Research Assistant / Clinical Studies Officer
NHS AfC: Band 5
Main area Research and Development Grade NHS AfC: Band 5 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (N/A) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 395-CC197-25
Site Goodmayes Hospital Town Ilford Salary £29,970 - £36,483 Per annum pro rata plus HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 26/06/2025 23:59
Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
We are looking to appoint a new research assistant to join our progressive and vibrant R&D team. The role is patient / staff facing and requires the post holder to have an aptitude and enthusiasm to work with a range of people from different cultures, ages, diagnosed conditions and environments. Our research portfolio covers mental health, dementia, and community care services.
The post holder will work with services to establish, develop and maintain relationships to facilitate research activities. Through these relationships they will identify and enrol patients, their carers and staff into research projects, undertaking duties such as advertising, screening, consent, and data collection with participants as required .
Main duties of the job
NELFT is an innovative and dynamic organisation with an accomplished record of delivering research studies throughout the Trust thanks to our skilled staff and clinicians. In the last year the team collaborated with community and mental health services to deliver over 50 NIHR Portfolio S tudies and the team enrolled more than 1400 people into research.
The post-holder will have experience of working with people with mental health problems, physical health problems and/or other disabilities and possess an understanding of research methods used in the NHS. They will be a creative problem solver, who is as comfortable working independently as they are as part of a team. They will have excellent communication skills and the ability to establish and maintain relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. The post-holder will have the opportunity to develop their research skills through formal and experiential learning, supervision, mentoring and peer support.
Working for our organisation
Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
High Cost Area Supplement
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,551 to a maximum of £5,735).
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer closely to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Any development needs to help you succeed in the role, can be discussed at the interview stage.
References
Please ensure that the references are from your most recent employer and one of these must be your direct Line Manager or Supervisor. You must provide professional email addresses for all referees as we will contact them as soon as an offer has been made. Please note we do not request references prior to interviews. Additionally, ensure that any gaps in your employment history are clearly indicated. All applications made through NHS Jobs account will be processed by TRAC System. Please note that some emails may go to your spam/junk mailbox so make sure you check this regularly.
Use of AI
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used, then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
If you like the sound of working with NELFT, don’t waste a moment and apply now!
Person specification
Qualifications
* BSc degree in relevant subject/discipline
* Excellent IT skills, experience using Microsoft Word, Microsoft Power point, and Excel, SPSS.
* MSc degree in relevant subject/discipline
* GCP training in last 2 years
Experience
* Experience of working with a range of service users who have mental and / or physical health conditions
* A minimum of 1 year of experience of working in a research environment displaying relevant and appropriate competencies and skills for the job.
* Analysing and presenting complex data to a high standard in the form of written reports
* Experience of working with multi-disciplinary research teams.
* Experience of delivering CTIMPs
Knowledge/Skill
* Knowledge of the governance and legislative framework for conducting clinical trials, including Research Governance Framework and Good Clinical Practice.
* High level communication skills (written and verbal).
* Good understanding of research trial methodology
* Use of standardised assessments
* Ability to work under pressure and to be able to prioritise, quickly assess and solve problems.
* Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to build relationships
* Awareness of accountability of own and others roles within the study delivery team
* Ability to use own initiative when working independently and also to be able to work effectively as a member of a team.
* Quantitative and qualitative research skills
Other
* To be aware and demonstrate the Trust Values
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
* A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
* A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
* Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
* Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link .
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.
We recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community make to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Gold Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme. We have supportive policies, guaranteed interview schemes for veterans. reservists and military spouses and give additional leave to our Reservists so that they can attend their annual camp.
Equal opportunities employer
We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity and positively encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of any protected characteristic.
We are a Disability Confident employer and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with disabilities.If you require this application in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape please contact the recruitment team on 0300 300 1530 or email recruitment@nelft.nhs.uk.
Correspondence with us
You are advised to regularly check your emails (including any junk mail/spam folders) for correspondence related to this post.
As part of our recruitment process, we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS. We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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