Job overview
The Royal Marsden Hospital (RM) together with its academic partner The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) form the only specialist cancer NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) that supports translational clinical research into cancer diagnosis and treatment. The BRC goal is to increase cancer cure rates with smarter, kinder treatments which significantly reduce immediate and long-term side effects.
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the BRC for a Patient & Public Involvement and Engagement (PPI/E) Administrator in clinical research. The vision of our BRC & CRF Strategy for Involving and Engaging People in Cancer Research | TRM CancerBRC (2022-27) is to ensure that diverse public and patient voices are heard in all we do; in contributing to translational research, leading to the best cancer treatment alongside outstanding patient experiences. The strategy enhances existing work and generates more involvement in the research process from initial proposals, protocol development, participant recruitment and trial management.
The Clinical Research PPI/E Administrator will provide efficient and effective administrative support for BRC PPI/E activities, including managing requests from researchers for PPI/E support. The PPI/E team facilitates a PPI Service for commercially sponsored hosted research, and the postholder will mainly support this service.
Main duties of the job
The Clinical Research PPI/E Administrator provides an efficient and effective administrative support for PPI/E activities for commercial research. The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust (RM) offers a PPI Service for commercially sponsored hosted research by patient and public contributors (PPCs), facilitated by the RM Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Team (PPI/E team). The Clinical Research PPI/E Administrator will mainly support this service.
The post holder will work at all times with a high degree of discretion and initiative, respecting confidentiality of information. The post holder will frequently be the first point of contact for key stakeholders (including our public contributors) and will develop excellent working relationships both internally and externally.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To provide support for the PPI Service for commercially sponsored hosted research reviews by patient and public contributors (PPCs), by arranging and administering PPI reviews. This will entail:
1. communicating with research professionals and providing information about the PPI service and requirements.
2. communicating with the PPCs and ensuring that patient-facing material is sent to PPCs within the appropriate timeframes.
3. ensuring that feedback is collected, collated and sent to research professionals in a timely manner;
4. administering rewards and any expenses to the PPCs;
5. liaising with the finance team to provide reports on payments for the service.
6. maintaining a spreadsheet/database with details of the PPI Service offered.
The postholder will frequently be the first point of contact for key stakeholders, including our public contributors, clinical trials managers and coordinators, and will develop excellent working relationships both internally and externally. Experience of working in administration, using databases and MS Office applications, i.e. Word, Excel, Teams and PowerPoint are all essential, together with an understanding of patient and public involvement and engagement and clinical research. Excellent communication skills and good standard of English, both written and verbal, the ability to work flexibly and on own initiative, prioritise and manage workload, accuracy and attention to detail are all essential attributes.
This position is part-time (18.5 hours/week), fixed-term contract for 1 year with possibility of extension, based in Sutton with occasional travel to Chelsea and home and/or flexible working as required and agreed with the line manager.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential criteria
7. Minimum 5 GCSE A-C Levels, or equivalent, including Maths & English
Desirable criteria
8. A levels (or equivalent)
Experience & Understanding
Essential criteria
9. Experience of working in administration
10. Experience of MS Office applications, including Word, Excel, Teams and PowerPoint
11. Experience of using databases
12. Experience of organising workshops and events
13. Understanding of clinical research
14. Understanding of patient and public involvement and engagement
Desirable criteria
15. Experience of working within the NHS
16. Experience of using the SBS Procurement System
17. Experience of using HealthRoster
Skills Abilities/knowledge
Essential criteria
18. Good standard of written and spoken English
19. Ability to work on own initiative and to prioritise and manage workload
20. Willingness and demonstrable ability to work as part of a team
21. Accuracy and attention to detail
22. Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
23. Excellent communication skills, written and verbal
24. Excellent administrative/organisational skills
Personal Attributes
Desirable criteria
25. Demonstrable evidence of personal and professional development
The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.
Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.
Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff
At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.
The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.
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