Research Support Officer

The Research Support Officer role is unlike any other NHS admin role. It incorporates general administrative office duties with laboratory and in-person clinic support. Moreover, it involves extensive liaison with external stakeholders, ELHT colleagues and departments.

You will be one of three Research Support Officers supporting our cancer research nurses to recruit patients to oncology studies at Royal Blackburn and Burnley General Hospitals.,

• Providing accurate and timely admin support to the rest of the team


• Assisting the nurses with patient visits in clinic where necessary


• Organising and prioritising your own time effectively


• Taking responsibility for coordination of the processing and shipment of laboratory samples


• Collecting and entering clinical research data into electronic or paper case report forms from clinic visits and health records, following trial specific instructions for data entry


• Ensuring all data entry complies with legislation, local Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) requirements


• Working with the wider clinical research team to prepare and review study documentation in preparation for audit and regulatory inspection


• Communicating in a friendly and professional way with all internal and external personnel involved with running clinical research studies


• Ensuring good working relationships with the research teams based across the Trust


Working for our organisation

The Cancer Research team consists of five nurses, three RSOs and one data manager/study coordinator. We work closely together to deliver high quality research studies to East Lancashire's patient population.

We also collaborate extensively with our colleagues in the R&D Support Office, Acute Conditions, Chronic Conditions, and Reproductive and Children's Health research teams.

Our patients are seen at two main sites - Royal Blackburn and Burnley General Teaching Hospitals. There is an expectation to work at both sites to support cancer research activities, although the main focus is at Blackburn.

Flexibility and ability to take the initiative are a must in order to support our patients.,
• · ongoing study admin support, including new study set-up and archiving of completed studies


• · maintenance of site files and research databases


• · data entry


• · promotion of cancer research online and at events


• · contact with patients in clinics and over the phone


• · processing and shipping of research samples
  
  GCSE English & Mathematics Level 4 (C grade) or above


• NVQ 3 / two A-levels or equivalent


Desirable criteria


• Evidence of continuing professional development


• Previous Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training, Willing to work across different hospital sites, Maintaining accurate records and documentation


• Handling confidential data


Desirable criteria


• Collaboration with a variety of staff at different levels within an organisation


• Working in a health environment involving patient contact, Competent in standard IT packages


• Excellent attention to detail and highly organised


• Good written and verbal communication skills


• Willing to train in the processing, handling and shipment of human samples


Desirable criteria


• Familiarity with research administration


• Familiarity with NHS systems, Proactive, problem-solving attitude


• Can manage own workload independently


• Flexible approach, to effectively respond to the needs of the team


Desirable criteria


• Able to deal with difficult situations with sensitivity
  
  At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work., The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.


We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background.

We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit., The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

It is important you are made aware of the following as regards your application to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

• Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro-rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay-scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.


• This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. Therefore it is advised to complete your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.


• Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.


• Please note that shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Therefore only applicants, who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application, will be short-listed.


Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)

If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained.

The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.

The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will be £42.90 and for a Standard Disclosure £22.90 which includes a small handling fee.