Clinical Research Budget Associate

Overview

The Clinical Research Budget Associate provides specialized financial and budgeting support for industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated clinical trials. The role focuses on developing, analyzing, and negotiating clinical trial budgets, supporting strategic and long-range planning for the clinical trials program, and ensuring accurate and efficient financial management.

Responsibilities

• Prepare detailed budgets for industry-sponsored clinical trials in collaboration with research planning and development leadership.
• Manage and create budgets for all alliance clinical trials entering the department’s clinical trials portfolio.
• Complete advance setup requests to establish funding accounts for clinical trials and ensure accurate account configuration.
• Review clinical trial protocols, amendments, and ancillary documents to identify discrepancies or unclear information; partner with principal investigator teams and sponsors to resolve issues.
• Collaborate with regulatory, budget, principal investigator teams, and clinical research finance to review preliminary and final coverage analyses, accurately report discrepancies, and incorporate recommended changes.
• Support strategic and long-range planning for the department’s clinical trials program, including participation in weekly clinical research review meetings and ad hoc protocol review meetings.
• Work with department clinical faculty to support clinical trial goals and ensure alignment with financial and operational objectives.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews of budgets created by pre-award staff to confirm that all relevant budgetary items are captured accurately.
• Train new employees on pre-award budgeting duties and provide ongoing training to existing staff on changes to budget processes implemented by clinical research finance and the institution.
• Maintain training manuals and documentation for the budget team to ensure consistent processes and standards.
• Maintain and update assignment lists and monitor progress to help manage team workload and efficiency.
• Collaborate with the protocol processing team to streamline protocol schemas to maximize efficiency of charges and financial workflows.
• Participate in negotiations with industry sponsors and contract research organizations to process new and amended clinical trial budgets.
• Analyze sponsor budget proposals to determine whether proposed funding adequately covers trial costs based on complexity, visit schedules, and reporting requirements.

Requirements

• Experience utilizing OnCore or similar clinical trial management systems for budgeting and tracking.
• Background in oncology or clinical research environments, particularly with industry-sponsored trials.
• Familiarity with coverage analysis processes and collaboration with regulatory, budget, and clinical research finance teams.
• Experience participating in sponsor and CRO negotiations for new and amended clinical trial budgets.

Compensation & Benefits

• Pay range: $35.00 - $45.00/hr.
• Individual compensation offered within this range will depend on qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.
• Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on job classification and length of employment. Benefits may include:
  • Medical, dental & vision
  • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan (pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available)
  • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
  • Short and long-term disability
  • Health Spending Account (HSA)
  • Transportation benefits
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Location

• 100% Remote — MUST be located in Texas.
• Contract to Hire position based out of Houston, TX.

Additional Information

• Application deadline: anticipated to close on Nov 10, 2026.
• Equal opportunity employer.
• Reasonable accommodations are available for the application process and interviewing process where needed.
• San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (where applicable).
• Massachusetts Lie Detector (where applicable).
• Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be involved in parts of the hiring process; final decisions are made by the hiring team.