Senior Clinical Research Associate

KINGS COLLEGE LONDON; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research university in the UK is seeking an experienced professional to oversee quality assurance in non-commercial clinical trials. The successful candidate will manage a team to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and standards, and promote a culture of continuous improvement within clinical research. This role is a fixed-term position offering competitive remuneration, with a salary range of £53,947 to £63,350. Ideal candidates will have a postgraduate degree and substantial experience in a relevant field.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree or equivalent professional experience required.
• Comprehensive knowledge of NHS and academia research standards.
• Excellent communication skills for creating technical documents.

Responsibilities

• Oversee monitoring and quality assurance of clinical trials.
• Lead a team of Clinical Research Associates and Administrators.
• Ensure compliance with legislation and good clinical practice.

Skills

Postgraduate degree in health-related area

Knowledge of NHS research standards

Understanding of clinical trial regulations

Excellent communication skills

Experience supporting regulatory inspections

Line management experience

Ability to ensure quality issues are identified

Quality Assurance qualifications

Clinical trial monitoring experience

Education

Postgraduate (master’s degree) in health-related area

Job description

Organisation/Company KINGS COLLEGE LONDON Research Field Other Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Established Researcher (R3) Country United Kingdom Application Deadline 20 Jan 2026 - 00:00 (UTC) Type of Contract Other Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

About us

The King’s Health Partners Clinical Trials Office is a collaboration between King’s College London, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. It was set up to provide a single interface for those wishing to conduct clinical trials within the partner organisations, and to ensure that there are common, efficient processes for the set up and administration of clinical trials.

About the role

The post-holder will be responsible for overseeing the monitoring and quality assurance of non-commercial clinical trials sponsored or co-sponsored by King’s Health Partners (KHP) Partner Organisations: Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The post-holder will ensure that all activities are conducted in accordance with applicable legislation, ICH GCP E6 guidelines, and applicable institutional policies. Working as part of the KHP-CTO Non-Commercial Team, the post-holder will ensure that the sponsor responsibilities (delegated to the KHP-CTO) for clinical oversight, safety reporting, and data integrity; are discharged to the highest standards of quality and compliance.

The post-holder will lead and develop a team of Clinical Research Associates and Clinical Trial Administrators, ensuring a consistent, risk-based approach to trial monitoring, quality control and issue management. They will work closely with the Non-Commercial Trials Manager, investigators, and research delivery teams across the Partner Organisations to promote a culture of continuous improvement, support regulatory inspection readiness, and safeguard the rights, safety and wellbeing of research participants, while maintaining the credibility and reputation of the KHP-CTO as a centre of excellence for clinical research.

This is a 14-month fixed term maternity cover post. We’re looking for someone to start on the 16th of March 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

• Educated to postgraduate (master’s degree) level in a health-related area or equivalent professional experience
• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of standards and legislation that govern research in the NHS and academia
• Comprehensive knowledge of clinical trial regulations, good clinical practice guidelines and other regulatory frameworks and their implication for health research.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to apply these to create technical documents (e.g. regulatory reports, CAPAs, SOPs) and to correspond with research staff at all levels in an appropriate way
• Ability to listen to others and use critical questioning techniques to identify core issues to negotiate a path forward that meets the needs of all stakeholders
• Experience supporting regulatory inspections, ideally by the MHRA
• Experienced line manager who can work flexibly, and who has a positive approach to work
• Ability to ensure quality related issues are identified and followed up in a timely manner
• Quality Assurance/Governance-related professional qualifications
• Proven experience of working within a Quality Assurance role, either within academia, the NHS, or the pharmaceutical industry
• Experience with risk-based quality management systems
• Experience of clinical trial monitoring and/or audit

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information about the criteria that will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further Information

This post may close earlier than the stated closing date if a high volume of applications is received. Applicants are therefore encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible.

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit ’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held in January 2026

Grade and Salary: £53,947 - £63,350 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance

Job ID: 134925

Close Date: 20-Jan-2026

Contact Person: Craig Macpherson

Contact Details: [e-mail]