Research Steering and Involvement Coordinator

South West Community Chaplaincy; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

South West Community Chaplaincy seeks a dedicated coordinator to manage Diabetes Research Steering Groups (DRSGs) and related activities in the UK research landscape. You will handle the shared inbox, schedule meetings, prepare agendas and minutes, and act as a key contact for members.

You will support projects, shape member involvement, co-facilitate discussions, track insights, identify peer reviewers for highlight notices, and support PPI activities with the Grants Advisory Panel.

Qualifications

• High-level organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Experience coordinating committees or groups in a research setting.
• Ability to engage with diverse stakeholders, including people affected by diabetes.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate DRSG activities and related projects, ensuring smooth administrative operations.
• Manage shared inbox, schedule meetings, and prepare agendas and minutes for sessions.
• Support peer review processes for highlight notices and assist PPI activities with the Grants Advisory Panel (GAP).
• Capture impact of DRSG outputs and ensure patient voices influence research priorities.

Skills

Organisational skills

Project coordination

Stakeholder management

Biomedical research understanding

Public and patient involvement (PPI)

Job description

The DRSGs bring together researchers, healthcare professionals, and people living with or affected by diabetes to identify research gaps, shape research priorities, and drive activity that improves the lives of people affected by diabetes. Through workshops, reports, funding recommendations, and collaborative projects, the DRSGs help ensure that diabetes research is both scientifically rigorous and informed by lived experience.

The bulk of this role focuses on coordinating the smooth running of the DRSG and related activities, including managing the shared inbox, scheduling meetings, preparing agendas and papers, recording high-quality minutes, and acting as a key point of contact for members. Beyond these core responsibilities, you will play an active role in supporting projects and helping shape member involvement as the DRSG evolves. This includes co-facilitating discussions, tracking qualitative and quantitative insights, helping identify and engage peer reviewers for highlight notice applications, and supporting a range of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) activities. You will also work closely with the Grants Advisory Panel (GAP), a panel of people affected by diabetes who contribute to funding decisions, and support wider research initiatives, including the Type 2 Prevention Research Challenge.

By ensuring our steering groups and PPI panels run efficiently, you enable researchers, healthcare professionals, and people affected by diabetes to collaborate effectively. Success in this role means delivering seamless administrative control, capturing the impact of DRSG outputs, and ensuring patient voices directly influence research priorities. An ideal candidate will combine high-level organisational skills with experience or understanding of biomedical research and the UK research landscape.