Assistant Clinical Research Practitioner

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust; Ipswich; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare trust in the UK is seeking an Assistant Clinical Research Practitioner to support clinical research projects. The role involves collecting clinical data, ensuring compliance with protocols, and contributing to research governance. Ideal candidates will have excellent IT and communication skills, a Level 3 NVQ in healthcare, and experience in a clinical setting. A commitment to Good Clinical Practice and a passion for patient care are essential. You will be part of a dynamic team dedicated to improving patient outcomes.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

27 days annual leave

NHS discounts

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Ability to undertake and understand Good Clinical Practice.
• Willingness to undertake further study.
• Evidence of functional skills or willingness to undertake.

Responsibilities

• Collect and document accurate clinical research data.
• Apply clinical study protocols in practice.
• Ensure compliance with research governance standards.

Skills

Good Clinical Practice

IT skills

Clinical Research Knowledge

Patient confidentiality awareness

Communication skills

Education

NVQ Level 3 / Care certificate

Tools

Outlook

Excel

Word

Job description

Go back East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Assistant Clinical Research Practitioner

The closing date is 23 January 2026

Are you enthusiastic, motivated and committed with excellent interpersonal and organisational skills and an interest in research?

We are looking for an experienced Health Care Assistant or practitioner to support running research projects and manage the clinical data collection of those patients participating in clinical research studies within the Diabetes Research Unit at Ipswich Hospital. You will be part of a clinical research team providing a comprehensive clinical research study support in the Trust.

Good Clinical Practice, study specific protocol training, specimen processing training will be provided; due to the nature of the role, excellent IT skills are essential. The role will have patient facing element, therefore excellent communication skills are essential. Knowledge and understanding of research practice and the ability to apply research governance principles to practice is desirable.

The Research and Development department at ESNEFT hosts a variety of studies such as the NIHR portfolio, locally developed (ESNEFT) & commercial. The research ranges from simple observational studies to interventional clinical trials of investigational medicinal products (CTIMPs). This is an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic multi‑disciplinary team.

Main duties of the job

The role will primarily involve the collection and documentation of accurate clinical research data from a number of sources for various projects. The role involves using clinical study protocols and their application in practice, alongside a working knowledge of compliance with regulations to ensure safe and effective data capture and reporting of research studies, and the maintenance and compliance with research governance standards within the governance domain of the standards for better health.

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across East Suffolk and North Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are the largest NHS organisation in East Anglia, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro\, rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offers a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what’s widely regarded as the world’s best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Job responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Experience are listed below.

Qualifications

• Ability to undertake and understand Good Clinical Practice
• NVQ Level 3 / completed Care certificate
• Willingness to undertake further study
• Evidence of functional skills or willingness to undertake

Experience

• Previous experience in a health setting, i.e. HCA
• Experience of multi‑tasking
• Have experience with problem solving whilst working independently
• Competent IT skills, familiar with Outlook, Excel, Word
• Experience within an acute setting
• Experience of working with databases such as Electronic patient record / EDGE / Outlook
• Have worked in a clinical setting where blood is involved
• Project management

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge of Clinical Research
• Awareness of patient confidentiality and data protection / GPDR
• Be able to liaise with other teams via email in a confident manner
• Awareness of regulations covering clinical trials

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

£27,485 to £30,162 a year pro rata