Band 6 Project Research Officer

Job summary

An exciting opportunity to join the newly awarded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) HealthTech Research Centre in Devices, Digital and Robotics (HRC-DDR), hosted by University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB).

The NIHR HRC-DDR is a new 3m award to support the development of novel medical devices, diagnostics, and digital technologies, building capacity for HealthTech research across the health and care sector. The core aim of the NIHR HRC-DDR is to drive life-changing research into health technologies, working in collaboration with patients and patient groups, charities, academia, clinicians, and industry. The centre supports the generation of appropriate evidence to support necessary regulatory approvals and enable effective implementation of innovations. The HRC has core themes of Medical Devices, Digital & Data and Robots & Autonomous Systems. The post holder will contribute both to the managerial and scientific aspects of the portfolio of projects within the NIHR HRC-DDR.

The NIHR HRC-DDR promotes and provides the facilities for high calibre HealthTech research. It assists applicants in producing high quality grant proposals and ensures adherence to research governance requirements. The team delivers subsequent research outputs and contracts. The team provide professional research management support to commercially and grant funded HealthTech studies. The team liaise with staff of all levels in all departments to set-up and deliver a study efficiently.

Main duties, tasks & skills required

- Liaise with staff, senior clinicians, senior academics and outside agencies (e.g. NIHR and industry) in a professional and courteous manner. Responsible for building and maintaining relationships with all staff and key stakeholders within area of responsibility.

- Offer specialist advice on complex costing for staff, facilities and/or resources.

- Assist in promotion of the NIHR HRC-DDR's work to the local health economy.

- Undertake draft completion of external funding applications, ensuring compliance with requirements for individual funding bodies.

- Reference and literature review support.

- Analyse data from human factors usability studies and clinician expert reviews and prepare formal written reports.

- Ability to problem solve, provide alternative solutions and recognise situations that should be referred onto the Line Manager ahead of prompt and appropriate action.

- To be responsible for ensuring adherence to the Caldicott and GDPR principles and re-enforce the importance of patient confidentiality.

- Successfully plan and deliver human factors usability studies and clinician expert reviews within agreed timescales (including preparation of study documentation, participant recruitment, study delivery, analysis and write up).

- Plan and coordinate the effective and timely completion of all associated ethics and governance requirements.

- Arrange and facilitate collaborators meetings, ensuring follow-up of actions and appropriate reporting/communication of such meetings.

About us

We are recognised as one of the leading NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK. Our vision is to Build Healthier Lives, and we recognise that we need incredible staff to do this.

Our commitment to our staff is to create the best place for them to work, and we are dedicated to:

Investing in the health and wellbeing of our staff, including a commitment of offering flexible working where we can;
Offer our staff a wide variety of training and development opportunities, to support their personal and career development objectives.

UHB is committed to ensuring that our staff are treated fairly and feel that they belong, by creating a kind and inclusive environment. This is about equity of opportunity; removing all barriers, including discrimination and ensuring each individual member of staff reach their true potential, achieve their ambitions and thrive in their work. This is more than words. We are taking action. Our commitment to an inclusive culture is embedded at all levels of the organisation where every voice is heard, driven by our diverse and active staff networks, and at Board level by the Fairness Taskforce led by our CEO. We nurture a culture which empowers staff to challenge discriminatory behaviours and to enable people to bring their 'whole self' to a kinder, more connected and bold place to work.

University Hospitals Birmingham is a Smoke-Free premises hospital.

Job description

*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description* 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

* Relevant First-Degree level or equivalent in a science/ health related subject with relevant additional training plus relevant experience

* Project management knowledge to post graduate diploma level equivalent.

Experience

Essential

* Experience of academic/scientific writing

* Experience of health-related subject matter

* Understanding of University / NHS research environment

* Experience of working with a range of Microsoft Office packages (e.g. Word, Excel and Outlook)

* Evidence of a methodological approach and effective organisational skills

* Must be able to demonstrate an understanding of equality and diversity.

* Knowledge of non-routine procedures such as work allocation, problem solving, answering queries acquired through developed knowledge relating to the delivery of research trials, grants and research.

Desirable

* Understanding of issues relating to Research Governance

* Understanding of biomedical research funders both in the UK, EU and the USA

* Understanding of principles of Good Clinical Practice (GCP)

Additional Criteria

Essential

Physical skills

* Advanced keyboard skills

* Excellent IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office software.

Written skills

* Experience of academic writing

* Accurate and attentive to detail

* Good report writing skills.

Communication/Verbal skills

* Communication with Principal Investigators to update of literature findings / funding requirements /opportunities for research.

* Communication with external collaborators to update project progress and delivery.

* Communication with Senior R,D & I management to identify progress, issues relating to the production and quality of grant applications

* Able to use own initiative and deal with the unpredictable

* Able to multi-task and work to deadlines

* A proven problem-solving ability.

* Team player

* The post holder may sometimes be required to meet with staff and assist with studies out of normal office hours.

* The post holder may be required to represent the NIHR HRC-DDR at external national events and conferences.

* The post holder will be required to work and travel across all UHB sites as required

Desirable

Written skills

* Experience of minute taking

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.

For help with your application, contact: 

Emily Brush 

Emily.Brush@uhb.nhs.uk 

01213718537