Life Science Key Account Manager

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

The Life Science Key Account Manager, as a senior manager in the Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN), will work as part of a national Research Delivery Network (RDN) Industry facing team to develop and manage relationships with Life Sciences companies, and the NIHR wider stakeholders within the clinical research environment including non-commercial funders and other parts of the research ecosystem to attract and grow clinical research delivery in the UK.

This role will work closely with RDN Industry facing teams across the RDN to ensure equality and consistency of service for all customers, nationally and regionally. Using horizon scanning data, business intelligence and NIHR expertise and relationships, the postholder will provide a tailored service to key accounts as a single conduit, representing the RDN nationally. The post holder will promote the RDN services, ensuring that key themes and opportunities are communicated into the RDN. The postholder will work closely with other key industry facing teams, External Affairs and Strategic Partnerships and the Department of Business and Trade to explore opportunities and enable access to NIHR infrastructure.

Main duties of the job

• Strategic Leadership
• Business Planning
• Information & Administration
• Operational Management
• Service Improvement & Development
• Performance Management
• Communication & Stakeholder Management
• Corporate Governance

Job responsibilities

• Develop business cases/options papers for the RRDN Leadership team to inform decisions regarding workforce and organisational development
• Responsible for managing the budget and associated resources relating to the RRDN Life Science Key Account service
• An in-depth understanding of the Study Support Service offer, impact case studies and latest innovations that support each life sciences customer to optimise their study delivery, including Be Part of Research and Join Dementia Research
• An in-depth understanding of the National Contract Value Review principles and their impact on regional delivery organisations, including national costing methodology, internal disbursement requirements and invoicing, which all support research capacity for life-sciences
• To use horizon scanning data, business intelligence and your NIHR expertise and relationships to provide a personalised service to key accounts ensuring that key themes and opportunities are made visible to the RDN
• Act as an ambassador for the RDN and an advocate for the key accounts managed
• To lead and support the development of Key performance indicators for the RRDN Life Science Key Account Management in alignment with national indicators
• Identify, establish and maintain working relationships with the relevant stakeholders and partners e.g. Health and Care Delivery Organisations, Life Science Partners, CROs, Industry facing teams across all settings, patients, carers and the public
• Ensure that effective governance arrangements are in place for identifying and mitigating risk and that a culture exists of continuous service review, transformation and evaluation and where staff can raise concerns safely and expediently with service delivery
• To provide strong visible, inclusive and compassionate leadership across the RDN Life Science Key Account Management, ensuring delivery of high quality, safe and effective services, against agreed outcome measures, service level agreements, activity and finance targets

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

• Significant experience or knowledge in research and development (R&D), science or healthcare
• Significant specialist knowledge of the NHS, R&D systems and the context of the importance of the life sciences in this context

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience of owning and writing complex business cases
• Broad knowledge and experience of utilising information technology to provide management information reports, particularly financial and activity reporting
• Experience at dealing with very senior people both internally and externally e.g operational management
• Proven experience of working successfully as part of diffused leadership teams
• Proven staff management experience with the ability to gain their support, motivate and develop them
• Experience of managing a customer-focused service
• Experience of working in healthcare in an operational management or business management or development capacity
• Experience of working with the life sciences sector or working within R&D within the NHS/academic sector
• Ability to negotiate commercial contracts and non-commercial agreements with the commercial sector, the public sector, universities and charities
• Professional leadership at an operational level
• Experience at project management, with a good understanding of the complexities involved
• An understanding of business and marketing principles
• Research management and administration including governance, sponsorship, costings, contracts, finance and clinical trial agreements
• Appreciation of clinical research methodologies and trials organisation
• Advanced experience of using R&D databases
• Experience of working in the private healthcare sector and International business experience
• Senior level experience of managing R&D activity in the health and social care/university sector
• Demonstration of strategic thinking and strategy development
• Experience of design management and delivery of completed research projects in the health, social care or university sector

Skills and Abilities

• Robust leadership skills
• Ability to exercise initiative
• Excellent organisational skills
• Team building and staff training skill
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Ability to operate at all levels throughout an organisation
• Evidence of strong analytical skills and high level of numeracy
• Ability to work to tight deadlines under pressure
• Experience of managing a wide range of complex duties
• Good IT skills, particularly in use of Web applications, Google Workspace applications and MS Office applications and with respect to research databases
• Ability to prepare and deliver presentations to a high standard
• Ability to plan, manage and deliver projects and activities, involving multiple agencies and individuals to tight deadlines
• Ability to manage challenging and stressful situations
• Strong problem-solving skills

Values and Personal Qualities

• Able to lead, motivate, and delegate

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.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

£70,387 to £80,465 a year per annum incl. HCAS