Job summary
The NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) is part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). It is 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 NIHRs overall mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.
Are you looking for an opportunity to develop new skills and support our population to participate in research opportunities across community, residential, primary care, hospital and wider care settings?
The North East and North Cumbria Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN) is hosted by The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated Band 4 Assistant Clinical Research Practitioner to join our Agile Research Delivery Team.
- Interview Date Thursday 30 October 2025
- 37 Hours 30 Minutes/Week
- 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.
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Main duties of the job
Our Agile Research Delivery Team is a group of dedicated staff based in our Regional Research Delivery Networks (RRDNs) across England. They are skilled, multi-disciplinary staff who can work flexibly across a variety of different locations to support research delivery in health and social care.
Key Duties include but are not limited to:
- Support all aspects of study delivery from set-up through to recruitment and on to follow-up and closedown across all specialties and settings.
- Working flexibly and providing agility to meet the needs of the service.
- Provide general administrative support to meet the requirements of the portfolio.
- Working as a member of the ARDT to provide participant centred care in a variety of locations in line with trust policy, procedure and guidelines and in line with study protocols and governance requirements.
- Be aware of and escalate any adverse events or issues appropriately to senior team members of the ARDT.
- Ensure accurate data collection and maintenance of all research records and results in line with local SOPs and study protocols.
About us
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.
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 successful post holder will work as an integral member of the RRDN Agile Research Delivery Team to deliver NIHR portfolio-adopted research studies. This role requires flexible working across the region covering all settings and specialties. The post holder will need good interpersonal skills to facilitate collaborative working relationships across a breadth of stakeholders and will be required to forge strong, positive relationships with patients, participants, carers and members of the public.
We welcome applications from colleagues who have good literacy and numeracy skills along with working knowledge of computer software packages. Previous clinical experience and community experience is also desirable. You should be enthusiastic, able to demonstrate attention to detail, possess good communication and team working skills, and have the ability to work unsupervised.
Our regional teams can support studies at various stages as needed. Examples include:
- supporting the set-up of research
- helping with screening
- taking consent from participants
- recruitment to studies
- data management and follow-up
One of our key aims is to ensure that everyone across the country has the opportunity to take part in research that might be suitable for them. Delivering health and social care research in places where people already access a wide variety of services, helps us to do that.
Through our flexible and multi-disciplinary study support and Agile Research Delivery Team, we can help you deliver research in a wide range of settings.
These include:
- GP surgeries
- hospices
- care homes
- sheltered accommodation
- schools
- community hubs
- places of worship
- prisons
- peoples homes
The focus for this role is for the post holder to work closely with and support Research Nurses/CRPs/ AHPs/ Research Facilitators in the delivery of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Portfolio studies across varied health and care settings. This will require flexible working across disciplines and the Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN) region and will involve the correct identification, recruitment, delivery and follow up for research participants according to the appropriate research protocols. The post holder will need good interpersonal skills to facilitate collaborative working relationships across a breadth of stakeholders.
The role will support different professions from multiple organisations involved in health and care research and will be an integral part of the Agile Research Delivery Team which sits within the RRDN core team. The post holder will be accountable to the Senior Agile Research Delivery Nurse/ CRP/ AHP/ Facilitator.
Key working relationships for this post include the wider Agile Research Delivery Team, researchers and research delivery teams within a range of different health and care settings.
The post holder will also be required to forge strong, positive relationships with patients, participants, carers and members of the public in the course of delivering NIHR studies. Further important key relationships will be with other RRDN teams including the Workforce and People team, study sponsors, Contract Research Organisations (CROs), primary care, community, public health and social care organisations, and trust R&I teams.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The successful post holder will work as an integral member of the RRDN Agile Research Delivery Team to deliver NIHR portfolio-adopted research studies. This role requires flexible working across the region covering all settings and specialties. The post holder will need good interpersonal skills to facilitate collaborative working relationships across a breadth of stakeholders and will be required to forge strong, positive relationships with patients, participants, carers and members of the public.
We welcome applications from colleagues who have good literacy and numeracy skills along with working knowledge of computer software packages. Previous clinical experience and community experience is also desirable. You should be enthusiastic, able to demonstrate attention to detail, possess good communication and team working skills, and have the ability to work unsupervised.
Our regional teams can support studies at various stages as needed. Examples include:
- supporting the set-up of research
- helping with screening
- taking consent from participants
- recruitment to studies
- data management and follow-up
One of our key aims is to ensure that everyone across the country has the opportunity to take part in research that might be suitable for them. Delivering health and social care research in places where people already access a wide variety of services, helps us to do that.
Through our flexible and multi-disciplinary study support and Agile Research Delivery Team, we can help you deliver research in a wide range of settings.
These include:
- GP surgeries
- hospices
- care homes
- sheltered accommodation
- schools
- community hubs
- places of worship
- prisons
- peoples homes
The focus for this role is for the post holder to work closely with and support Research Nurses/CRPs/ AHPs/ Research Facilitators in the delivery of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Portfolio studies across varied health and care settings. This will require flexible working across disciplines and the Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN) region and will involve the correct identification, recruitment, delivery and follow up for research participants according to the appropriate research protocols. The post holder will need good interpersonal skills to facilitate collaborative working relationships across a breadth of stakeholders.
The role will support different professions from multiple organisations involved in health and care research and will be an integral part of the Agile Research Delivery Team which sits within the RRDN core team. The post holder will be accountable to the Senior Agile Research Delivery Nurse/ CRP/ AHP/ Facilitator.
Key working relationships for this post include the wider Agile Research Delivery Team, researchers and research delivery teams within a range of different health and care settings.
The post holder will also be required to forge strong, positive relationships with patients, participants, carers and members of the public in the course of delivering NIHR studies. Further important key relationships will be with other RRDN teams including the Workforce and People team, study sponsors, Contract Research Organisations (CROs), primary care, community, public health and social care organisations, and trust R&I teams.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to A level or equivalent
- NVQ3/foundation degree in a Healthcare related subject or working towards
Desirable
- Completed or working towards a Care Certificate
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Developing knowledge of the governance and legislative framework for conducting clinical research studies, including ICH Good Clinical Practice
- Developing knowledge of the clinical trial and health and care research lifecycle including some experience of the set up of clinical research studies in a health or care setting
- Demonstrable experience of data management/administration - preferably in a health or care setting
- Computer literate with some experience of the use of Web applications, Microsoft Office and/or Google Hub applications
- An understanding of confidentiality issues
Desirable
- Experience of the care of patients/participants enrolled in research studies
- Knowledge of case note tracking, computerised patient administrative systems
- Phlebotomy experience
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
- Good planning and organisational skills
- Good interpersonal and communication skills
- Willing to undertake professional development as required
- Ability to travel for work
Desirable
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to A level or equivalent
- NVQ3/foundation degree in a Healthcare related subject or working towards
Desirable
- Completed or working towards a Care Certificate
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Developing knowledge of the governance and legislative framework for conducting clinical research studies, including ICH Good Clinical Practice
- Developing knowledge of the clinical trial and health and care research lifecycle including some experience of the set up of clinical research studies in a health or care setting
- Demonstrable experience of data management/administration - preferably in a health or care setting
- Computer literate with some experience of the use of Web applications, Microsoft Office and/or Google Hub applications
- An understanding of confidentiality issues
Desirable
- Experience of the care of patients/participants enrolled in research studies
- Knowledge of case note tracking, computerised patient administrative systems
- Phlebotomy experience
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
- Good planning and organisational skills
- Good interpersonal and communication skills
- Willing to undertake professional development as required
- Ability to travel for work
Desirable
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).
