RRDN Health and Care Research Director (NMAHP) inBristol inBristol PUBLISHED 17 APR 2024

Job summary

This role works as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research's (NIHR) Research Delivery Network (RDN). The Regional RDN South West Central (RRDN) is hosted by UHBW.

Working together the two RRDN Health & Care Research Directors (one Medic and one Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health Professional) will be the senior officers responsible for working with health and care professional leaders to support the development of research delivery leadership and associated staff.

They will play a key leadership role in the on-going engagement, development and oversight in their respective communities of practice. They will also coordinate the work of the Regional Specialty and Settings Leads. The Medical Health & Care Research Director will coordinate the RRDN Specialty Leads and the NMAHP Health & Care Research Director will coordinate the RRDN Settings Leads.

The purpose of the RDN is to support the effective and efficient initiation and delivery of funded research across the health and care system in England for the benefit of patients, the health and care system and the economy. The RRDN Health & Care Research Directors will support this purpose by developing and maintaining positive and constructive relationships with health and care leaders in the RRDN region to ensure capacity and capability of the professional research workforce and facilitate cross-specialty and cross-setting collaborations and research.The interview will take place on the 13th June.

Main duties of the job

1. Appointing, coordinating and supporting the work of RRDN Specialty and Settings Leads. The Medical Health & Care Research Director to support the Specialty Leads and the NMAHP Health & Care Research Director to support the Settings Leads2. Facilitating and promoting cross-specialty and cross-setting collaborations3. Developing and maintaining positive and constructive relationships with health and care leaders to ensure capacity and capability of the professional research workforce4. Ensuring expert advice is provided to RDN leaders and their teams, along with RDN stakeholders regarding study design and delivery to optimise deliverability and assist in the identification of sites and Principal Investigators5. Providing expert advice to the research delivery workforce regarding study delivery6. Responsible for working with health and care professional leaders to support the workforce development of research delivery leadership and associated staff including clinical and non-clinical staff7. Working closely with the Regional Research Leadership Office to develop complementary activities regarding strategic workforce development8. Being a visible leader and actively promoting a culture of staff development, collaboration, positive staff experience, wellbeing and inclusion, and embedding patient, carer and public involvement within the RRDN at all appropriate levels of decision making

About us

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as 'Good' overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward- thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we're meeting our pledge.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for a more detailed overview of the role.

Job description
Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for a more detailed overview of the role.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential

• Professional registration as a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health Professional
• Masters level qualification or equivalent
• Management qualification

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Comprehensive understanding of research, the NHS and the wider health and care system including associated responsibilities to the public and patients
• Experience of working in the health and care research sector, the health and social care service sector or academic environment at a senior level
• Comprehensive understanding of the UK research pathway and funding
• Experience of co-creating and implementing strategies to build capacity and capability for the delivery of health and care research
• Experience in the design and leadership of health or care research in the UK
• Experience of developing and implementing remedial actions to support study deliverability
• Experience of identifying the need for and developing professional workforce development needs
• Professional research leadership, both strategic and operational at a senior level
• Experience of working across complex organisational structures and effective matrix management
• Knowledge of national systems, structures and processes for supporting clinical research in NHS and non-NHS settings
• Experience of working collaboratively and in partnership with other organisations, with demonstrable experience of delivery across organisational boundaries
• Evidence of managing effective collaborations and partnerships
• Good understanding of performance management techniques
• Political astuteness and understanding of the health & social care context
• Comprehensive knowledge of programme sponsorship and management
• Experience of leading continuous improvement

Desirable

• Understanding of governance and legislative framework for clinical research in the NHS
• Executive level experience
• Experience of being a Chief or Principal Investigator for a health or care research study in the UK

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Highly developed leadership, strategic thinking and planning skills with the ability to demonstrate these in highly political environments
• Proven leadership skills in the management of change
• Demonstrable ability to use autonomy to undertake actions as a result of own interpretation of policy and guidance, providing a source of expert advice to the organisation
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues
• Proven interpersonal skills to work with clinical and management colleagues at all levels across a range of organisations and the ability to develop strong working relationships with senior stakeholders
• Ability to deal with challenging situations in a formal setting
• Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment with knowledge of and experience in handling media relations
• Ability to communicate highly complex, sensitive or contentious information orally and in writing, both internally and externally, to a range of audiences
• Extensive experience of delivering presentations to large groups of stakeholders in often pressured and politically sensitive environments to a high standard (Board level quality)
• Ability to analyse and interpret highly complex information to make judgements regarding a range of highly complex management issues
• Strong problem solving skills
• Ability to grasp critical issues and distil them into clear arguments/cases and be able to articulate these verbally or in written form
• Ability to plan, manage, adjust and deliver complex projects involving multiple agencies and individuals and a broad range of activities to tight deadlines
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to understand the long term or widespread implications of decisions
• Willingness to challenge existing practice
• Good IT skills, particularly in use of Web applications and MS Office applications
• Ability to travel to different locations across the region and nationally to attend meetings and conferences, representing the RDN
• Ability to use Google Suite products

Aptitudes

Essential

• Highly motivated with the ability to lead and inspire others
• Appreciation of the impact of organisational culture on service delivery
• Lives by values which include openness, collaboration, responsiveness, inclusion, personal integrity and creating positive cultures where these values thrive
• Commitment to supporting the development of staff and understanding of workforce planning
• Flexible approach to working
• Attention to detail
• Outcomes focussed
• Acts as a champion for patients and their interests, ensuring the patients' voice has an impact on RDN activities
• Commitment to and focused on quality, promotes high standards in all they do
• Able to make a connection between their work and the benefit to patients and the public
• Works well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others
• Consistently looks to improve what they do and seeks out innovation
• Self-awareness with regard to emotional intelligence, biases and sensitivities
• Demonstrates honesty and integrity and promotes organisational values

Person Specification
Qualifications and Training

Essential

• Professional registration as a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health Professional
• Masters level qualification or equivalent
• Management qualification

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Comprehensive understanding of research, the NHS and the wider health and care system including associated responsibilities to the public and patients
• Experience of working in the health and care research sector, the health and social care service sector or academic environment at a senior level
• Comprehensive understanding of the UK research pathway and funding
• Experience of co-creating and implementing strategies to build capacity and capability for the delivery of health and care research
• Experience in the design and leadership of health or care research in the UK
• Experience of developing and implementing remedial actions to support study deliverability
• Experience of identifying the need for and developing professional workforce development needs
• Professional research leadership, both strategic and operational at a senior level
• Experience of working across complex organisational structures and effective matrix management
• Knowledge of national systems, structures and processes for supporting clinical research in NHS and non-NHS settings
• Experience of working collaboratively and in partnership with other organisations, with demonstrable experience of delivery across organisational boundaries
• Evidence of managing effective collaborations and partnerships
• Good understanding of performance management techniques
• Political astuteness and understanding of the health & social care context
• Comprehensive knowledge of programme sponsorship and management
• Experience of leading continuous improvement

Desirable

• Understanding of governance and legislative framework for clinical research in the NHS
• Executive level experience
• Experience of being a Chief or Principal Investigator for a health or care research study in the UK

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Highly developed leadership, strategic thinking and planning skills with the ability to demonstrate these in highly political environments
• Proven leadership skills in the management of change
• Demonstrable ability to use autonomy to undertake actions as a result of own interpretation of policy and guidance, providing a source of expert advice to the organisation
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues
• Proven interpersonal skills to work with clinical and management colleagues at all levels across a range of organisations and the ability to develop strong working relationships with senior stakeholders
• Ability to deal with challenging situations in a formal setting
• Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment with knowledge of and experience in handling media relations
• Ability to communicate highly complex, sensitive or contentious information orally and in writing, both internally and externally, to a range of audiences
• Extensive experience of delivering presentations to large groups of stakeholders in often pressured and politically sensitive environments to a high standard (Board level quality)
• Ability to analyse and interpret highly complex information to make judgements regarding a range of highly complex management issues
• Strong problem solving skills
• Ability to grasp critical issues and distil them into clear arguments/cases and be able to articulate these verbally or in written form
• Ability to plan, manage, adjust and deliver complex projects involving multiple agencies and individuals and a broad range of activities to tight deadlines
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to understand the long term or widespread implications of decisions
• Willingness to challenge existing practice
• Good IT skills, particularly in use of Web applications and MS Office applications
• Ability to travel to different locations across the region and nationally to attend meetings and conferences, representing the RDN
• Ability to use Google Suite products

Aptitudes

Essential

• Highly motivated with the ability to lead and inspire others
• Appreciation of the impact of organisational culture on service delivery
• Lives by values which include openness, collaboration, responsiveness, inclusion, personal integrity and creating positive cultures where these values thrive
• Commitment to supporting the development of staff and understanding of workforce planning
• Flexible approach to working
• Attention to detail
• Outcomes focussed
• Acts as a champion for patients and their interests, ensuring the patients' voice has an impact on RDN activities
• Commitment to and focused on quality, promotes high standards in all they do
• Able to make a connection between their work and the benefit to patients and the public
• Works well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others
• Consistently looks to improve what they do and seeks out innovation
• Self-awareness with regard to emotional intelligence, biases and sensitivities
• Demonstrates honesty and integrity and promotes organisational values

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.
Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the .

From 6 April 2, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. .
UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Additional information
Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the .

From 6 April 2, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. .
UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)
Address

Whitefriars

Bristol

BS12NT

Employer's website