How to hire a research coordinator

How to hire a research coordinator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step research coordinator hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a research coordinator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new research coordinator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a research coordinator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The research coordinator hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a research coordinator to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a research coordinator that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of research coordinators and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Research Coordinator	Description	Hourly rate
   Research Coordinator	Natural sciences managers supervise the work of scientists, including chemists, physicists, and biologists. They direct activities related to research and development, and coordinate activities such as testing, quality control, and production.	$16-32
   Clinical Trial Manager	A clinical trial manager is primarily responsible for organizing and supervising clinical trials, ensuring to meet all goals while maintaining smooth operations. They are also responsible for collaborating with managers to set targets, hiring staff and participants for studies, and arranging the event... Show more	$29-68
   Clinical Project Manager	A clinical project manager specializes in developing and organizing clinical trials. Their responsibilities revolve around planning and coordinating with all necessary personnel and experts, scheduling meetings, and preparing necessary documentation, ensuring compliance with all laws and regulations... Show more	$35-65

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Informed Consent
   • Data Collection
   • IRB
   • Research Projects
   • Patient Care
   • Data Entry
   • Human Subjects
   • Clinical Trials
   • Research Data
   • Data Management
   • FDA
   • GCP
   • Public Health

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage participant's records ensuring confidentiality as well as NIH specifications.
   • Manage all IRB submissions, sponsor communications, participate in monitoring visits, drug reconciliation and dispensing.
   • Recruit, screen, conduct psychometric examinations and collect data for pharmaceutical clinical trials in patients diagnose with Alzheimer's disease.
   • Maintain confidential information and appropriate ethical professionalism with highly sensitive personal health information; take part in IRB human subjects training.
   • Assist in preparation of grants, NIH progress reports, presentations, and manuscripts.
   • Ensure and maintain confidentiality, privacy and compliance of patient rights in accordance with HIPAA regulations and NVCI policies.

   More research coordinator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your research coordinator job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A research coordinator salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a research coordinator in Louisiana may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level research coordinator usually earns less than a senior-level research coordinator. Additionally, a research coordinator with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average research coordinator salary

   $48,974yearly

   $23.55 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level research coordinator salary

   $35,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average research coordinator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$61,872	$30
   2	Massachusetts	$57,211	$28
   3	Nevada	$56,846	$27
   4	Oregon	$56,198	$27
   5	New York	$55,818	$27
   6	Michigan	$55,253	$27
   7	New Mexico	$55,204	$27
   8	Minnesota	$52,971	$25
   9	Georgia	$52,945	$25
   10	Maryland	$52,082	$25
   11	California	$52,073	$25
   12	District of Columbia	$51,141	$25
   13	Ohio	$49,642	$24
   14	Colorado	$49,247	$24
   15	Illinois	$47,937	$23
   16	Nebraska	$47,432	$23
   17	Florida	$45,943	$22
   18	Pennsylvania	$45,493	$22
   19	North Carolina	$45,445	$22
   20	Texas	$45,312	$22

   Average research coordinator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	BNP Paribas	$66,621	$32.03	3
   2	Cranial Technologies	$63,606	$30.58
   3	Sun River Health	$61,811	$29.72
   4	Bernstein Chackman & Liss	$61,803	$29.71
   5	Capital One	$61,719	$29.67	32
   6	Cottage Health	$60,951	$29.30	2
   7	Methodist Health System	$60,756	$29.21	8
   8	University of Illinois Springfield	$59,806	$28.75	8
   9	CARFAX	$59,586	$28.65
   10	Apple	$59,428	$28.57	76
   11	Feminist Majority Foundation	$59,125	$28.43
   12	Northwestern Medicine	$58,645	$28.19	19
   13	Florida State University	$58,520	$28.13	18
   14	NCH Healthcare System	$57,732	$27.76	2
   15	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	$57,712	$27.75	4
   16	North Shore High School	$57,689	$27.74
   17	QuintilesIMS	$57,423	$27.61	161
   18	Legacy Health	$57,154	$27.48	4
   19	LA State University Continuing	$57,151	$27.48	172
   20	St. Elizabeth School	$57,000	$27.40

4. Writing a research coordinator job description

   A job description for a research coordinator role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a research coordinator job description:

   Research coordinator job description example

   Atlantic Health System is seeking a Coordinator, Prospect Research at Morristown, NJ. The Research Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating prospecting efforts, providing research and facilitating the moves management process. The Coordinator will help identify major gift and corporate prospects and conduct detailed research on current and future donors. Responsibilities will include making assignments, reviewing portfolios and assessing and supporting moves management. The Coordinator will play an integral role in maintaining the grateful patient program and clinician engagement tracking system. The Research Coordinator will also provide database support as needed.
   Responsibilities • Responsible for the creation and preparation of research products including comprehensive profiles.
   • Identify, research and rate prospects and/or donors that come through the grateful patient program and/or clinician engagement program.
   • Be an integral part of the prospect tracking and pipeline management processes.
   • Update and manage prospect and donor records in the database.
   • Compile event research for key staff.
   • Regularly prepare queries and reports using Raiser's Edge.
   • Assist with compiling board and committee reports.
   • Help maintain updated prospect management policies and procedures.
   • Conduct staff training sessions for new processes.
   • Assist with maintaining and managing the research budget and vendor relationships.
   • Miscellaneous duties as required. Qualifications Qualifications/Requirements: Excellent communication and verbal skills, with a special emphasis on written skills Candidate should be resourceful and have the ability to troubleshoot Minimum Education: High School Diploma or equivalent required Associates degree preferred or equivalent experience Education: Bachelor's degree preferred Relevant Experience: Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Raiser's Edge 2+ years of prospect development experience strongly preferred Familiarity with development research tools such as Wealth Engine, LexisNexis, Foundation Center Directory and/or similar tools About Us Atlantic Health System aims to deliver the highest quality, safety and care combined with the best experience for our patients and their families. We are confident that you will find success within Atlantic Health System, which has been named for the 14th year in a row to Fortune's “Top 100 Best U.S. Companies to Work For” list. We believe you will find that our culture of collaboration and care exemplifies the value we place on our patients, their families, and our employees. EEO Statement Atlantic Health System, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor and therefore abides by applicable laws to protect applicants and employees from discrimination in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral, and other aspects of employment, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, citizenship status, disability, age, genetics, or veteran status. Not Ready to apply? Stay connected with us to learn more about upcoming career opportunities and onsite Recruitment events. Connect with us

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right research coordinator for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your research coordinator job on Zippia to find and recruit research coordinator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting research coordinators requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new research coordinator

   Once you've found the research coordinator candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a research coordinator?