Wisconsin Brain Donor Program Manager

Job Summary: The Wisconsin Brain Donor Program (WBDP) Manager is an academic staff leadership position in the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) at UW Madison.
The ADRC is a highly successful National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research center focused on improving early detection of Alzheimer's Disease, identifying risk and protective factors, and understanding the disease process in underrepresented populations.
This position will report to the ADRC Executive Administrator and will principally work with faculty Neuropathology core leadership and ADRC leadership and will interact with a wide variety of additional stakeholders within the ADRC and will supervise one staff position.
The brain donation program is part of the Neuropathology core, an important resource for Alzheimer's and related diseases research.
This core collects and distributes high-quality tissues and biological samples for research.
This position will have a unique opportunity to engage in autopsies, complete pathology research activities, and provide administrative support to oversee the brain donation program effectively and efficiently.
The WBDP manager will participate in postmortem biospecimen collection during autopsies and will oversee the cataloging, storage, and distribution of postmortem samples to support approved research.
They will oversee and complete related research activities including supporting the consenting process for brain donation completed by clinical research staff, managing research protocols, supporting the IRB approval processes with regulatory staff, and ensuring HIPAA and PHI and human subjects research compliance.
They will also oversee equipment and supplies, including freezer management.
In addition, this position will support the administrative functions of the Neuropathology core including budgeting, developing compliant and efficient standard operating procedures, facilitating a training program for new and on-going staff, leading/participating in leadership and core meetings, developing data reports, and supervising at least one core staff position.
Freezer alarms and autopsies can occur 24/7/365 and brain donation staff will need to be available to receive urgent pages regarding freezer alarms and brain donations and to complete autopsies during business hours, nights, weekends, and holidays.
The WBDP manager is expected to complete pager, freezer alarm/response, and autopsy duties during working hours, nights, weekends, and holidays and oversee coverage schedules for WBDP staff.
Responsibilities: Provides technical expertise, budget oversight, and/or staff supervision for a client-based research program to advance research.
30% Assists with the design, monitoring, and execution of project-specific experiments.
Identifies and resolves technical issues 10% May direct the day-to-day activities of staff and resolve routine personnel issues 5% Develops and facilitates research specific presentations to internal and external audiences 20% Serves as a subject matter expert and unit liaison.
Provides updates on project components and timelines to stakeholders as needed 15% Develops operating policies and procedures to comply with regulations, institutional policies, and unit objectives 5% Assists with the development and auditing of project-specific budgets 5% Ensures compliance for the brain donor program through maintaining research protocols, IRB approval, and complying with HIPAA and other applicable regulatory requirements 5% Obtains consent for brain donation from participants per all applicable regulatory requirements and ADRC expectations for interactions with participants 5% Covers the WBDP pager, freezer alarms, and autopsy duties working hours, nights, weekends, and holidays up to 24/7/365 Institutional Statement on Diversity: Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison.
We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community.
We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
Education: Preferred Bachelor's Degree or higher in life sciences (such as biology, zoology, pathology, forensics, etc.
) Qualifications: Required: - At least two years of research-related and/or organ or tissue donation professional experience - Ability to communicate with patients and families with empathy and compassion - Ability to work with deceased human bodies at autopsy and around blood and fresh, frozen, and fixed human tissue specimens - Ability to read, understand, and accomplish complex scientific protocols - Ability to work during business hours, nights, weekends, and holidays Preferred qualifications: - Experience handling human tissues in a wet-tissue laboratory or healthcare setting - Knowledge of brain anatomy, autopsy processes, and/or human formalin-fixed and frozen sample collection for research - Experience leading people or teams administratively An ideal candidate will: - Have experience or an interest in research involving older adults with cognitive impairments - Have experience or an interest in autopsies - Complete projects in a timely manner, meet strict deadlines - Be detail oriented, organized, accurate, and thorough - Enjoy learning new things and taking on new challenges - Be able to balance administrative technical duties, and interpersonal relations with key stakeholders - Be flexible, collaborative, and an effective problem solver Work Type: Full Time: 100% It is anticipated this position requires work be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location.
Appointment Type, Duration: Ongoing/Renewable Salary: Minimum $73,000 ANNUAL (12 months) Depending on Qualifications The expected salary range for this position is $73,000 up to $95,000 for highly experienced candidates.
Actual pay will depend on experience and qualifications.
Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits.
Benefits information can be found at (https://hr.
wisc.
edu/benefits/).
Additional Information: The selected applicant will be responsible for ensuring their continuous eligibility for employment in the United States on or before the effective date of the appointment.
University sponsorship is not available for this position.
UW-Madison is not an E-Verify employer, and therefore, is not eligible to employ F1-OPT STEM Extension participants.
This position has been identified as a position of trust with access to vulnerable populations.
The selected candidate will be required to pass an initial caregiver check to be eligible for employment under the Wisconsin Caregiver Law and every four years.
How to Apply: To apply for this position, please click on the "Apply Now" button.
You will be asked to upload a current resume/CV and a cover letter.
In your cover letter, please demonstrate how you meet the required and preferred qualifications.
You will also be asked to provide contact information for three (3) references, including your current/most recent supervisor during the application process.
References will not be contacted without prior notice.
Contact: Nicole Smialek nsmialek@medicine.
wisc.
edu 608-265-3745 Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1.
See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.
Official Title: Research Services Manager(RE013) Department(s): A53-MEDICAL SCHOOL/MEDICINE/GER-AD DEV Employment Class: Academic Staff-Renewable Job Number: 294799-AS The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies.
We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.
Employment will require a criminal background check.
It will also require you and your references to answer questions regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment.
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released.
See Wis.
Stat.
sec.
19.
36(7).
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years.
UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.