Clinical Research Contracts: Development Partner - Research Strategy and Services - 105038 - Grade 8

Position Details

Research Strategy and Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £46,485 to £55,295 with potential progression once in post to £62,098

Grade: 8

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 16th January 2025

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Background

The University has an exciting vision to build on the success of REF2021, by continuing to transform its research performance across outputs, income, impact, and policy influence. Central to this ambition is the Research Strategy & Services Division (RSSD), a new Professional Services department that has been established to work in partnerships with our academics across research strategy, operations, and partnerships.

Role Summary

The Clinical Research Contracts: Development Partner is an exciting role that offers the opportunity to support our world-leading clinical research within a dynamic health ecosystem. This encompasses the University, local NHS Trusts, Clinical Trials Units, Birmingham Health Partners, Industry collaborators, and our technology transfer company, UoB Enterprise.

The role is part of a well-resourced team in the RSSD Research Support Hub (College of Medicine and Health), where you will support a diverse contracts portfolio, primarily focused on clinical trials. This is an exciting time to join us: in 2024, we will open the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, a world-leading health technology hub. In the past two years, the College of Medicine and Health has secured over £200m in research awards, and through collaborations with the NHS and Industry partners, we will make a significant contribution to the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy.

A key part of the RSSD and University culture is developing staff in an inclusive environment that enables all colleagues to thrive. As Clinical Research Contracts: Development Partner, you will have the opportunity to mentor your own direct report, supporting their progression through the research support career path within the Division, while also being supported to continually enhance your own professional practice.

Main Duties

• Work in close collaboration with colleagues across the College Hub and the Research Governance, Ethics and Integrity (REGI) team to ensure the delivery of a cohesive and responsive support service for clinical contracting at Birmingham, aligning with the needs of researchers and institutional priorities.
• Build strong and effective relationships with academics, external partners, UoB Enterprise, and other key stakeholders while providing expert advice on clinical trial contracts, ensuring alignment with the University’s established risk framework as part of a team dedicated to enabling timely, innovative, and efficient clinical research.
• Support our researchers to negotiate successful contracts with external partners, finding mutually acceptable ways forward.
• Ensure that research agreements align with our institutional policies and funder terms, and comply with UK and international regulations, such as the UK Clinical Trials Regulations, GDPR, and the Health Research Authority (HRA) guidelines.
• Keep up to date with regulatory and policy changes that impact clinical research and disseminate knowledge to the wider research community.
• Work closely with Research Support Managers to cultivate a supportive environment that enables teams to develop, negotiate, and finalise contracts effectively, while proactively addressing training needs, providing real-time support for resolving issues, and embedding a culture of continuous professional development. This includes designing and delivering tailored contracts training sessions for staff across the RSSD.
• With the Research Support Managers, maintain a regular oversight of the contracts portfolio across the College Hub, ensuring that there are established processes for proactive management such that our service continues to improve.
• Develop positive and open lines of communication with senior academics and research leaders, ensuring that contracts issues are flagged in a timely manner and taking a collaborative approach to agreeing university-industry collaborations.
• Line manage a Research Support Officer.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) plus significant relevant practical experience – where no equivalent qualification is held substantial practical relevant experience and expertise in a series of progressively more demanding roles will be required.
  • Professional legal qualification or contract management certification is desirable.
• Proven experience in the negotiation and management of research agreements, ideally within the higher education or healthcare sector.
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly for a variety of audiences, and to produce and analyse source material, information and data.
• Proven understanding of issues that impact on University contracting such as regulations, data protection, intellectual property.
• Experience of engaging, and collaborating, with internal and external stakeholders, including excellent negotiation and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and management skills.
• Excellent analytical skills with an ability to analyse complex qualitative and quantitative information and present conclusions clearly and concisely.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence and negotiate effectively with a range of stakeholders.
• Highly proficient IT skills, including the MS Office suite and a proven ability to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required.
• High level of self-motivation and personal accountability with ability to plan and deliver goals to deadlines under pressure.
• Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, procedures are applied.
• Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action.

Role context

Roles at this level provide authoritative professional advice and opinion across a range of activities and/or will lead and manage diverse team(s) and resources. You will use your professional skills to resolve problems where the solution is not immediately apparent. Significant evaluation and independent thought is therefore required to resolve ambiguity. You will have wide discretion to decide on direction whilst ensuring activities are broadly consistent with operational policies. You will be able to influence policy through advising on the impact of policy change and implementation in your area of work. You will need to assess the impact of your activities across your area, with related areas and to ensure they fit with the broader objectives of the University.

Core competencies/transferable skills

Working at this level you will be able to develop and successfully use the following core competencies/transferable skills in each of the areas shown below. You will be expected to take ownership for getting things done, including calling on or joining others to assist. You will be expected to be flexible as required in supporting your department and wider University.

Informal enquiries to Sam Hickman, Head of Research Support for Medicine and Health, email: s.j.hickman@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy.