Lead Manager for Research, Development and Innovation
Accepting applications until: 02-Mar-2026 23:59
Vacancy status: Open
Accepting applications until: 02-Mar-2026 23:59
Key details
Location
- Site
- Clinical Research Centre
- Address
- Whinney Heys Road
- Town
- Blackpool
- Postcode
- FY3 8NR
- Major / Minor Region
- Lancashire
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Salary
- Salary
- £64,455 - £74,896 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (NHS AfC: Band 8b)
Specialty
- Main area
- Research and Development
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.
We have three main hospitals providing acute services to around 330,000 local residents. The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year. We employ over 7000 people from 68 different countries.
We welcome and encourage application from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and Veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining healthy home-life balance. Working patterns such as: part time working, self-rostering, compressed hours, annualised hours, term time, reverse term time and flexitime working can be explored.
Job overview
The post holder will provide operational leadership for the R&D Department at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (BTH) working closely with the Director of Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I), the Senior Research and Development (R&D) team, and an over 80-strong team of research nurses and research active clinicians, as well as working closely and collaboratively with key stakeholders particularly academic and life science partners.
The post-holder will oversee the successful running of the BTH R&D Department as well as BTH’s National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Commercial Research Delivery Centre (CRDC).
BTH R&D collaborates closely with the NIHR, DOH and commercial sponsors alongside our colleagues from the 35 partner CRDCs.
BTH R&D has a key role leading in-house, regional and national projects of great significance, looking to coordinate and accelerate the delivery of high-throughput late phase clinical research trials as well as innovative trial design. This role will involve working closely with commercial sponsors, Contract Research Organisations (CROs) and the ABPI.
The post holder will be expected to work closely with the NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network North-West (NIHR RRDN NW), the NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) hosted by Blackpool Council, and the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) as partners in their recent NIHR BRC bid.
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The role includes but is not limited to:
•
Overseeing day-to-day R&D operational tasks to ensure the effective and efficient operational management of the R&D service.
•
Ensuring that the work of NIHR Blackpool CRDC is consistent with other CRDCs and its national remit making sure that appropriate infrastructure is in place for the long-term sustainability of the CRDC.
•
Working with the NIHR RRDN NW (National Institute for Health Research Clinical Regional Research Delivery Network North-West) and other relevant bodies, to maintain a clear understanding of local, regional and national policies relevant to NHS R&D and a balanced portfolio of research activities. This includes working closely with chief and principal investigators to ensure that opportunities for recruitment to portfolio studies are maximized.
•
Working with BRC Manchester to develop Trust capacity and capability within early phase research maximising the available opportunities for BTH staff.
•
Working with HDRC: Blackpool, potentially establishing a Joint Research Office supporting research in public health and prevention for the benefit of our community.
•
Maximizing new potential funding opportunities to support the Trust R&D agenda.
•
Ensuring that the UK Policy for Health and Social Care Research is adhered to through a rigorous approval and monitoring programme.
•
Promoting Research and Development work across the Trust, Provider Collaborative Board and Integrated Care Board.
Working for our organisation
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.
We have three main hospitals providing acute services to around 330,000 local residents. The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year. We employ over 7000 people from 68 different countries.
We welcome and encourage application from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and Veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining healthy home-life balance. Working patterns such as: part time working, self-rostering, compressed hours, annualised hours, term time, reverse term time and flexitime working can be explored.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To manage the successful delivery of research studies at BTH, planning
and coordinating significant multi-disciplinary research activities, and
ensuring the right delivery team is available and in place.
To manage the successful delivery of late phase commercial clinical
research through the NIHR Blackpool CRDC including business
development to ensure a robust pipeline of studies.
To deliver an increase in research within the Trust:
• Increased research income from all sources Academic
appointments
• Peer-reviewed publications and conference papers presented
Increased research capacity and capability in Trust employees
To review research delivery against agreed performance metrics, NIHR
CRDC KPIs and NIHR high level objectives. To evaluate strategies to
maximise patient recruitment to target, Trust research income and
research patient and industry survey outcomes to meet these objectives.
To provide specialist advice and training on all aspects of research
methodology and process, interpreting legislative and regulatory
requirements and to provide methodological guidance to researchers or
sign post them to alternative sources.
To work with the NIHR RRDN NW in securing recurring R&D funding and
to bid for increased NIHR budget, where appropriate, in line with NIHRfunding
arrangements.
To play a leading role, together with the Director of RD&I, in developing
and managing Trust operational plans under the umbrella of the BTH
Strategy, covering both Research and Innovation.
To manage and support Trust “sponsored” research projects.
To manage and support Trust “service evaluation” project.
To assist and advise researchers in the funding of research projects and to ensure
that research project management is reported to the R&D Committee.
The post holder will be required to support, promote and manage
implementation of the Trust Risk Management Strategy within the R&D
department including: incident reporting, adverse incidents and
management of complaints.
Deputise for the Director of RD&I at certain meetings
Management responsibilities
• Promote team effectiveness and innovation.
• Provide effective leadership and management of staff within the core R&D
Department by ensuring effective team communications, workforce planning,
recruitment, performance, conduct, appraisals, and ongoing development.
• Maintain high levels of individual and team engagement, attendance and
innovation.
• Actively promote quality in the team by making clear standards, expectations,
monitoring progress and taking action when standards fall short of
expectations.
• Generate research income through increasing the number of commercially
and charitably funded studies and through successful grant applications.
Support the implementation of the National Contract Review Process (NCVR)
nationally.
• Lead on the full costing of research projects, both academic and commercial
utilising all necessary tools and work with Finance Colleagues to maximise
recovery of costs from external funders.
• Manage research budgets across the Trust, working with the finance
department on appropriate policy development for successful management of
such budgets.
• Lead on ensuring all R&D projects and reporting requirements meet with
Quality and Compliance standards as mandated locally and nationally in a
timely manner.
Partnership Working and Relationships
• Promote the profile of Nursing and AHP research within the Trust, including
by use of the Intern programmes currently run by HEE and other NIHR
bodies.
• Take the lead on communications between the Trust and all NIHR
infrastructure that the Trust is associated with concerning resource
allocations, staffing and sharing good practice.
• Work with the BTH Communications team and NIHR Communications teams
to create a Research Communications Strategy both for internal and external
audiences.
• Ensure that research by Trust staff has appropriate dissemination through the
Trust, the local media, the health economy and the health sciences (peer
reviewed journals).
• Actively promote research at the Trust through a variety of channels.
• Present to local, regional, national and potentially international audiences
about the RD&I work being done at the Trust.
Applicant requirements
Person specification
Education and Qualification
Essential criteria
- Master’s degree or equivalent experience
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Extensive NHS experience within senior management role
- Specialist professional knowledge of research management acquired through a degree or equivalent experience in NHS, HEIs or Industry
- Experience in the development and maintenance of partnerships with key stakeholders across the NHS, HEIs and Industry
- Experience of conducting research
- Experience of clinical research management at a senior level for the conduct of clinical research studies in accordance with the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research and applicable UK regulations
- Experience of budget planning and financial management
- Experience of Managing teams
- Experience of change management, including leading and motivating staff during periods of change
- Experience of developing and delivering training programmes
- Experience of working collaboratively across professional services
- Experience of managing databases
- Experience of managing a busy admin office
- Experience of developing and implementing NHS Trust corporate policies and guidelines
Desirable criteria
- PhD degree
- Management or other relevant post graduate qualification
- Experience of liaising with and submitting research proposals to ethics / research / grant funding bodies
- Experience of developing and implementing your own research project(s) leading to presentation(s) and/or publication(s).
- Experience in developing NHS innovations
- Experience of working within a research management and governance environment
- Experience of managing researchers undertaking research projects
- Experience of coordinating multi-professional projects across and/or between large organisations
Experience and Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of the current strategies for the delivery of the National Health and Life Sciences Research Agenda in a UK knowledge based economy
- Knowledge of the governance and legislative framework for conducting clinical research including Good Clinical Practice
- Understanding of the NHS/NIHR R&D funding and management structures
Desirable criteria
- Awareness and understanding for health and social care
- Good working knowledge of clinical audit and clinical effectiveness
- Specialist knowledge of research techniques, analysis and use of information as applied to clinical research
Skills and Ability
Essential criteria
- Proven leadership skills
- Able to motivate and engage colleagues and teams from different professional disciplines
- Ability to work collaboratively with others and is committed to teamwork
- Excellent organisational skills with the ability to respond effectively to multiple priorities
- Ability to develop internal and external networks
- Able to build credibility quickly and sustain it across a wide spectrum of the Organisation
- Ability to communicate highly complex, sensitive or contentious information both orally and in writing both internally to colleagues and externally to a range of audiences including large groups
- Critical Appraisal skills
- High Level Project management skills
- Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to prepare and deliver presentations and reports to a high standard
- Ability to analyse and interpret highly complex information and the ability to make judgements regarding a range of highly complex research management issues
- Ability to plan, manage, adjust and deliver complex projects involving multiple agencies and individuals and a broad range of activities to tight deadlines
- Excellent IT skills
- Advanced keyboard skills and proficient in the use of Microsoft Office applications in creating reports
- Adaptable, flexible and willing to commit to achieving results and meeting deadlines
- Sets high standards and motivated to achieve these Committed, enthusiastic, innovative
- Shows initiative
- Demonstrates a proactive rather than reactive mindset
- Responds positively to a team ethos
- Aware of own limitations
- Able to work autonomously
- Promotes an environment of continuous learning and innovation
Desirable criteria
- Clean, full driving license
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Alex Maley
- Job title
- Research Operations Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01253953559
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