Job summary
The Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN) North East and North Cumbria has an exciting opportunity for a Learning and Development Facilitator to join the team.
The Research Delivery Network is part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). We are funded by the Department of Health and Social Care to support the country's world-class research system to deliver high-quality research that enables the best care for our population.
Our vision is that the UK is a global leader in the delivery of high quality, commercial and non-commercial research that is inclusive, accessible, and improves health and care. Our mission is to enable the health and care system to attract, optimise and deliver research across England. We do this as part of the NIHR's overall mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.
The Learning and Development Facilitator will contribute to the delivery of the RRDN workforce strategy to support the strategic, system wide development of the research delivery workforce across a range of roles, specialties and settings. They will have responsibility for the design, development and delivery of a wide range of training and workforce development programmes as part of the RRDN Workforce Development function, working with colleagues both regionally and nationally.
- Interview Date Wednesday 30 April 2025
- 37 Hours 30 Minutes/Week
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Main duties of the job
The RRDN North East and North Cumbria is hosted by the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The Learning and Development Facilitator will:
- Implement shared national processes for commissioning, designing, delivering and evaluating learning
- Work with the Workforce and People Senior Manager to understand regional workforce needs and design and deliver solutions
- Act as a source of advice and guidance regarding research related training
- Support the Workforce and People Senior Manager with the implementation of continuous improvement initiatives across the network and assist in their reporting and evaluation
- Support a team of regional facilitators to develop in their roles to ensure the sustained delivery of high quality training
The post-holder will be an effective facilitator with excellent communication and interpersonal skills and will be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of health and care research systems and processes.
About us
Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
o Freeman Hospital
o Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
o Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
o Newcastle Dental Hospital
o Newcastle Fertility Centre
o Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
o Northern Genetics Service
o Cramlington Manor Walks
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under 'Documents to download' or 'Supporting documents'.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Learning and Development Facilitator will have responsibility for the design, development and delivery of training and workforce development programme delivery as part of the NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN) Workforce Development function. This role willimplement shared national processes for commissioning, designing, delivering and evaluating learning and work with the Workforce and People Senior Manager to understand regional workforce needs and design and deliver solutions. This role will act as a source of advice andguidance regarding research related training and support regional facilitators to develop in their roles to ensure the sustained delivery of high quality training. The postholder will demonstrate a thorough understanding of the complex research process, be an effective facilitator and have highly developed communication and interpersonal skills.
Key working relationships for this role include the Workforce and People Senior Manager, who will oversee and manage key programmes of activity within the Workforce Development function. The role will also work closely with other NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) Learning and Development Facilitators, RRDN staff including the Agile Research Delivery Team, the Workforce and Organisational Development Directorate (RDN Coordinating Centre), and health and care partners in the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of high-quality,effective learning and development. In addition, the role will work closely with the Clinical Educator to support the delivery of essential research skills training for Agile Research Delivery Teams. The postholder will also be responsible for acting as the subject matter expert, whereappropriate for informing high-quality, needs driven learning designed by the Digital Learning Designer. Where appropriate subject matter expertise does not exist within the Workforce Development function, this role will be responsible for identifying and ensuring the support ofsuch expertise.
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. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Learning and Development Facilitator will have responsibility for the design, development and delivery of training and workforce development programme delivery as part of the NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN) Workforce Development function. This role willimplement shared national processes for commissioning, designing, delivering and evaluating learning and work with the Workforce and People Senior Manager to understand regional workforce needs and design and deliver solutions. This role will act as a source of advice andguidance regarding research related training and support regional facilitators to develop in their roles to ensure the sustained delivery of high quality training. The postholder will demonstrate a thorough understanding of the complex research process, be an effective facilitator and have highly developed communication and interpersonal skills.
Key working relationships for this role include the Workforce and People Senior Manager, who will oversee and manage key programmes of activity within the Workforce Development function. The role will also work closely with other NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) Learning and Development Facilitators, RRDN staff including the Agile Research Delivery Team, the Workforce and Organisational Development Directorate (RDN Coordinating Centre), and health and care partners in the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of high-quality,effective learning and development. In addition, the role will work closely with the Clinical Educator to support the delivery of essential research skills training for Agile Research Delivery Teams. The postholder will also be responsible for acting as the subject matter expert, whereappropriate for informing high-quality, needs driven learning designed by the Digital Learning Designer. Where appropriate subject matter expertise does not exist within the Workforce Development function, this role will be responsible for identifying and ensuring the support ofsuch expertise.
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. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- Postgraduate qualification (eg. Postgraduate Diploma) or equivalent relevant experience
- Evidence of ongoing, relevant Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
Desirable
- Recognised teaching qualification
- Specialist health and care research training
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a research environment (NHS, University, Industry)
- Experience of designing, delivering and evaluating effective learning interventions
- Knowledge of research governance and related regulations
- Experience of using virtual meeting and learning platforms such as Moodle, Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet
- Experience in developing and maintaining successful working relationships in a multidisciplinary environment
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to present complex information is a way that is meaningful and understandable to a range of audiences
- High level of communication and interpersonal skills
- Excellent organisational and planning skills
- High Level of IT competence including word processing, Google Workspace applications, MS Office applications, Access and presentation packages
- Ability to work under pressure balancing conflicting workloads
- Ability to work independently with initiative and maintain confidentiality
- Ability to work collaboratively across organisations and geographically dispersed teams
- Effective presentation skills
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- Postgraduate qualification (eg. Postgraduate Diploma) or equivalent relevant experience
- Evidence of ongoing, relevant Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
Desirable
- Recognised teaching qualification
- Specialist health and care research training
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a research environment (NHS, University, Industry)
- Experience of designing, delivering and evaluating effective learning interventions
- Knowledge of research governance and related regulations
- Experience of using virtual meeting and learning platforms such as Moodle, Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet
- Experience in developing and maintaining successful working relationships in a multidisciplinary environment
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to present complex information is a way that is meaningful and understandable to a range of audiences
- High level of communication and interpersonal skills
- Excellent organisational and planning skills
- High Level of IT competence including word processing, Google Workspace applications, MS Office applications, Access and presentation packages
- Ability to work under pressure balancing conflicting workloads
- Ability to work independently with initiative and maintain confidentiality
- Ability to work collaboratively across organisations and geographically dispersed teams
- Effective presentation skills
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.
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 UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, 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. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
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.
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 UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, 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. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
