Research Specialist

Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) is seeking experienced, motivated, and dedicated leaders and educators to participate in the design and delivery of an innovative four-year medical school curriculum that engages medical students in active and novel learning.

Job Title:

Research Specialist

Reports to:

Associate Dean of Clinical Research

FLSA Classification:
Exempt

Location:

Bentonville, Arkansas (On-site)

Date Reviewed: 10/10/2026

Founded in 2021, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) is a nonprofit, four-year MD program that will enhance traditional medical education with the arts, humanities, and whole health principles. The school’s culture embraces self-care to empower students to care for their own well-being as well as their patients’. The school’s state-of-the-art medical education facility is located in Bentonville, Arkansas on the Crystal Bridges campus, home to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Heartland Whole Health Institute.

The school has been granted preliminary accreditation status by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

The Research Specialist supports the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine's commitment to ethical, high-quality research by providing research administration, regulatory support, investigator services, and program operations. This position serves as an important point of contact for faculty, students, research staff, institutional committees, external collaborators, sponsors, and federal agencies, helping ensure that research activities are organized, responsive, ethical, and aligned with institutional standards.

This role supports the development and operation of AWSOM's Human Research Protection Program (HRPP), research administration infrastructure, federal and sponsor reporting processes, and investigator-facing tools and workflows. The Research Specialist contributes to a service-oriented research environment by supporting research submissions and committee processes, evaluating regulatory requirements, monitoring research requirements, maintaining accurate documentation, implementing review and oversight activities, and helping investigators navigate regulatory and administrative expectations throughout the research lifecycle.

Success in this role requires strong knowledge of research administration and regulatory requirements, exceptional attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to interpret and apply complex regulatory requirements. The role requires a collaborative, service-oriented approach, the ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment, and a commitment to supporting ethical and effective research operations.

• Coordinate and manage day-to-day Office of Research operations, exercising independent judgment in prioritizing activities, resolving operational issues, monitoring regulatory obligations, and maintaining research administration processes that support program effectiveness.
• Serve as a subject matter resource to faculty investigators, students, research staff, institutional committees, sponsors, and external IRBs by interpreting complex regulatory requirements, advising on research processes, and recommending appropriate courses of action to ensure adherence to institutional, sponsor, and federal requirements.
• Administer and continuously improve HRPP operations, including oversight of intake processes, workflow design, submission and deadline tracking, reporting, metrics analysis, and development of operational tools, guidance documents, and standard operating procedures to support effective research operations.
• Evaluate regulatory requirements and research risks associated with human…