What are the responsibilities and job description for the Clinical Research Associate position at Highlands Oncology Group?
Highlands Oncology began in 1996 with three physicians and a desire to change the face of oncology care in our community. Dr. Malcolm Hayward, Dr. Dan Bradford, and Dr. Thad Beck knew that patients do better at home, in the community where they live and work, and where their support system is already in place. In furthering that goal, Highlands has grown with the region from a single location 26 years ago, to 6 locations in Northwest and Northcentral Arkansas today employing more than 850 diverse team members.
As Northwest Arkansas continues to grow, so must the services and providers available in the region. Highlands Oncology is committed to remaining on the cutting edge to ensure our community has access to the very best cancer care. What we have is something quite unique right here in our own backyard with a caring multidisciplinary team focused on treating patients like family.
The Clinical Research Associate (CRA) supports the efficient conduct and quality oversight of clinical research activities by improving departmental processes, data quality, and compliance with regulatory and internal standards. This role reviews all trials, monitors subject recruitment and study performance, addresses audit findings and deviations, and supports inspection readiness. The CRA collaborates with cross-functional teams to identify process improvements, develop SOPs, enhance training programs, and implement informatics solutions to improve workflows and data integrity. Responsibilities also include staff training, document review, remote operational support, and effective communication with investigators and site staff to ensure study integrity and timely execution.
Contractor to perform contracted work during Highlands Oncology Group business hours of Monday through Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM CT; not to exceed more than 40 hours per week.
Job Duties / Responsibilities:
- Improve research department & management efficiency
- Review investigator initiated and student trials
- Act on and reduce audit findings and deviations
- Improve data quality & identify data-related payment delays
- Improve internal quality metrics
- Identify internal process improvement
- Write and revise standard operating procedures and working practices
- Review clinical staff documents and procedures
- Attend inter-department meetings to identify synergy
- Work with informatics to develop forms and automation, provide support for regimen review
- Train new and current staff on processes
- Assist management with improvement of training process
- Provide remote support for research staff as needed
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams (project management, data management, regulatory affairs)
- Monitor subject recruitment, enrollment, and retention to ensure adherence to study timelines and goals
- Collect, review, and verify clinical trial data for accuracy, completeness, and regulatory compliance
- Maintain and update study documentation in accordance with policies and regulations
- Identify and resolve study-related issues and deviations, escalating when necessary for study integrity and participant safety
- Communicate effectively with investigators, site staff, and sponsors to provide support, guidance, and training as needed
- Assist in the preparation and conduct of regulatory inspections, audits, and study meetings
- Stay current with industry trends, regulations, and best practices to contribute to continuous improvement within the organization