Research Assistant

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust; Manchester; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust invites applications for a Research Assistant to work across the Christie Patient Centred Research (CPCR) unit. The role supports CPCR projects, focusing on improving patient experience and quality of life through data collection, analysis and dissemination of results.

Applicants should have a good degree in nursing, allied health, psychology or another scientific-based subject, with strong organisational, communication and teamwork skills, capable of working

Qualifications

• Degree in nursing, allied health, psychology or other scientific-based subject.
• Experience delivering to deadlines and working in project-based settings.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills.
• Ability to work both in a team and independently.

Responsibilities

• Assist with data collection, data analysis and dissemination of findings.
• Support literature reviews and preparation of reports/publications.
• Contribute to project administration and governance requirements.

Skills

Data collection

Data analysis

Report writing

Communication skills

Teamwork

Independent work

Literature reviews

Education

Degree in nursing/allied health/psychology/other science

Tools

NVivo

SPSS

R

Microsoft Word

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen within Research and Innovation, Christie Patient Centred Research (CPCR) unit at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. Applications are invited for a Research Assistant role to work across various CPCR projects. The CPCR team conduct a variety of research projects focused on improving patient experience and quality of life.

We are seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated individual to join CPCR to assist with project related activities. Responsibilities include assisting and facilitating data collection, data analysis and preparation of reports/publications.

Applicants should hold a good degree in nursing, allied health, psychology or other scientific-based subject. An understanding of project work and evidence of high-quality delivery to deadlines are essential.

We are looking for an individual with excellent organisational and communication skills, who can work well both in a team and using their own initiative.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will support research project activities within the Christie Patient Centred Research (CPCR) team. CPCR lead a wide range of research projects exploring patient experience & quality life. Duties will include data collection & analysis, dissemination, administrative functions and literature reviews.

The primary aims of the post are to:

• Support the day-to-day running of CPCR projects
• Provide support to the Post-doctoral Research Fellow
• Contribute to publications and project reports where required

PRINCIPLE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Planning and Organisational

• Assist in delivery of stated objectives for CPCR projects.
• Work with CPCR team members to meet project milestones
• Actively participate in committees and meetings as required.
• Ensure that all projects adhere to Good Clinical Practice guidelines.

Project Facilitation

• Facilitate Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) activities for project development and ongoing PPI input.
• Facilitate data management including data collection, entry, validation and analysis.
• Liaise with project leads and staff to facilitate project maintenance and delivery of project milestones.
• Assist with report writing and manuscript preparation.

Equality and Diversity

• Carry out all duties in a way that supports equality and values diversity.
• Promote and support equality in access to research and value diversity ensuring the service provided meets the needs of all service users.

Working for our organisation

The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, looking after more than 64,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 25% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.

We are the largest radiotherapy provider in the NHS with one in 20 treatments delivered at The Christie. We have up to 15 linear accelerators operating across our network of sites. We operate the largest chemotherapy unit in the UK on our main site and treatments are also provided at 13 other networked sites, and in patients homes. And as a specialist tertiary surgical centre, we focus on rare cancers, complex procedures, and multidisciplinary approaches to cancer surgery, specialising in colorectal, peritoneal, gynaecological, urological and plastic surgery.

We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We have been named by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), as one of the best hospitals providing opportunities for patients to participate in clinical research studies, with more than 800 studies open at any time, caring for over 3,000 patients.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Planning and organisational tasks / duties

• Assist in delivery of CPCR studies including recruiting participants from a clinic setting.
• Work with CPCR team members and project leads to facilitate project maintenance, delivery of project milestones, scheduling study meetings as required for each study and present updates at monthly team meetings.
• Use own initiative to organize, plan and complete necessary tasks.
• Maintain attention to detail when completing study documents, data entry and analysis.
• Is responsible for ensuring own professional knowledge is regularly updated and keep abreast of relevant developments, making effective use of learning opportunities and actively promoting the workplace as a learning environment.
• Assist in the conduct of quantitative and qualitative research processes, project management and ability to work autonomously in all research projects.
• Use relevant computer software including Microsoft Word and research software as appropriate for each project for example use of NVIVO to assist in qualitative analysis or ‘r’/’SPSS’ to assist with quantitative analysis.
• Propose policy or service changes applicable to the conduct of research within CPCR.
• Assist with report writing and manuscript preparation.

Patient / service user related tasks /duties

• Facilitate Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) activities for project development and ongoing PPI input; including contacting patients face to face or via telephone and email, scheduling PPI events and actively managing these.
• Take formal minutes in meetings (for example in trial steering group committees for national trials with more than 15 members of all levels of experience) and notes during data analysis conversations and at other stages to keep a log of decision making throughout the research process.
• Provide a supportive environment when conducting participant interviews and other research meetings with research teams including internal and external research team members (e.g. for industry sponsored research studies).
• Discuss personal and sensitive information with research participants and the ability to respond appropriately and empathetically.
• Follow risk assessments and distress policy to ensure the comfort and safety of participants and themselves is paramount, escalating any concerns to senior team members.
• Attend clinics in person to facilitate research study recruitment.

Responsibilities for information resources

• Facilitate data management including data collection, entry, validation and analysis: Adapt, design information systems to meet the specifications of others.
• Responsible for the operation and data input for one or more information systems for department/service/sponsor preference, for example (but not limited to) the local research study management system (e.g. RPEAK), electronic patient records systems (e.g. CWP), spreadsheets for data entry, visualisation and analysis (e.g. excel), online questionnaire and data management systems (e.g. qualtrix, redcap). Multiple systems will be used on a daily basis.
• Introduce, adapt and improve information systems for CPCR and relevant studies e.g. developing and implementing systems to input, store and disseminate information used in statistical/data analysis and information relevant to the smooth running of research studies.
• Responsible for one or more information systems for collection of statistical/epidemiological information, such as Excel, R, SPSS.
• Undertake basic statistical analysis such as comparisons, frequencies, mean and standard deviation, conduct qualitative data analysis using NVivo software to store, manage, analyse and synthesise the data.
• Assist in cleaning data and preparing data for more complex analysis and assist senior members of the team in qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
• Apply a range of facts and theoretical evidence to situations requiring analysis. Manages statistical/analytical queries, assessing whether analyses are robust e.g. investigating data anomalies identified during analyses, instigating corrective action as required.
• Synthesise, analyse and interpret research findings.
• Apply and adhere to research Governance policies and procedures: for example, is able to ensure that all projects adhere to Good Clinical Practice guidelines, GDPR and contributes to audits when required.

Responsibilities for human resources

• Actively participates in committees and meetings as required.
• Provide and receive complex or sensitive information.
• Communicate with all levels across the organization and within Research and Innovation on a regular basis.
• Communicate with research participants and patients which will include emotional and distressing topics.
• Facilitate interviews with patient/family study participants which will mean exposure to distressing and emotional circumstances on a regular basis due to the nature of work undertaken by CPCR.
• Carry out all duties in a way that supports equality and values diversity. This responsibility includes actions in relation to all internal and external stakeholders and research sponsors.
• Facilitate the promotion and support of equality in access to research and value diversity ensuring the service provided meets the needs of all service users.
• Responsible for promoting the work and reputation of the Trust and supporting its wider activities.
• Responsible for ensuring that personal, professional and corporate essential training requirements for self and staff under line management are met.
• Proactively engage in the PDR process ensuring that preparation work, objectives and personal development needs are identified and met.
• Demonstrate the Christie values and behaviour, being accountable for their own attitude and behaviour.

Responsibility for financial resources

• Liaise with senior staff members and the finance department to manage the project budget and any participant expenses.

Teaching

• Can work with CPCR team to support any new members of staff and provide training on specific tasks.
• There may be occasions where the research assistant will provide training to other clinicians regarding a particular element of the research study, such as the use of medical devices being used in research projects or qualitative research techniques.

Person specification

Qualifications

• A first degree in Nursing, Allied Health, Psychology or other scientific-based subject
• Post Graduate qualification in a health/science based subject, or research
• Good Clinical Practice

Experience

• Experience of qualitative and quantitative research processes
• Experience of conducting literature reviews
• Experience of report writing
• Experience in clinical research
• Experience in PPI
• Experience of working with young people
• Experience of data management
• Publications and conference presentation

Skills

• Ability to communicate effectively – excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills
• Ability to critically appraise and synthesise information
• Strong critical thinking, analytic and reflexive research skills
• Able to work independently and unsupervised, knowing when to ask for help
• Having attention to detail, being thorough and organized
• Use own initiative to organize, plan and complete necessary tasks
• The ability to innovate and see new opportunities, to think outside the box

Knowledge

• Knowledge of national and local drivers for clinical research
• Computer literate with Microsoft Office including Word, Powerpoint and Excel
• Knowledge of funding streams
• Knowledge of the unique challenges young adult survivors of a brain tumour experience
• Knowledge of research specific software such as Nvivo, SPSS or R

Values

• Ability to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours

Other

• Willing to undertake regular local travel and travel to conferences
• Frequent sitting or standing in a restricted position using a computer more or less continuously on many days. Some days will require being able to attend clinic settings for hours at a time
• Is aware of their own health and wellbeing needs

The closing date for this post may be extended if there are insufficient applicants or brought forward if there is a high volume of applicants.

Application Information - If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, I regret that on this occasion your application will have been unsuccessful.

Sponsorship Information - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on thegovernment website.

Pre-Employment Checks - To confirm your suitability for the role, we will carry out pre-employment checks in line withNHS Employment Check Standards . These include:

• Identity verification
• Right to work check
• Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role, payment of this will be the applicants responsibility)
• Professional registration and/or qualification check
• Occupational health assessment
• Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust will be required to provide theirHMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history andreferences.

If you require sponsorship, we will assess your eligibility based on currentgovernment guidance. If the role is not eligible and you cannot demonstrate your right to work, your conditional offer may be withdrawn.

If You're Offered the Role - you will be agreeing to The Christie 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 note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and will form part of the recruitment process. In the event that you are successful following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.

No Smoking Policy - You should be aware the Trust operates a No Smoking Policy and therefore employees are not permitted to smoke at work.

Additional Information - We want to ensure that everyone who works at the Christie or uses our services is welcomed, valued and treated with dignity and respect. The Christie values diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and fair representation across the organisation at all levels. In support of these commitments, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and people with disabilities for this post. Appointment will be only on merit.

We are committed to creating a balanced and diverse workforce. As such we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Together we will foster inclusion and tackle inequity and health inequalities in cancer care.

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all our activities. We have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery in any of its forms, including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour, and human trafficking. We are fully committed to acting ethically and with transparency in all our business dealings and relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our organisation or supply chains.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.