Patient and Public Involvement Lead

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in the UK is seeking a dedicated professional to lead the development and implementation of Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategies. This role involves building relationships with public members, supporting researchers, and delivering training. Ideal candidates will possess advanced communication skills and significant experience in healthcare contexts. A competitive salary between £46,419 to £55,046 per annum is offered.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or above.
• Significant experience working in a charity, healthcare, or research environment.
• Experience in planning and delivering PPIE projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead on the development and implementation of the CRF PPIE and EDI long-term strategies.
• Build relationships with diverse public members.
• Support researchers to secure funding bids related to PPIE and EDI.

Skills

PPIE methodologies

Advanced written and oral communication

Planning and organisational skills

IT skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Education

Educated to degree level or above

Post graduate qualification

Tools

Patient database systems

Website platforms

Job description

Overview

Go back King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 09 October 2025

The post holder will be central to the development, implementation, and oversight of the Clinical Research Facility (CRF) Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategies for the period 2023 - 2028.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be the primary contact for researchers and other CRF staff members who wish to involve members of the public in their work or research. They will respond to enquiries of this nature and meet with researchers to discuss and understand their needs, providing expert advice on PPIE and coordinating meetings with public members. The post holder will signpost to and provide training, support, and resources to make sure researchers and staff have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to involve PPIE members at different stages of the research cycle.

The post holder will be responsible for the coordination and management of the CRF PPIE group. They will answer questions from new and existing members, organise training and events (including quarterly online group meetings), facilitate interactions between researchers, CRF staff members, and public members, and oversee the process of obtaining meaningful involvement opportunities. The post holder will be responsible for consistent communication with the CRF PPIE group and maintaining relationships via the biannual PPIE newsletter, regular emails, telephone calls, and face-to-face catchups when required.

Further information can be found in the Job Description

About us

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trustmissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Job responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities – Strategic Leadership and Development

In collaboration with public members and staff, lead on the development and implementation of the CRF PPIE and EDI long-term strategies. Develop, design, and coordinate all PPIE and EDI projects arising from the strategies, with the responsibility to ensure they are delivered to time, target, and budget.

Effectively embed the principles of the Trust and Research and Development (R&D) strategies, and the EDI Roadmap to Inclusion in the CRF PPIE and EDI long-term strategies and associated projects.

Develop appropriate and evidence-based methods for collecting and acting upon feedback about PPIE and EDI projects and events.

Positively promote the lessons learned from feedback and complaints about PPIE and EDI projects; draw on best practice locally and nationally to improve the day-to-day running of the CRF.

Lead the development and implementation of Policies, Guidance Documents, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to PPIE and EDI in research at the CRF.

Be trained and lead on audits as requested by the CRF Quality Assurance Manager.

Support the CRF Manager and Director in developing PPIE and EDI plans to align with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and other national priorities and strategies as these change and develop.

Support the CRF Manager and Director to include questions in CRF application forms about PPIE and EDI to ensure researchers have considered stakeholders views when designing their research and have considered the diversity of their target population for recruitment.

Responsibility for Patients, Participants, and Members of the Public

The post holder will not hold any clinical responsibilities.

Build relationships with diverse public members within the CRF and the Trust from a wide variety of backgrounds and specialities. The post holder will take personal and professional responsibility for ensuring they are up to date on national guidance and policies related to the Equality Act, protected characteristics, and inclusive language and practices.

Display a positive, respectful, and welcoming manner when interacting with public members, demonstrating the Trust Values of being a Kind and Respectful Team.

Assist public members and visitors to the CRF in a reasonable way, ensuring their experience is positive and that they have a known and approachable contact for queries, concerns, or complaints.

Ensure public members have the opportunity to actively contribute to a range of involvement opportunities and are meaningfully contributing to the EDI agenda.

Build relationships with researchers, patient organisations/charities, and GPs to develop and communicate involvement opportunities.

Support and encourage constructive conversations between researchers and public members to ensure power is shared in decision making, and one group is not favoured over the other.

Develop and maintain a PPIE and EDI database including stakeholder contact details and up-to-date impact case studies.

Design and implement appropriate evidence-based mechanisms for public members to be kept informed of the impact their involvement has made, and to foster meaningful and respectful long-term relationships and partnerships.

Group and Event Management

Lead the development and implementation of Equality Impact Assessments (EIA) for PPIE and staff group meetings and events to ensure no groups are disadvantaged from attending or actively participating.

Responsibility for Delivering Training and Development Opportunities

Support the development of the PPIE group and CRF staff, identifying their specific and individual training needs in PPIE and EDI via quantitative and qualitative evaluations.

Develop and provide specialised training for public members on relevant PPIE topics (such as co-production) based on the post-holders specialist knowledge gained in their academic and/or professional PPIE experience.

Build capacity and skills amongst CRF staff and researchers by leading on providing in-house and bespoke training on enhancing public involvement in the design, setting up, and management of research projects and core EDI topics, such as cultural intelligence.

Signpost public members and staff to relevant external national training or resources as required.

Signpost researchers and CRF staff to the NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination Resources as appropriate. Work closely with Kings Health Partners (KHP) PPIE staff to ensure a coordinated approach to staff queries regarding external training and support.

Support researchers and CRF staff to secure funding bids related to PPIE and EDI in research through the involvement and engagement of public members and via the post holders specialist expertise.

Develop and maintain an accessible library of PPIE and EDI resources, training, and planning materials to be hosted on the CRF website.

Communications and Website

Embed the principles of PPIE and EDI in all communication initiatives.

Work with public members and staff members to co-create content for the biannual PPIE newsletter and the CRF website (e.g., in the form of patient voice blogs and videos).

Partnerships

Regularly meet with members of the Trusts EDI Team to ensure alignment between Trust and EDI strategies and reporting.

Collaborate with counterparts at other CRFs (e.g. Guys and St. Thomas and St. Georges) to co-host events such as Knowledge Exchange Events and Dragons Dens where public members provide immediate verbal input on projects.

Liaise with external PPIE groups and explore alternative methods to engage the interest and involvement of patients, carers, and family members.

Build pivotal relationships with the NIHR Involvement and Inclusion Team, ensuring that the CRF aligns with its aims and objectives.

Take an active leadership role in relevant PPIE in research national staff networks, including those at Kings Health Partners (KHP) and the UKCRF Network. Participate in projects arising from the groups and communicate these outputs to public members and CRF staff in an engaging and motivational way.

More information can be found in the Job Description

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or above
• Post graduate qualification, working towards a Masters or equivalent experience
• Experience of Continuing Professional Development
• Relevant qualification/training in working with patients, volunteers and/or communities under-represented in research
• Familiar with Good Clinical Practice & Certification

Knowledge and Experience

• Significant experience working in a charity, healthcare, or research environment
• Significant PPIE experience, or experience working with and supporting volunteers or patients
• Experience in planning and delivering PPIE projects and activities
• Experience in designing and facilitating workshops and/or training sessions
• Experience of writing documents and communication materials for PPIE audiences
• Experience of contributing to reports for internal and external stakeholders and funders
• Experience of contributing to reports for internal and external stakeholders and funders
• Experience of managing and maintaining website content
• Line management and performance management experience

Skills and Competencies

• Knowledge of PPIE methodologies and benefits and challenges of implementation
• Knowledge of research methodologies, quality, standard setting, benchmarking/audit
• Articulate with advanced written and oral communication skills
• Excellent planning and organisational skills
• Excellent IT skills including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, website platforms and patient database systems
• Discussion/focus group moderation and facilitation skills
• Knowledge of health inequalities

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.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

£46,419 to £55,046 a year per annum inclusive of HCAS