Research Project Manager

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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

PRINCIPLE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Communication

• Serve as a main point of contact for research teams and study investigators, external funding bodies, industry partners and national networks.
• Support the RRR and associated researchers (including medical physicist, statistician and bioinformatician) by providing information for grant applications and the R&I governance associated with this.
• Support researchers with internal and external communication so that collaborations are maximised.
• Provide support for coordination and execution of the research projects.
• Assist in the writing and evaluation of research protocols, patient information, questionnaires and CRFs for individual studies.
• Identify strategies for recruiting patients to individual studies and supporting team members in implementing these strategies. Work to ensure patient recruitment targets are achieved.
• Advice and negotiate on clinical trial agreements (including financial arrangements) and material transfer agreements.
• Arrange and service MR-Linac and wider RRR research meetings, including scheduling, agenda preparation, circulation of papers and accurate minute-taking, and own the action log by tracking, prompting and following up with researchers, Chief Investigators and project leads to ensure agreed actions are completed within deadlines.Support with abstract and poster development for local, national and international conferences
• Lead on the preparation and circulation of regular, concise MR-Linac project status updates and summaries (including key milestones, risks and upcoming deadlines) to collaborators and stakeholders, ensuring Chief Investigators, group leads and project teams are fully briefed ahead of governance and operational meetings.Prepare and submit interim and annual reports for R&I, ethic committees, funding bodies, CSGs etc. as required.
• Where appropriate link with the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) and the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC).
• Present complex research information to the RRR.

Knowledge, training and experience

• Research project management in particular within the NHS and Universities.
• Scientific writing skills.
• Knowledge of clinical research and research governance.
• Knowledge of grant application and publication submission.
• Financial management of budgets and resources for each grant to ensure maximum value is achieved for the resources.
• Experience of coordinating and contributing to relevant grant funding applications
• Clinical trial management and reporting
• Work with NHS/University finance systems to raise purchase requisitions, receipt goods and check invoices are paid. Cross-reference paperwork with budget spreadsheets.

Planning and organisational skills

• Ability to ensure that researchers have all the information that they need to develop their projects and that researchers have an understanding of the processes that need to be followed and the timelines involved.
• Ability to plan and organise various complex researcher activities ensuring all progress to time and schedule.
• There will be a need to be flexible around researcher's availability with the ability to adjust plans as required to ensure all targets are met

Physical Skills

• Work with Microsoft Office programmes, requiring standard keyboard skills.
• There is an on-going requirement to exert light physical effort in this role.

Responsibilities for patient care

• Responsible for ensuring patient information relating to clinical studies is accurate and appropriate

Responsibilities for policy and service development implementation

• Follow all relevant policies and procedures, in particular in relation to the Data Protection Act. Ensure researchers are working to the relevant policies and procedures.
• Be pro-active in monitoring working practices with researchers, research teams, the R&I Office and the CTU (when applicable) and suggesting new ways of working and implementing them.
• Implement new SOPs and working procedures as required

Responsibilities for information resources

• Support the strategic development of research through attendance and support for the research theme committees as required.
• Assist with preparing necessary reports/agenda for telephone/video conferences and meetings

Responsibilities for Research and Development

• Produce consistent records and documentation for each study progressed in line with Research Governance processes.
• Assist with preparation for and presentation of reviews/inspections (e.g. MHRA, in-house audits etc)

Freedom to act

• The post holder is expected to follow all relevant policies, SOPs and standard practice.
• Plans and organises own time and workload activity with prioritisation.
• Able to work independently using own initiative

Physical, Mental and Emotional Effort

• Long periods of time spent using a keyboard to input information.
• Prolonged concentration is required, e.g., when checking through a research protocol or databases.

TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Maintain professional development whilst evaluating own specialist knowledge through a process of appraisal and personal development planning to satisfy the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework requirements relating to the job.
• Participate in Trust-wide education programmes and study days, regional and national meetings and research seminars as appropriate.
• Acquire and maintain a working knowledge of key research areas and build effective working relationships with research staff.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external partners.
• Ensure that clinical trials are conducted in accordance with any regulatory practices

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to degree level (or equivalent) in a scientific discipline

Desirable criteria

• Post graduate qualification or similar experience in academic research
• Additional relevant qualifications e.g. ECDL, ICH-GCP

Experience

Essential criteria

• Research Project Management
• Report writing
• Analysing, interpreting and presenting data clearly
• Grant writing and submissions

Desirable criteria

• Previous experience of working within the NHS Trust and/or University research environments
• Experience working with people at all levels
• Experience of co-ordinating and managing clinical trials
• Experience preparing manuscripts for publication
• Experience working with funding bodies
• Experience working in a radiotherapy or oncology environment

Skills

Essential criteria

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbally with, the ability to communicate at all levels
• Able to work autonomously and collaboratively
• Excellent organisational and project manager skills
• Ability to manage multiple projects and work to strict deadlines
• Advanced use of MS Office IT packages
• Self-motivated
• Results orientated
• Attention to detail

Desirable criteria

• Use of bibliographic software (e.g. EndNote)
• ECDL qualification or equivalent or clinical research qualification
• Able to understand the principles of research proposals covering a wide range of subject areas

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of research funding systems
• Knowledge of clinical research requirements
• Understanding of Data Protection Act and confidentiality
• Understanding of academic research and related clinical/medical terminology
• Knowledge of radiotherapy and oncology patient pathways

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of good clinical practice (ICH GCP) and knowledge of R&D regulations and Research Governance
• Understanding of the financial issues governing clinical research in the UK
• Understanding of cancer and cancer research
• Knowledge of research funding systems

OTHER

Essential criteria

• Ability to work to tight and unexpected deadlines
• Proven collaborative and diplomatic skills
• Flexible
• Conscientious and hardworking
• Able to work autonomously and collaboratively

Desirable criteria

• Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD)
• Evidence of achievement under pressure
• Ability to troubleshoot effectively

The closing date for this post may be extended if there are insufficient applicants or brought forward if there is a high volume of applicants.

Application Information - If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, I regret that on this occasion your application will have been unsuccessful.

Sponsorship Information - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

Pre-Employment Checks - To confirm your suitability for the role, we will carry out pre-employment checks in line with NHS Employment Check Standards. These include:

• Identity verification
• Right to work check
• Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role, payment of this will be the applicants responsibility)
• Professional registration and/or qualification check
• Occupational health assessment
• Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust will be required to provide their HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history and references.

If you require sponsorship, we will assess your eligibility based on current government guidance. If the role is not eligible and you cannot demonstrate your right to work, your conditional offer may be withdrawn.

✓ If You're Offered the Role - you will be agreeing to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and will form part of the recruitment process. In the event that you are successful following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.

Sponsorship Information - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

No Smoking Policy - You should be aware the Trust operates a No Smoking Policy and therefore employees are not permitted to smoke at work.

Additional Information - We want to ensure that everyone who works at the Christie or uses our services is welcomed, valued and treated with dignity and respect. The Christie values diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and fair representation across the organisation at all levels. In support of these commitments, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and people with disabilities for this post. Appointment will be only on merit.

We are committed to creating a balanced and diverse workforce. As such we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Together we will foster inclusion and tackle inequity and health inequalities in cancer care.

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all our activities. We have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery in any of its forms, including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour, and human trafficking. We are fully committed to acting ethically and with transparency in all our business dealings and relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our organisation or supply chains.

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Documents to download

• Job Description & Person Specification (PDF, 204.0KB)
• The Christie Values and Behaviours (PDF, 919.5KB)
• Strategy Brochure (PDF, 1.0MB)
• Travel to The Christie (PDF, 3.8MB)