Agile Research Delivery Team Assistant Clinical Research Practitioner

Job overview

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.

Detailed job description and main 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
• people’s 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.