What does a senior research coordinator do?
Senior Research Coordinators assist the development of research data from laboratory investigations and clinical trials. The coordinators gather, handle, and analyze preliminary data through the SPSS statistical software. They coordinate training conferences to track IRB status, maintain study supplies, and for site recruitment. Part of their job is to lead cross-divisional initiatives to strengthen delivery system products. They take part in international conferences and investigator meetings. The skills and knowledge necessary for this job include research procedures and projects, study protocol, and data collection.
Senior research coordinator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior research coordinator resumes:
- Perform insightful data analyses and adequately manage IRB protocol.
- Collect, manage and analyze preliminary data using SPSS statistical software.
- Coordinate patient screening and intake as well as educated patients about inform consent and drug accountability.
- Create and present PowerPoint slides for training webinars, meetings, and conferences.
- Oversee research program and ensure all elements of the program are in compliance with FDA regulations.
- Create a process for FDA hold import shipments, in order so items will not be used.
- Review and interpret IRB approve research protocols and consents for assign studies in order to support enhance patient care service.
- Administer testing materials to patients and neurologically intact subjects to obtain research results.
- Adhere to HIPAA guidelines regarding the sensitive and confidential nature of participant information.
- Maintain security and confidentiality under HIPPA, GCP, study and institutional human research regulations.
- Collaborate with principal investigators and internal and external customers for effective execution of clinical trials in an oncology clinic setting.
- Experience performing PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis.
Senior research coordinator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Senior Research Coordinators are proficient in Patients, Data Collection, and IRB. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Interpersonal skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Research Coordinators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 17%
Created and maintained Access database to track and monitor clinical research studies, patients enrolled and outcomes.
- Data Collection, 11%
Coordinated data collection, scheduled appointments, obtained consent, and completed research study procedures with precision and followed research protocol.
- IRB, 9%
Assisted the PI in obtaining and updating all site-specific study requirements, including IRB submissions, updates and revisions.
- Research Projects, 6%
Coordinated 5-7 research projects to ensure compliance with all regulatory, institutional, and departmental requirements.
- Data Analysis, 5%
Assist with the data analysis by using statistical packages.
- Informed Consent, 5%
Prepare informed consent forms for study participants.
"patients," "data collection," and "irb" are among the most common skills that senior research coordinators use at work. You can find even more senior research coordinator responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior research coordinator to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "natural sciences managers must be able to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences, such as scientists, policymakers, and the public." Senior research coordinators often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "point person for all irb communication. "
Interpersonal skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior research coordinator duties is interpersonal skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "natural sciences managers lead research teams and therefore need to work well with others in order to reach common goals." According to a senior research coordinator resume, here's how senior research coordinators can utilize interpersonal skills in their job responsibilities: "demonstrated excellent interpersonal skills ensuring smooth collaboration with cros, quintiles, rps & inventive health. "
Leadership skills. This is an important skill for senior research coordinators to perform their duties. For an example of how senior research coordinator responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "natural sciences managers must be able to organize, direct, and motivate others." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior research coordinator: "supervised and provided leadership to research assistants, graduate students, summer undergraduate research fellows, and volunteers. ".
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what senior research coordinators do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to senior research coordinator responsibilities because "natural sciences managers use scientific observation and analysis to find answers to complex technical questions." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical senior research coordinator tasks: "implemented daily electronic data capture query resolution. "
Time-management skills. Another common skill required for senior research coordinator responsibilities is "time-management skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior research coordinators all the time, as "natural sciences managers must be able to perform multiple administrative, supervisory, and technical tasks while ensuring that projects remain on schedule." An excerpt from a real senior research coordinator resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior research coordinator does: "maintain timeline for all basic science, translational and clinical research including tracking deadlines for program deliverables. "
The three companies that hire the most senior research coordinators are:
- Johns Hopkins University50 senior research coordinators jobs
- University of Pennsylvania12 senior research coordinators jobs
- Univ. Of Texas Cancer Ctr.10 senior research coordinators jobs
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Compare different senior research coordinators
Senior research coordinator vs. Study director
Technically, a study director carries out scientific responsibilities for protocol design or study plan and approval. Study directors supervise the gathering, analysis, interpretation, documentation, and reporting of data results. They handle the matriculation of students with regard to data management system development. Working with the computer systems team is part of their duties so they will be able to establish a data management system in tracking the study participants. They also support the toxicology team or group on different project teams.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior research coordinators and study director. For instance, senior research coordinator responsibilities require skills such as "patients," "clinical trials," "data management," and "data entry." Whereas a study director is skilled in "toxicology," "study design," "project management," and "data interpretation." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Study directors tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $87,246. In contrast, senior research coordinators make the biggest average salary, $80,037, in the finance industry.study directors tend to reach similar levels of education than senior research coordinators. In fact, study directors are 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior research coordinator vs. Clinical associate
A clinical associate is responsible for supporting the operations of a medical facility by performing administrative and clerical duties as needed to provide high-quality care services for the patients and assisting health care professionals in performing medical procedures. Clinical associates monitor the conditions of the patients, administer medication, collect laboratory samples, and conduct initial medical assessments such as checking temperature and vital signs. A clinical associate must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on addressing different patients' needs and reporting the patients' progress to the physicians.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior research coordinator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "research projects," "data analysis," "data management," and "research data." Meanwhile, a clinical associate has duties that require skills in areas such as "rehabilitation," "home health," "cpr," and "excellent interpersonal." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, clinical associates achieve lower levels of education than senior research coordinators. They're 8.1% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 5.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior research coordinator vs. 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. Moreover, a clinical project manager must devise strategies and train all staff, develop protocols and guidelines, coordinate with vendors and suppliers, evaluate staff and verify documentation, and assist in all activities to ensure that every process aligns with the project's agenda. Should there be any issues or concerns, a clinical project manager must conduct corrective measures right away.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior research coordinator is likely to be skilled in "research projects," "data entry," "research data," and "principal investigators," while a typical clinical project manager is skilled in "manage cross," "clinical research," "project management," and "oversight."
Clinical project managers make a very good living in the pharmaceutical industry with an average annual salary of $103,836. On the other hand, senior research coordinators are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $80,037.clinical project managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to senior research coordinators. Specifically, they're 1.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior research coordinator vs. Coordinator and research assistant
Types of senior research coordinator
Updated January 8, 2025
