Senior Clinical Research Practitioner / Team Lead

Senior Clinical Research Practitioner / Team Lead

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

We are currently recruiting for a Senior Clinical Research Practitioner / Team Lead for the Early Phase Research Team. We are looking for candidates interested in building a career in research in one of the biggest haematology and oncology research teams in London. After completing a fully comprehensive induction package, you will lead the co-ordination and set-up of a portfolio of clinical trials, identifying and recruiting trial patients, collecting and reporting data, and supporting patients and their carers throughout treatment. Successful candidates will be excellent communicators with an eye for detail and a commitment to improving patient choices, care, and outcomes.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will lead and manage a team of clinical research delivery staff and a portfolio of research studies with the responsibility for delivering high-quality research and clinical care. This role will be a mix of clinical and managerial, and the post holder will be required to effectively manage their time to fulfil key responsibilities such as reviewing protocols, identifying resource implications, actively participating in meetings, proposing action plans for poorly recruiting studies, training, supporting and mentoring other members of staff, leading on service development, and contributing to the research business plan, whilst autonomously managing a caseload of participants. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring excellence in research delivery and participant experience.

About us

As part of Kings Health Partners, the Oncology and Haematology Clinical Trials (OHCT) team is made up of over fifty staff members consisting of Research Nurses, Clinical Trial Practitioners, Clinical Trial Coordinators, and the Safety & Support Team at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. We work closely with the oncology and haematology medical teams to recruit patients to our trials and to ensure patients are monitored closely throughout. We have a large portfolio of Phase II and III trials, which are split into teams for specific tumour groups. We also have a team dedicated to early phase trials and run weekly early phase clinics in the Clinical Research Facility. Our mission statement is 'Improving treatment choice, clinical care, and outcomes for cancer patients through innovation, dedication, and excellence in clinical trials.'

Job responsibilities

1. Work autonomously to manage a large caseload of participants acting as a professional in ensuring a duty of care to the participants and their families.
2. Work within relevant regulations and ICH GCP (International Conference on Harmonisation and Good Clinical Practice) ensuring that the clinical research protocol is adhered to at all times.
3. Devise, implement and evaluate strategies to identify eligible participants for research studies, including by attending clinics, departments, screening notes/consultant referral and Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings. Support less experienced team members to implement those strategies.
4. Coordinate the research participant pathway from screening through to study closure.
5. Actively work to achieve study accrual targets including engaging with the research team and clinical teams to overcome barriers to participant enrolment.
6. Liaise with the clinical team to organise and ensure that study specific investigations are undertaken according to the protocol, obtain and document the results.
7. Deal with concerns raised by participants and visitors in a proactive manner and take appropriate remedial action as necessary.
8. Review study protocols and identify resource implications for the site.
9. Liaise with Clinical Trial Set Up staff to help assist in the set-up of commercial trials on site.
10. Supervise the research team in the collation of data generated from clinical studies.
11. Monitor patient recruitment and data collection week by week, reviewing recruitment figures and alerting the lead research staff and Principal Investigators to any problems with recruitment.
12. Act as a role model for excellence in research delivery.
13. Lead and support the team acting as an expert resource, demonstrating tenacity, drive, professional integrity, balance, and perspective.
14. Motivate, develop, support, and identify training needs for department staff and take a proactive role in the department training programme.
15. Undertake performance review and management and act on identified development needs to maintain high levels of performance and quality within the team.
16. Act always in a manner which promotes positive working relationships and maintains the professional image of the Trust.

Person Specification

Skills

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to deal with complex and sensitive situations.
• Basic knowledge of recent NHS legislation relevant to specialist areas.
• In-depth understanding of research methodologies.
• Ability to lead, teach, supervise, and mentor others in relation to all aspects of clinical research delivery.
• Awareness of changing trends in healthcare.
• Experience in audits.
• Significant experience in clinical research delivery including managing own portfolio of studies.
• Substantial experience relevant to specialty.
• Knowledge and experience of handling complex relationships.
• Experience mentoring, developing, and supervising junior staff in a clinical setting.
• Demonstrable managerial/team lead experience.
• Experience of change management.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable theoretical knowledge equivalent to masters/NVQ Level 7 qualification in life sciences or related field.
• GCP certificate.
• Evidence of continuous professional development.
• Teaching experience.
• Postgraduate teaching qualification.

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.