Senior Clinical Research Practitioner / Team Lead

Senior Clinical Research Practitioner / Team Lead NHS AfC: Band 7

Main area: Senior Clinical Research Practitioner / Team Lead

Grade: NHS AfC: Band 7

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Job ref: 196-RD270

Employer: Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Employer type: NHS

Site: Guy's Hospital

Town: London

Salary: £54,320 - £60,981 pa incl. HCA

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 20/04/:59

Guy's and St Thomas' is among the UK's busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.

We are currently recruiting for a Senior Clinical Research Practitioner / Team Lead for the Early Phase Research Team.

We are looking for candidates interested in building a career in research in one of the biggest haematology and oncology research teams in London. After completing a fully comprehensive induction package you will find yourself leading the co-ordination and set-up of a portfolio of clinical trials, identifying and recruiting trial patients, collecting and reporting data and supporting patients and their carers throughout treatment. Successful candidates will be excellent communicators with an eye for detail and a commitment to improving patient choices, care and outcomes.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be leading and managing a team of clinical research delivery staff and a portfolio of research studies with the responsibility for delivering high quality research and clinical care.

This role will be a mix of clinical and managerial and the post holder will be required to effectively manage his or her time to fulfil key responsibilities such as reviewing protocols, identifying resource implications, actively participating in meetings, proposing action plans for poor recruiting studies, training, supporting and mentoring other members of staff, leading on service development and contributing to the research business plan, whilst autonomously managing a caseload of participants. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring excellence in research delivery and participant experience.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Work autonomously to manage a large caseload of participants acting as a professional in ensuring a duty of care to the participants and their families.
• Work within relevant regulations and ICH GCP (International Conference on Harmonisation and Good Clinical Practice) ensuring that the clinical research protocol is adhered to at all times.
• Devise, implement and evaluate strategies to identify eligible participants for research studies, including by attending clinics, departments, screening notes/consultant referral and Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings. Support less experienced team members to implement those strategies.
• Coordinate the research participant pathway from screening through to study closure.
• Actively work to achieve study accrual targets including engaging with the research team and clinical teams to overcome barriers to participant enrolment.
• Liaise with the clinical team to organise and ensure that study specific investigations are undertaken according to the protocol, obtain and document the results.
• Deal with concerns raised by participants and visitors in a proactive manner and take appropriate remedial action as necessary.
• Review study protocols and identify resource implications for the site.
• Liaise with Clinical Trial Set Up staff to help assist in the set-up of commercial trials on site.
• Supervise the research team in the collation of data generated from clinical studies.
• Monitor patient recruitment and data collection week by week, reviewing recruitment figures and alerting the lead research staff and Principal Investigators to any problems with recruitment.
• Act as a role model for excellence in research delivery.
• Lead and support the team acting as an expert resource, demonstrating tenacity, drive, professional integrity, balance and perspective.
• Motivate, develop, support and identify training needs for department staff and take a proactive role in the department training programme.
• Undertake performance review and management and act on identified development needs to maintain high levels of performance and quality within the team.
• Act always in a manner which, promotes positive working relationships and maintains the professional image of the Trust.

Person specification Skills

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to deal with complex and sensitive situations.
• Basic knowledge of recent NHS legislation relevant to specialist areas.
• In depth understanding of research methodologies.
• Ability to lead, teach, supervise and mentor others in relation to all aspects of clinical research delivery.
• Awareness of changing trends in healthcare.
• Experience in audits.
• Significant experience in clinical research delivery including managing own portfolio of studies.
• Substantial experience relevant to speciality.
• Knowledge and experience of handling complex relationships.
• Experience mentoring, developing and supervising junior staff in clinical setting.
• Demonstrable managerial / team lead experience.
• Experience of change management.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable theoretical knowledge equivalent to masters/NVQ Level 7 qualification in life sciences or related field.
• GCP certificate.
• Evidence of continuous professional development.
• Teaching experience.
• Post graduate teaching qualification.

Guy's and St Thomas' celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitably according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or studies at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.

Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.

As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.

We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking into account the individual's personal circumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.

Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis.

Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now."

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Our dedicated and talented staff make it their mission to provide outstanding care for our patients.