Head of Research & Development

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading University Hospital Trust is seeking a dynamic Administrative Lead for Research and Innovation to oversee clinical trial support services. This senior role focuses on ensuring regulatory compliance, team leadership, and enhancing research quality as part of a multidisciplinary team. Ideal candidates will possess expertise in research governance, as well as strong leadership skills.

Qualifications

• Expert knowledge of regulatory frameworks and performance metrics.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams in research settings.
• Background in clinical trials and research strategy development.

Responsibilities

• Oversee administrative functions of the Centre of Research and Innovation.
• Ensure research studies comply with regulatory standards.
• Lead the research sponsorship processes and maintain governance excellence.

Skills

Research governance

Data science

Leadership

Compliance management

Risk management

Education

Master's degree or equivalent in a relevant field

Job description

Do you want to be part of our journey to research excellence as a University Hospital Trust and a leader in commercial clinical trials in Lancashire & South Cumbria? Join us to contribute to our expansive Research & Innovation Strategy. Upholding the Trust’s values, you will lead the Research and Development administrative functions of the Centre of Research and Innovation, supporting our teams in research governance, data science, finance, and industry liaison.

You will have expert knowledge of research governance, regulatory frameworks, and performance metrics, providing trial sponsorship oversight. Leading the Research Access and finance teams, you will ensure our research study portfolio, including commercial clinical trials, meets the highest regulatory standards. This includes supporting our Head of Clinical Research Operations in maintaining our NIHR Lancashire Clinical Research Facility as a centre of excellence for early phase clinical trials and cancer vaccines.

As part of the senior leadership team, you will collaborate with Directors and the Deputy Director to expand the commercial portfolio, specifically establishing the BioNTech Partnership with LTHTr.

Please note interviews are planned to take place on 17th July, subject to panel availability.

Supporting our Quality Lead, you will oversee the Research Quality agenda, including Risk Management and Trust Monitoring and Audit programmes, ensuring regulatory compliance and high-quality research. You will report to Trust Committees, Boards, and the Department of Health and Social Care, and the NIHR.

Duties Include

• Is responsible for ensuring the administrative team are adequately supported and developed to deliver their roles
• Workforce Planning
• Leading & developing the team by being a visible and strong role model providing leadership & direction to the team,
• Research Quality Agenda
• Lead the research sponsorship processes to ensure all LTHTr sponsored research studies and clinical trials comply with regulatory responsibilities
• Take an active role in business planning as part of the senior management team
• Work with the Senior team to develop the research strategy
• Maintain high standards in governance, set-up, initiation, and delivery and continually identify and implement service improvement programmes.
• Work closely with NIHR Regional Research Development Network (RRDN)
• Deputise for Deputy Director of Research and Innovation.
• Provide advice & support to other members of the multidisciplinary team with regard to GCP, ethics approval and amendments, study set up, delivery & completion
• Involved in promoting the work of the Centre for Health Research and Innovation
  
  

The Centre for Health Research & Innovation (CHRI) has a team of approximately 70 staff made up of research nurses, clinical trial support officers and data managers. A key part of this is the Research Access Team - that is, the research governance and industry teams who are here to support our staff with the set-up of your research studies. They work alongside our delivery and clinical teams to set-up studies, liaise with external Sponsor organisations and ensure that all regulatory and governance requirements are in place prior to opening studies.

CHRI is therefore a multidisciplinary team. We work in a supportive environment in our dedicated spaces across the Trust. We promote key behaviours of Humility, Team First, being Committed and being Aspirational in all of our staff. As we write the team is restructuring from 6 clinical teams to essentially 2, but still essentially across a number of therapeutic areas notably cancer, neurosciences, trauma and acute conditions, respiratory, renal, chronic conditions and across the women and children's spectrum. We encourage flexibility and mutual support.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Paul Brown Job title: Deputy Director of R&I Email address: [e-mail] Telephone number: 01772 523187