National Autism Research Lead

The National Research Lead - Autism is responsible for leading operational delivery of the Five-year NHS autism research strategy for England. The postholder will sit in the autism team in the national Learning Disability and Autism Programme. In this post, you would:

• work to increase the knowledge and confidence of a range of policymakers within and beyond the Learning Disability and Autism Programme to use scientific evidence in their work,
• identify evidence gaps related to the work of the NHS England programme
• influence the applied scientific research in autism and learning disability healthcare delivery funded by research grant making organisations,
• collaborate with colleagues in the Department of Health of Social Care and its arm's length bodies, such as NICE and CQC, to use evidence in attempts to improve service delivery., The National Research Lead - Autism is responsible for delivering strategic guidance about research and evidence to underpin the work undertaken by the programme and to co-ordinate national strategic action, as follows;
1. Develop an evidence-led cultural across the whole Learning Disability and Autism Programme 2. Provide guidance and advice about using existing research and evidence to inform decision making within NHS England about initiatives relating to the health of autistic people. 3. Provide guidance and support in coordination of evaluation of initiatives introduced with insufficient evidence to demonstrate effectiveness. 4. Co-ordinate strategic collaboration between other public and third sector organisations involved in autism research, learning disability research, and health service delivery. The role involves; leading operational delivery of the national autism research strategy for England, line management of research support manager and ensuring cohesive and efficient delivery of the wider research team programme. The post-holder will work closely with the Research and Innovation and the Data, Analysis and Intelligence teams to ensure that the work to increase scientific literacy within the Learning Disability and Autism Programme is coordinated with wider organisational move to increase the use of evidence in NHS England as a whole. Stakeholder engagement and managements and partnership working is a key function for this role.

Are you educated to PhD level? Do you have experience with evidence about autistic people and people with a learning disability? Are you motivated to increase the use of scientific evidence in national policy initiatives aimed at improving NHS service provision for autistic people and people with a learning disability?

The NHS England board have set out the top-level purpose for the new organisation to lead the NHS in England to deliver high-quality services for all, which will inform the detailed design work and we will achieve this purpose by:
• Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities.
• Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential.
• Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
• Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
• Delivering value for money.