Payments and Research Revenue Specialist

Payments And Research Revenue Specialist

The Payments And Research Revenue Specialist is an integral part of the Office Of Clinical Research, responsible for overseeing the accurate processing and allocation of clinical research revenue, including remittances from grants and clinical trial payments in the Electronic Medical Record (Epic EMR). This role ensures clinical research funds are reconciled according to sponsor agreements and internal budgets, manages denied or exceptional payments, and investigates account discrepancies such as unapplied cash and unidentified deposits related to clinical research. The specialist generates reports, maintains thorough documentation for compliance and audits, responds to inquiries from clinical departments, investigators, and sponsors, and collaborates with cross-functional teams such as hospital revenue cycle, grants administration, and finance. The position supports continuous improvement initiatives, monitors and resolves outstanding items in EMR work queues for clinical research accounts, and ensures adherence to institutional, federal, and sponsor policies governing clinical research payment processing and revenue documentation.

Responsibilities

• Ensuring research revenue (grants, clinical trial payments) is allocated to correct study accounts or cost centers as designated in EMR and accounting systems.
• Ensuring accurate adjustments are posted with payment to ensure balanced accounts.
• Verifying that research funds received align with sponsor agreements, budget proposals, and internal tracking systems.
• Identifying and documenting denied payments, including underpayments or overpayments from research sponsors.
• Investigating unapplied cash, payment variances, unidentified deposits, and unapplied research revenue.
• Responding to inquiries from clinical departments, research investigators, grants offices, and sponsors about posted payments and account statuses.
• Interfacing with billing, coding, registration, research administration, grant management, and IT departments to ensure financial data integrity in the EMR and research management systems.
• Generating cash application and reconciliation reports for management, including distinct reporting for research revenue streams (grants, trials, contracts).
• Maintaining thorough documentation for clinical and research payments for compliance and audit requirements.
• Ensuring adherence to institutional, federal (e.g., HIPAA, NIH regulations), and sponsor policies regarding payment processing and research revenue documentation.
• Staying current on EMR upgrades and best practices relating to both healthcare and research finance.
• Participating in process improvement initiatives for more efficient cash and research revenue application.
• Assisting with EMR system enhancements and providing training related to research revenue cash application processes.
• Monitoring EMR workqueues for outstanding payment postings, denials, unapplied cash, and research revenue items.
• Resolving items in workqueues promptly, ensuring accurate and timely cash application for both clinical and research accounts.
• Updating, maintaining, and clearing workqueue tasks to prevent backlog and ensure up-to-date account status.
• Communicating with relevant stakeholders to resolve account issues flagged in EMR workqueues.
• Assisting in configuring, testing, and optimizing EMR workqueue rules and workflows for cash application and research revenue tasks.
• Providing reconciliation documents, statement generation, and clarification on both clinical and research revenue transactions.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

• 2-4 years' experience with healthcare clinical research billing preferably in academic medical setting, clinical research management, health system operations.
• Experience with Epic Research Billing functions.
• Experience with a Clinical Trial Management system (CTMS) preferably OnCore, financial software, ERP systems.
• Accounting and finance experience strongly preferred.

Preferred Competencies

• Knowledge of the Medicare Clinical Trials Policy and other federal, state and institutional clinical research regulations.
• Expertise in CPT, Modifiers, ICD, and PCS codes to support billing and compliance efforts.
• Strong knowledge of clinical trial contracting, revenue recognition principles, and relevant regulatory guidelines (e.g., ICH-GCP).
• Excellent attention to detail and analytical skills, with a focus on accuracy in financial operations.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills for effective collaboration with cross-functional teams and external partners.

Working Conditions

• Office Environment.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Financial Management

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Pay Range

$70,000.00 - $95,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University's good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible: Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call View phone number on click.appcast.io or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

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