, MSAs, NDAs, amendments, renewals, and related contractual processes.

• Establish, maintain, and manage centralized vendor management documentation, tracking, and governance frameworks, which include vendor records, contracts, compliance status, risk assessments, privacy and security reviews, audit documentation, and other essential records to ensure operational transparency, regulatory compliance, and audit preparedness.

• Evaluate vendor performance using scorecards, KPIs, service-level metrics, and compliance tracking, identifying and escalating operational, contractual, privacy, security, or performance risks as necessary.

• Create, document, and continually enhance vendor management processes, standards, and governance practices to promote consistency, accountability, transparency, and scalability throughout the organization.

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders and external vendors to address operational challenges, mitigate risks, and enhance overall vendor effectiveness, compliance, and business partnership results.

• Oversee vendor budgets, forecasts, purchase orders, invoices, accruals, and financial tracking processes across research initiatives and vendor engagements.

• Develop, maintain, and improve budget trackers, dashboards, reporting tools, and operational metrics utilizing Smartsheet and other platforms to provide insights into budget performance, spending trends, and financial status.

• Track budget utilization, forecast accuracy, and financial performance, proactively identifying variances, risks, and improvement opportunities while proposing suitable mitigation strategies.

• Collaborate with leadership to facilitate annual planning, forecasting, budget reviews, and financial reporting activities.

• Work with Finance and Procurement to guarantee precise budget allocation, timely invoice processing, payment reconciliation, and adherence to financial controls.

⛳️ Requirements

• At least 3 years of relevant experience in operations, vendor management, procurement operations, research operations, compliance, project management, financial operations, or a similar operational role.

• Proven experience in supporting vendor onboarding, contract administration, supplier management, compliance reviews, governance activities, and audit readiness processes.

• Experience in budget management, including financial tracking, forecasting, invoice reconciliation, spend management, and operational reporting.

• Demonstrated capability in coordinating complex cross-functional processes that involve internal stakeholders, external vendors, and various business functions.

• Experience in developing, documenting, and optimizing operational workflows, governance processes, SOPs, and business procedures.

• Proficiency in creating and maintaining dashboards, reporting frameworks, trackers, operational metrics, and KPI monitoring tools.

• Familiarity with Smartsheet, Monday.com, or similar workflow and operational management platforms to support vendor management, budget tracking, compliance oversight, reporting, and process execution.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and project management skills, with a keen attention to detail and follow-through.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively coordinate and influence stakeholders at all organizational levels.

• Capacity to quickly learn and adapt to new systems, tools, and technologies.

• Ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Proficient in managing multiple priorities, working independently, and navigating ambiguity in a fast-paced, changing operational environment.

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.

🏝️ Benefits

• N/A