POSITION SUMMARY 

Reporting to the Project Manager and working closely with the Project Coordinator and the Senior Director of SFARI Cohorts and Biorepositories, the Project Assistant is responsible for supporting the functions of the SFARI Data and Biospecimen Repository (SDBR) team for all SFARI Cohorts and Biorepositories, which includes administrative, operational and organizational functions. These cohorts include SPARK, Simons Searchlight, Autism BrainNet, Simons Simplex Collection and the Autism Inpatient Consortium.

The SDBR team is responsible for overseeing activities related to investigator resource requests and general coordination of SFARI’s diverse resources, which include phenotypic and genomic data, biospecimens, EEG/fMRI imaging data, post-mortem brain tissue, animal models, etc. The SDBR team is responsible for the management of SFARI Base, a centralized repository for autism and autism-related research data and biospecimens, and an online portal where researchers request access to SFARI resources.

This is a full-time position located at the Simons Foundation’s offices in New York City. For more information, visit simonsfoundation.org/careers.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as the initial point of contact for inquiries which come into the Zendesk ticketing system and triage, escalating or following up as needed to resolve all inquiries in a timely manner, with supervision from the Project Coordinator, Project Manager or Senior Director as necessary.
• Review compliance documentation for research projects and associated resource requests and follow up on outstanding documentation, including signatures needed from institutional compliance officials. 
• Update internal tracking documentation, as needed.
• Support operations of the SDBR team, including the ticketing system (Zendesk), interface with the vendor that houses the biorepository, which includes a large collection of biospecimens, and communicate with various internal and external stakeholders.
• Assist with defining, creating, organizing and updating policy and procedure documents for SFARI resources.
• Serve as a liaison between the SDBR team, SFARI science team, Informatics team, contractors and external institutional officials/researchers to ensure timely progress for processing of requests and ensuring compliance-related tasks are completed. 
• Troubleshoot process or technical issues related to SFARI Base in collaboration with the Informatics team.
• Assist with administrative activities of the SFARI SDBR team, including creating agendas, producing summary reports and presentations, as well as tracking progress of related action items and requests to ensure timely fulfillment.
• Assist with the collation, parsing and organization of cohort and biospecimen data in spreadsheets and other databases.
• Escalate or follow up as needed to resolve all inquiries in a timely manner, with assistance from the SDBR Senior Director and Project Manager as needed
• Foster and build good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Perform any other duties or tasks as assigned or required.
• Contribute to other SFARI projects, as needed.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in a scientific field

Experience

• 1-2 years of experience supporting a scientific or non-profit organization
• Experience with ticketing systems; receiving, resolving and/or triaging issues that are received is strongly preferred.
• Experience working within different project management systems such as Monday.com and Teamwork is a plus.
• Experience with human participants research and/or Institutional Review Board procedures and ethics is preferred.

Related Skills & Other Requirements

• Sound judgment and discretion
• Excellent interpersonal skills with all levels of the organization and external communities
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality
• Comfort working independently, but also works well in a collaborative team environment.
• Takes initiative; proactively manages timelines and action items to ensure timely attainment of goals.
• Strong administrative and organizational skills with attention to detail and ability to balance workload under deadlines and multiple commitments
• Strong computer skills, particularly with email, Excel and word-processing programs. 

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS

• Please submit a résumé and cover letter stating your interest in the position.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• The full-time annual compensation range for this position is $55,000 – $63,000, depending on experience.
• In addition to competitive salaries, the Simons Foundation provides employees with outstanding benefits package.

The Simons Foundation’s Diversity Commitment

Many of the greatest ideas and discoveries come from a diverse mix of minds, backgrounds and experiences, and we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment. The Simons Foundation actively seeks a diverse applicant pool and encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, disability, veteran status, or any other protected category under federal, state and local law.