BRC Chief Operating Officer

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust; Bristol; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust seeks a dynamic Chief Operating Officer for the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre. This strategic role involves overseeing operations, managing diverse teams, and ensuring compliance with research governance, contributing to innovative health research that impacts local and national health outcomes.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Commitment to staff wellbeing

Support for career development

Qualifications

• Educated to doctoral level or with equivalent specialist knowledge.
• Extensive experience of research management at senior level.
• Expertise in delivering operational components of complex programmes.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational delivery of the BRC’s research programmes.
• Manage governance, finance and reporting.
• Support stakeholder engagement and promote inclusion.

Skills

Advanced communication skills

Leadership skills

Organisational skills

Negotiation skills

Problem-solving

Education

Doctoral level or equivalent qualification

Formal Training in research governance

Tools

MS Office software packages

Research grants costing systems

Research project management systems

Job description

As an organisation we recognise the value of a healthy work-life balance. When applying, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate flexible working, so your work life fits around your home life.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust.

We’re looking for a dynamic and strategic Chief Operating Officer (COO) to join the leadership team of the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) — a partnership between University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) and the University of Bristol.

This is a unique and exciting opportunity to support some of the UK’s most innovative health research. Our centre focuses on early-stage, translational and experimental medicine research that aims to improve health outcomes locally and nationally.

As COO, you’ll work closely with the BRC Director and lead the day-to-day operations of the Centre. You’ll make sure everything runs smoothly across our research themes and cross-cutting programmes, and that we’re delivering on our strategy, partnerships and obligations to funders and wider stakeholders.

This is a varied and rewarding role, ideal for someone who enjoys problem-solving, building relationships, and working at the intersect of healthcare and academia.

Main duties of the job

The COO will provide strategic oversight and operational leadership across the BRC’s multi-theme research portfolio. Working in close partnership with the BRC Director, you will:
• Lead the operational delivery of the BRC’s research programmes, ensuring progress against strategic objectives, timelines, and budgets.
• Manage governance, finance and reporting, including adherence to NIHR and regulatory requirements.
• Work closely with the BRC Director to shape and implement strategy, including preparations for the next NIHR funding application.
• Manage a diverse team of professional services staff supporting research, training, inclusion, industry engagement, and patient and public involvement.
• Support stakeholder engagement, including communications with NIHR, NHS and academic partners, and industry collaborators.
• Promote inclusion, training, and public involvement, embedding these principles across all areas of BRC activity.

This is a high-impact role requiring cross-organisational leadership, national engagement, and a strong focus on delivering research that makes a real-world difference.

Working for our organisation

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as ‘Good’ overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward- thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

The NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre is a partnership between UHBW NHS Trust and the University of Bristol. You’ll have a substantive contract of employment in the R&D team of UHBW, but you’ll work closely with University colleagues and be physically located in the Population Health Sciences department of Bristol Medical School, a leading centre for collaborative and multi-disciplinary research in population and translational health sciences.

Person specification

Qualifications and training

• Educated to doctoral level, or with relevant qualification and specialist knowledge, training, and experience to the equivalent level
• Formal Training in research governance

Knowledge and Experience

• Expertise in successfully delivering operational components of complex programmes or projects with multiple components and many collaborating organisations in a health and social care environment
• Extensive experience of research management at senior level
• Experience of budgetary control and reporting, including budgetary forecasting and management
• Excellent understanding of research governance requirements
• Writing skills for drafting reports, protocols and funding applications
• Experience of collaborating in and managing multi-disciplinary teams
• Experience of advising and influencing at senior levels
• Knowledge of research methodology and regulatory requirements including the EU Clinical Trials Directive and GDPR
• Proven ability to successfully negotiate research regulations
• Understanding of best practice in research inclusion

Skills and abilities

• Advanced communication skills demonstrating ability to influence and negotiate with senior stakeholders
• Ability to work with significant autonomy with an ability to set own goals and achieve them, while making effective judgements on when to escalate issues to senior colleagues’ attention with appropriate urgency
• Ability to shape strategic direction
• Excellent demonstrable management and leadership skills
• Ability to delegate appropriately
• Established organisational skills
• Demonstrable ability to deliver successfully and concurrently a range of projects
• Ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels
• Methodical, practical and creative with good attention to detail
• Able to maintain judgement under pressure and meet deadlines
• Skilled in using all appropriate information technology effectively – proficient with MS office software packages (Word, Excel, Access, Power point etc).
• Familiar with research grants costing systems (e.g Worktribe)
• Familiar with research project management systems (e.g EDGE)

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

· As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

· The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.

· UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

· To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.

· If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.

· The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

· By applying for this post, you are agreeing to University Hospitals Bristol and Weston 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 be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

IMPORTANT:

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification

Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.

As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.

When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Name Diana Benton Job title Head of R&D and Deputy Director of Research, UHBW Email address [e-mail] Additional information

You may also contact Professor Jonathan Sterne, Director of NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre [e-mail]