Research Operations Specialist – Contracts, Vendors & Spend

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Oversee contracts from the initial project request to the signed agreement, including scoping, statements of work, necessary approvals, and kickoff.

• Act as a representative for researchers during the scoping and negotiation processes.

• Convert study requirements into precise commercial terms to minimize unnecessary exchanges.

• Collaborate with Finance and research leads on budget planning and forecasts.

• Monitor expenditures, prepare quarterly forecasts, and perform monthly budget reviews.

• Keep up-to-date visibility on active contracts, onboarding processes, and necessary approvals.

• Ensure researchers are informed about the status and forthcoming steps.

• Manage spending requests in Zip and Oracle, which includes purchase orders, change orders, invoices, and requisitions.

• Facilitate the onboarding and offboarding of vendors and tools, encompassing supplier questionnaires, NDAs, risk assessments, privacy reviews, legal routing, tool access, and integrations.

• Coordinate master service agreements, statements of work, NDAs, and renewals with the Legal and Procurement teams.

• Adjust to legal, procurement, and data requirements across international markets, including EMEA and China.

• Maintain the contract repository, retainer trackers, and the master supplier list.

• Monitor renewal timelines at 30, 60, and 90 days.

• Assist in transitioning to retainer-based vendor and agency models.

• Contribute to vendor evaluation and consolidation, which includes reviewing data usage, model training, and data processing terms for AI tools.

• Serve as the primary liaison with Legal, Privacy, Security, Procurement, Sourcing, Finance, and Accounts Payable.

• Anticipate and address review bottlenecks, establish timeline expectations, and escalate any stalled reviews.

• Maintain operational data within Airtable.

• Aid in knowledge management across the shared drive, research repository, and team tools.

⛳️ Requirements

• A minimum of 7 years of experience in procurement, contract administration, or vendor operations; ideally 10+ years.

• Strong judgment in contract reading, including the ability to identify gaps or risks and knowing when to engage Legal.

• Experience in contracting and procurement in global markets, considering various legal, privacy, and procurement requirements by region.

• Practical experience with procure-to-pay systems, preferably Zip and Oracle.

• Familiarity with similar platforms, such as Coupa, with a quick learning ability for new systems.

• A systems-oriented approach that encompasses the entire lifecycle from intake to contract to spend.

• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Proactive and clear communication with researchers, finance partners, and vendors.

• A legal or contract-focused background, such as paralegal or contract management experience (preferred).

• Experience working with or alongside research teams, especially in UX research, market research, or consumer insights (preferred).

• Practical experience with Airtable, including automations (preferred).

• Familiarity with Salesforce and DocuSign (preferred).

• Regular use of AI tools, ideally including the development of automations, agents, or AI-assisted workflows (preferred).

• Must have authorization to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.

🏝️ Benefits

• Medical benefits

• Dental benefits

• Vision benefits

• 401(k)