Research Integrity Analyst

Advertising Summary: 

Department Summary: At the VCU Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, our mission is to foster transformative research, discovery, and innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University through excellence in service.

We partner with faculty in all schools and departments as they seek funding, plan studies, establish collaborations, calculate budgets, submit grant applications, negotiate industry contracts, and secure patents and licensing agreements.

Our commitment to supporting and elevating the research community at VCU has resulted in record levels of sponsored research and has placed VCU among the nation’s premier public research universities.

Through our passion for discovery and willingness to take on challenges, we continue to advance the work that matters most and position the university as a national leader in research, innovation, creativity, and scholarship.

Duties & Responsibilities:

The Office of Research Integrity and Ethics (ORIE), in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, is responsible for administering and managing research conflict of interest activities and other areas related to research integrity. This position primarily contributes to the daily function of research conflict of interest (COI) assessment, review, monitoring, and reporting, and additional project management of the office

COI assessment and review related to current research proposals and protocols 

• Complete COI reviews or refer complex reviews for additional review, fully documenting analysis in review notes
• Interact with other offices/individuals with questions and record responses in review notes
• Contact investigators/research team when FIR completion/updates are required and monitor their status
• Communicate with OVPRI entities and research teams about status of COI review requests
• Initiate draft management plans
• Finalize and issue management plans

Participate in regular COI in Research team meetings

Monitor Financial Interest Report updates by investigators at regular intervals;  follow up on management plan adherence

• Monitor updates in the Activity and Interest Reporting System (AIRS)
• Assess updates in the context of existing research projects
• Monitor for changes needed in prior dispositions in the AIRS.
• Monitor conflicted investigators about management plan adherence; send out, assess, and refer (as needed) COI follow up reports

Maintain up-to-date databases and reporting metrics

1. • Maintain currency of COI, CI, and ICOI dispositions and relevant comments related to status of conflict; maintain currency of subrecipient documents.
   • Initiate and document management follow-up.
   • Keep track of research study performance dates and inactivate management plans when necessary; consolidate management plans as needed.
   • Develop and produce a variety of metrics reports annually and on request
   • Participate in QA and QI initiatives for the COI Program

Support COI Committee meetings

• • Communicate with COI Committee voting and ex officio members and occasional guests; determine quorum for meetings
  • Assist in agenda assembly; provide metrics for the agenda
  • Maintain COI Committee membership list, renewals, appreciation letters
  • Set up for meetings; facilitate in-person or virtual meetings
  • Transcribe minutes from meetings
  • Support ad hoc COIC meetings as needed

Assist with analysis of Institutional COI data

• • Review data from a variety of university entities for institutional conflicts with research
  • Maintain records/databases of review results
  • Support ICOI reports and/or committee meetings

Assist with other research integrity activities, upon request

• • Provide support, upon request, for ORIE activities that include research misconduct proceedings and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).  Such activities may include but are not limited to: organizing documents for collection and transmission, setting up meetings, transcribing meeting minutes, locating and organizing RCR resources, assisting with and/or delivering educational presentations, etc.
  • Assist in maintaining and developing ORIE COI webpages and other ORIE resources
  • Research and analyze topics in research integrity by request
  • Additional project management support as needed

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications

Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Only applicants who do not require current or future sponsorship for employment will be considered

• Bachelor’s degree required.  Familiarity with academic research environment.  Demonstrated ability to maintain strict confidentiality
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral; excellent interpersonal skills including demonstrated ability to work with team members
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and willingness to accept supervision; ability to prioritize, organize, and produce accurate work in a dynamic environment
• Demonstrated organizational skills for developing and maintaining databases, data entry, and reporting on the data

Preferred Qualifications:

Prefer education or work experience in STEM or health care-related field.  Experience in a college or university setting. 

Salary Range: up to $60,000

Benefits: All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU’s robust benefits package that includes comprehensive health benefits, paid annual and holiday leave, generous tuition benefits, retirement planning and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities for career development and advancement, and more.

Unit: Office of the Vice President for Research & Innovation 

Department: Research Ethics

FLSA Exemption Status: Exempt

Hours per Week: 40

Restricted Position: Yes

ORP Eligible: No

Flexible Work Arrangement: Fully Remote

University Job Title: 25221N - Analyst LG 1  -  Open