Lead Research Nurse

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust; Frimley; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity for a passionate Lead Research Nurse at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust to shape the future of clinical research. This cross-site role involves leadership and mentorship, ensuring high-quality care for patients in research studies while driving the organization's research strategy in a collaborative environment.

Benefits

First class development opportunities

Healthy work-life balance

Flexible working patterns

Qualifications

• Significant experience as a Research Nurse at Band 7 or above.
• Extensive knowledge of UK health and social care research.
• Experience in managing research teams and clinical trials.

Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of the Trust’s research strategy.
• Provide leadership to senior research nurses and the delivery team.
• Ensure compliance with national frameworks and Trust governance.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Organizational Skills

Research Governance

Quality Improvement

Education

Master’s level qualification or equivalent

NMC Registration

ICH-GCP certification

Job description

Job Overview

Lead Research Nurse

Department: Research and Innovation (R&I)

An exciting opportunity to shape the future of clinical research at Frimley Health.

Are you a passionate and experienced registered nurse with a strong background in clinical research and leadership? Are you ready to take the next step in your career and make a real impact on patient outcomes and research excellence?

We are looking for a dynamic and motivated Lead Research Nurse to join our expanding Research and Innovation department at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. This cross-site leadership role is ideal for someone who thrives on challenge, champions best practice, and wants to play a key role in the continued growth and success of our research portfolio.

Working alongside a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, researchers, and healthcare professionals, you will help deliver high-quality clinical research across the Trust. You will be instrumental in driving forward our research strategy, leading and mentoring research staff, and ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, and innovative care to patients participating in research studies.

Main duties of the job

Working alongside a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, researchers, and healthcare professionals, you will help deliver high-quality clinical research across the Trust. You will be instrumental in driving forward our research strategy, leading and mentoring research staff, and ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, and innovative care to patients participating in research studies.

We Welcome Applications From Experienced Senior Registered Nurses Who

• Are confident leaders with proven management experience in a research setting.
• Possess excellent communication, interpersonal and organisational skills.
• Demonstrate flexibility, resilience, and a commitment to quality improvement.
• Are passionate about research and its potential to transform care.
• Have a strong working knowledge of research governance and clinical trial delivery.
  
  

Working for our organisation

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.

Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.

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Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Research Leadership

• Provide expert oversight and operational leadership of clinical research studies across a range of specialties.
• Lead the implementation of the Trust’s research strategy, including the Organisational Readiness Tool (SORT) and feasibility assessments.
• Offer specialist guidance in ICH-GCP, study design, set-up, recruitment, and delivery.
• Work collaboratively with the NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN), commercial sponsors, and investigators to ensure research is viable, efficient, and patient-centred.
• Contribute to the development of SOPs, strategy documents, and business plans to shape the future of research at FHFT.
  
  

People & Performance Management

• Provide professional and compassionate leadership to senior research nurses and the wider research delivery team.
• Support recruitment, induction, training, and mentorship of research delivery staff.
• Promote digital innovation by encouraging use of research management tools such as EDGE and EPIC.
• Actively manage workforce performance, compliance, and development in line with Trust policies.
• Oversee study delivery and ensure compliance with national frameworks and Trust governance.
  
  

Education, Training & Engagement

• Lead and support continuous professional development for research staff.
• Work with the R&I training lead to implement tailored training plans and development pathways.
• Play an active role in increasing awareness and engagement in research across the Trust.
• Champion Patient, Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) initiatives.
  
  

Clinical Excellence

• Maintain a visible clinical presence across specialties, acting as a role model and expert practitioner.
• Support safe, effective delivery of clinical trials in accordance with NMC code and ICH-GCP principles.
• Deliver compassionate care to patients participating in trials, providing specialist support and information.
• Monitor patient safety, administer treatments, and manage trial protocols as needed.
• Ensure meticulous documentation and data quality in line with study and regulatory requirements.
  
  

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NMC Registration
• Master’s level qualification or equivalent demonstrable experience
• ICH-GCP certification
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Managerial qualification
  
  

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience as Research Nurse in the management of research teams at Band 7 or above
• Experience of commercial and academic research.
• Extensive knowledge of the requirements of the UK policy framework for health and social care research and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
  
  

Skills & Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Comprehensive understanding of the research process
• Extensive experience of clinical research within various NHS settings and specialties
• Computer literacy (including all MS Office packages & Internet skills)
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Previous experience of audit, monitoring, quality and evaluation
  
  

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. As a well performing, well led and ambitious Foundation Trust, we have exciting times ahead of us. We have an ongoing commitment to improving the health and care services for the 900,000 people we serve across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.

We are proud of the ambitions laid out in our strategy, Our Future FHFT, including our vision to be a leader in health & wellbeing, delivering excellence for our communities.

We continue to invest in our services and facilities, including a £10 million upgrade to the hospital maternity unit as well as £49m major new Emergency Assessment Centre on our Wexham Park site. The opening of a brand new £100m state of the art hospital which replaced the existing hospital facility at Heatherwood and are planning to invest further in diagnostics and inpatient capacity at Frimley Park.

We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR – Epic – went live in June and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment.

Our three core values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.

Apply online now