Research Project Manager

at  The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

This post is an opportunity for an enthusiastic, well-motivated individual with excellent interpersonal, communication, IT, financial, and organisational skills to provide support within Radiotherapy Related Research (RRR) at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
Funded as part of the Radiotherapy BioAdaption theme within the Cancer Research UK Manchester Centre, the Research Project Manager will work to help deliver cutting-edge RRR research output, developing strong relationships and working alongside clinical and non-clinical researchers within RRR. The Cancer Research UK Manchester Centre is a translational research centre that delivers world-leading research across five cross-cutting research themes to deliver on its vision of implementing Cancer Precision for All by uniting clinical and translational research. The post holder will support the Radiotherapy BioAdaption theme which covers a diverse range of focus areas, including sensitivity and toxicity biomarkers, image-guided therapy and combined modality approaches that encompass both targeted agents and immunotherapy. Ultimately, we are looking to personalise radiotherapy through the integration of patient-specific and tumour-specific information, increasingly in real-time.
The post-holder will support studies using the MR-Linac, which is an exciting technology that combines highly precise imaging and a radiotherapy delivery system that allows for real-time imaging with soft tissue definition superior to that of current standard of care systems. The integrated treatment planning system facilitates real-time treatment adaptations and has the potential to integrate functional imaging (i.e. information about tumour and normal tissue physiology/changes) directly into the radiotherapy pathway. Every patient treated on this system is enrolled into a clinical trial so more can be learned about the impact of radiotherapy, how to make radiotherapy more personalised and kinder (i.e. fewer toxicities) in hard to treat tumours. Most importantly – through the use of patient experience surveys – the team are actively engaging the patient in research developments.
The cross-discipline MR-Linac group work with all the professional groups fully engaged in exploring how this technology can be used to improve patient outcomes. In addition, the team collaborate nationally and internationally with other MR-Linac groups – for example within the MRL Consortium, alongside The Royal Marsden Hospital, and University of Oxford. The team are working with industry to develop novel automated tools to make treatments more efficient and we are training future radiotherapy/radiation oncology professionals both in clinical and academic practice.
The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.
We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years.
We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
Communication
Serve as a main point of contact for research teams and study investigators, external funding bodies, pharmaceutical companies and national networks.
Support the RRR and associated researchers (including medical physicist, statistician and bioinformatician) by providing information for grant applications and the R&I governance associated with this.
Support researchers with internal and external communication so that collaborations are maximised.
Provide support for coordination and execution of the research projects.
Assist in the writing and evaluation of research protocols, patient information, questionnaires and CRFs for individual studies.
Identify strategies for recruiting patients to individual studies and supporting team members in implementing these strategies. Work to ensure patient recruitment targets are achieved.
Advice and negotiate on clinical trial agreements (including financial arrangements) and material transfer agreements.
Arrange and service meetings as appropriate. Preparing agendas, taking minutes and distributing as appropriate, following up any action points.
Support with abstract and poster development for local, national and international conferences
Provide regular updates for each study to keep collaborators up-to-date with developments and forthcoming projects.
Prepare and submit interim and annual reports for R&I, ethic committees, funding bodies, CSGs etc. as required.
Where appropriate link with the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) and the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC).
Present complex research information to the RRR.
Knowledge, training and experience
Research project management in particular within the NHS and Universities.
Scientific writing skills.
Knowledge of clinical research and research governance.
Knowledge of grant application and publication submission.
Financial management of budgets and resources for each grant to ensure maximum value is achieved for the resources.
Experience of coordinating and contributing to relevant grant funding applications
Clinical trial management and reporting
Work with NHS/University finance systems to raise purchase requisitions, receipt goods and check invoices are paid. Cross-reference paperwork with budget spreadsheets.
Planning and organisational skills
Ability to ensure that researchers have all the information that they need to develop their projects and that researchers have an understanding of the processes that need to be followed and the timelines involved.
Ability to plan and organise various complex researcher activities ensuring all progress to time and schedule.
There will be a need to be flexible around researcher’s availability with the ability to adjust plans as required to ensure all targets are met.
Physical Skills
Work with Microsoft Office programmes, requiring standard keyboard skills.
There is an on-going requirement to exert light physical effort in this role.
Responsibilities for patient care
Responsible for ensuring patient information relating to clinical studies is accurate and appropriate.
Responsibilities for policy and service development implementation
Follow all relevant policies and procedures, in particular in relation to the Data Protection Act. Ensure researchers are working to the relevant policies and procedures.
Be pro-active in monitoring working practices with researchers, research teams, the R&I Office and the CTU (when applicable) and suggesting new ways of working and implementing them.
Implement new SOPs and working procedures as required.
Responsibilities for information resources
Support the strategic development of research through attendance and support for the research theme committees as required.
Assist with preparing necessary reports/agenda for telephone/video conferences and meetings.
Responsibilities for Research and Development
Produce consistent records and documentation for each study progressed in line with Research Governance processes.
Assist with preparation for and presentation of reviews/inspections (e.g. MHRA, in-house audits etc).
Freedom to act
The post holder is expected to follow all relevant policies, SOPs and standard practice.
Plans and organises own time and workload activity with prioritisation.
Able to work independently using own initiative.
Physical, Mental and Emotional Effort
Long periods of time spent using a keyboard to input information.
Prolonged concentration is required, e.g., when checking through a research protocol or databases.

Please refer the Job description for details