Research Operations Manager (Contract)

Role Type: 3–6 Month Contract
Location: Remote - US East Coast

About OGC

OGC is a boutique research and consulting agency specializing in data-driven strategy, market research, and Customer Experience (CX). We partner with leading global brands to enhance customer understanding and improve business processes.

What You'll Support:

This role is pivotal across four key areas:

• Vendor & Contract Operations: Managing the full lifecycle of vendor onboarding, contracts, compliance, and performance.
• Budget & Financial Operations: Overseeing budget tracking, forecasting, invoice reconciliation, and financial process optimization.
• Governance, Compliance & Risk Management: Maintaining audit-ready documentation and ensuring adherence to policies and regulations.
• Systems, Process Optimization & Documentation: Improving operational systems, workflows, automation, and documentation.

Key Responsibilities:

Vendor Management & Compliance:

• Lead the end-to-end lifecycle of research vendors, including onboarding, contracting, and relationship management.
• Act as the liaison between internal stakeholders (Legal, Privacy, Procurement, Cybersecurity, Finance) and external vendors.
• Coordinate vendor agreements (SOWs, MSAs, NDAs) and related contractual processes.
• Maintain centralized vendor management documentation, tracking, and governance frameworks.
• Monitor vendor performance, identifying and escalating risks.
• Develop and improve vendor management processes, standards, and governance practices.
• Resolve operational issues and mitigate risks in partnership with vendors.

Budget & Financial Operations:

• Manage vendor budgets, forecasts, purchase orders, invoices, and financial tracking.
• Develop and maintain budget trackers, dashboards, and reporting tools (e.g., Smartsheet).
• Monitor budget utilization and forecast accuracy, identifying variances and recommending mitigation strategies.
• Support annual planning, forecasting, and financial reporting activities.
• Collaborate with Finance and Procurement for accurate budget allocation and invoice processing.
• Reconcile invoices against contracts, POs, and budgets.
• Establish and improve documentation, operating procedures, and governance for financial management.
• Drive improvements in financial transparency and efficiency through process standardization and automation.

Governance, Compliance & Risk Management:

• Ensure vendors and research activities meet corporate security, privacy, legal, and compliance requirements.
• Create and maintain governance documentation, policies, and audit-ready records.
• Support vendor compliance reviews and ongoing monitoring.
• Identify compliance risks in departmental workflows and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Assist in developing compliance training materials and process guidance.
• Support audit preparation and evidence collection.

Systems, Process Optimization & Documentation:

• Administer operational systems and platforms (e.g., Smartsheet) for vendor management, budget governance, and compliance.
• Design, document, and optimize workflows to improve efficiency, transparency, and scalability.
• Identify and implement automation opportunities for manual processes.
• Develop and maintain documentation, SOPs, and training materials.
• Enhance dashboards, reporting frameworks, and operational metrics.
• Research and recommend technology and process improvements.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce complexity and increase process maturity.

Requirements

Required Qualifications:

• 3+ years of relevant experience in operations, vendor management, procurement, research operations, compliance, project management, or financial operations.
• Experience with vendor onboarding, contract administration, supplier management, compliance reviews, and governance activities.
• Experience supporting budget management, financial tracking, forecasting, invoice reconciliation, and reporting.
• Proven success coordinating complex cross-functional processes.
• Experience developing, documenting, and optimizing operational workflows and procedures.
• Experience creating dashboards, reporting frameworks, and KPI monitoring tools.
• Proficiency with Smartsheet, Monday.com, or similar platforms.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and project management skills with high attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to quickly learn new systems and tools.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supporting Market Research, Consumer Insights, or Research Operations.
• Experience partnering with Legal, Privacy, Procurement, Compliance, Cybersecurity, and Finance teams.
• Advanced experience with Smartsheet (automation, dashboards, administration).
• Experience leading operational transformation or process improvement initiatives.
• Familiarity with vendor governance frameworks, compliance programs, and risk management.
• Experience developing executive-level reporting.
• Knowledge of vendor performance management practices (KPIs, SLAs).
• Experience within a continuous improvement model.