Human Subjects Educator and Communications Consultant

• Job Code: SHR-HC-04T
• Location: Ripple Effect Headquarters – Rockville, MD  
• Employee Type: Exempt, Part-Time Regular
• Telework: Full-time (this role is fully remote with a preference for local, or within local driving distance to HHS badging location)
• Clearance: Public Trust
• Salary Range: $47.34 - $54.44 per hour (how we pay and promote)  

Are you passionate about advancing ethical, compliant, and impactful human subjects research through education and outreach?

Ripple Effect is seeking a Human Subjects Educator and Communications Consultant to support the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this role, you will serve as a key contributor to OHRP's education and outreach mission by developing and delivering training, guidance, and communications that promote understanding of human subjects protections and compliance with the Common Rule and related federal regulations. You will apply your expertise in research ethics, IRB operations, regulatory compliance, and instructional design to create high-quality educational products, including training curricula, presentations, videos, webinars, job aids, and other external-facing resources for the research community.

As a trusted team member, you will collaborate with federal staff, researchers, institutional officials, IRB professionals, and other stakeholders to identify emerging educational needs, develop innovative learning solutions, and support initiatives that strengthen protections for research participants. The ideal candidate combines strong knowledge of human subjects research regulations with exceptional project management, communication, and content development skills.

If this opportunity sounds exciting, there's a place for you at Ripple Effect! We offer a collaborative and mission-driven environment where your expertise can make a meaningful impact on research integrity and public trust, along with flexible work options, professional growth opportunities, and a culture that values innovation, learning, and excellence.

Responsibilities 

• Technical Execution: Serves as an expert resource for training strategy and implementation. Collaborates with agency leadership, federal partners, research institutions, investigators, and other stakeholders to develop high-quality educational products and deliver training programs that advance regulatory understanding and compliance across the research community, Identify training needs through analysis of stakeholder inquiries, compliance findings, emerging issues, and feedback from the research community. Design and facilitate webinars, workshops, conferences, forums, and virtual learning events for internal and external audiences. Collaborates with cross-functional teams to ensure compliance with training-related regulatory requirements and proactively addresses potential issues. 

• Communication: Interprets and communicates regulatory requirements and agency guidance to diverse stakeholders, Facilitates cross-functional meetings, authors strategic communications including training proposals and executive summaries, and ensures alignment of messaging across teams and stakeholders. Monitor regulatory developments, emerging research trends, and evolving best practices affecting the human research protections landscape.

• Project Management: Tracks and reports on training project progress, ensures timely delivery of task order work, and supports internal and client-facing schedule updates. Manage multiple concurrent education and outreach projects from planning through implementation and evaluation.

• Quality Management: Identifies non-conforming training services, determines their significance, and recommends and implements corrective actions while promoting awareness of continuous improvement. 

• Documentation: Oversees documentation strategies for training programs, ensuring that training and education materials are well-organized, compliant and tailored to stakeholder needs. Develops and maintains a variety of external-facing educational and communication products. Prepare reports and presentations summarizing findings, trends, accomplishments, and recommendations for leadership.

• Problem Solving & Continuous Improvement: Coordinates cross-functional training activities. Recommends improvements to educational programs, materials, and delivery methods,
• Supervision: Works under manager's long-range direction and proceeds independently, providing mentoring to more junior employees. 

• Performs other job-related duties as assigned. 

Minimum Education and Experience 

• Bachelor’s Degree in health / science

• 10+ years relevant professional experience 

Basic Requirements  

• Demonstrated experience in human subjects research protections, stakeholder engagement, training and educational outreach such as:
• Supporting education and training activities related to human subjects research
• Developing or delivering professional training, education, or outreach materials related to human subjects research, research compliance, research administration, or regulatory affairs.
• Comprehensive knowledge of human subjects research protections and research ethics, including 45 CFR Part 46 (Common Rule) and related HHS regulations and guidance.
• Strong understanding of IRB operations, review processes, compliance programs, and institutional responsibilities.
• Knowledge of informed consent requirements, risk-benefit assessment, and protections for vulnerable populations.
• Knowledge of adult learning principles, instructional design methodologies, and educational technology.
• Strong project planning, organization, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to translate complex regulatory information into user-friendly educational materials.  
• Exceptional attention to detail, demonstrated ability to execute instructions, and commitment to quality and compliance

• Intermediate experience with Microsoft Office productivity software and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams and SharePoint.

Skills That Set You Apart 

• Advanced degree (Masters or higher) Preferred.
• Experience supporting federal agencies, particularly HHS, NIH, FDA, or OHRP.
• Certification in project management, instructional design, research administration, or regulatory affairs.
• Experience developing multimedia learning products, including video-based training and e-learning modules.
• Intermediate experience with AI tools, including their limitations and risks, and how they can be applied to support project management tasks.    

About Ripple Effect 

Ripple Effect is a woman-owned, 200-person company of communicators, scientists, researchers, and analysts. Established in 2003, and named as one of the “Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” in 2024 and 2025 by the NABR, Ripple Effect has earned acclaim for delivering unparalleled consulting services and top-tier talent across federal, private, and non-profit sectors. 

At Ripple Effect, we reward our employees for their contributions to our mission. Our comprehensive total rewards package includes competitive pay, exceptional benefits, and a range of programs that support your work/life balance and personalized preferences.  

Learn more about our benefits and culture here.