Research and Academic Compliance Officer

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Harvard University's Central Administration (CADM) is a 5,000+ employee organization that supports the university's excellence by understanding and serving the needs of its schools, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and surrounding communities. CADM provides high-quality and efficient services to help schools achieve their goals through dynamic and collaborative partnerships.

Harvard’s Office of Research and Academic Compliance (ORAC) within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research promotes a culture of integrity in research and education. ORAC provides specialized administrative and operational expertise, including proactive risk assessment, consultation, and mitigation, to help Harvard schools, departments, and research communities comply with laws, regulations, and policies. ORAC leads risk and compliance activities for various schools and units and collaborates with the research and academic community and administrative units to ensure timely service delivery, risk management, and compliance with applicable requirements.

Reporting to the Senior Director of the Office of Research and Academic Compliance, the Research and Academic Compliance Officer (RACO) will manage compliance and risk management activities across the university. The Officer will provide direct support to constituents in risk areas, with emphasis on financial conflicts of interest and commitment, export control, international collaborations, and other foreign activities, while coordinating with other compliance domains.

The RACO partners with community members to ensure risks are understood, controls are designed and operating effectively, and activities align with laws, regulations, and policies. Under minimal supervision, the Officer conducts risk assessments, oversees issue identification and management, tracks risk metrics, sets priorities for resolutions, and escalates issues as needed. The role acts as the primary risk and compliance liaison between schools, units, and the Senior Director of ORAC and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), including change management and training.

The Officer promotes a strong risk and compliance culture and represents ORAC on school-wide and university-wide committees and teams.

Projects and priorities in the following areas involve complex organizational constructs; responsibilities evolve as needs arise.

• Act as the primary non-financial research compliance liaison from ORAC to a large portfolio of academic and research areas encompassing hundreds of faculty, students, and administrators
• Maintain knowledge of and provide input for sponsored research policies, procedures, and guidelines in functional areas including pre-award, post-award, financial, and research compliance
• Provide consistent consultative expertise and guidance to administrators, faculty, staff, students, visitors, and other constituencies around campus in issues related to research and academic compliance
• Guide decision-making of school and university faculty, administrators, and leaders in accepting or denying international collaborations, students, scholars, and visitors based on risk profiles
• Represent ORAC on university-wide committees, task forces, and working groups to inform leadership decision-making
• Provide consultation to faculty related to risk areas and potential impact on Harvard for academic, research, and professional work outside the university

• Create risk profiles for individuals and entities by performing background research, including data gathering, analyzing business connections, and assessing threats to university security and reputation
• Develop and manage workflows in export controls, international collaborations, and conflicts of interest, including writing rationales,…