Research Officer (Part Time)

Are you an organised individual with experience in a process driven or project delivery environment, who is looking to develop your skills at the nation's largest funder of health and care research.

At the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) we enable and deliver world-class research that transforms people’s lives, promotes economic growth and advances science.

We need a motivated individual to become a Research Officer and join our team at the NIHR Central Commissioning Facility (CCF) in Twickenham (working initially one day a week in the office and the rest from home).

This role may suit candidates from a range of process driven backgrounds such as; research or health-related administration, grant administration, procuring, tendering or project management. Knowledge or experience of health research funding is beneficial but not essential.

This post is offered on a part time basis of ideally 25 hours per week, with a strong preference for a candidate who is available Monday to Friday. For further discussion on the part time arrangements, please contact the email address at the bottom to discuss.

We are looking for someone who can:

1. Deliver the work involved in running research funding schemes in collaboration with NIHF CCF colleagues and external parties, including:

• Supporting the project management of individual funding competitions (that commission new research) from start to finish, including chairing regular progress meetings, using an in-house tool to track progress and keeping stakeholders well informed
• Acting as a key contact point for enquiries about funding schemes
• Communicating with applicants, independent expert reviewers and funding committee meeting attendees
• Preparing competition information for publication on the NIHR website
• Working with the Information Services team to configure, test and troubleshoot each new competition on the research management database
• Managing large amounts of data associated with applications received, including populating the research management database, creating reports and completing templates
• Checking eligibility of research proposals received, and that they are not overlapping with existing NIHR-funded research
• Sourcing and inviting large numbers of independent expert reviewers to undertake peer review of research funding proposals, and ensuring their input is received within deadlines
• Managing applicant responses to reviewer comments
• Producing funding committee meeting papers and related documents
• Supporting committee meetings on the day including simple Zoom troubleshooting advice for virtual meetings, overseeing venue arrangements such as room set-up at face-to-face meetings, liaising with attendees, running presentation slides, managing conflicts of interest of attendees and taking notes
• Providing practice Zoom sessions for applicants invited to attend and present at virtual funding committee meetings
• Preparing and dispatching outcome letters to applicants, carrying out other post-committee tasks and managing follow-up queries from applicants

2. Support monitoring and management of awards made including:

•  Assisting with the generation of new contracts and overseeing the electronic signing process
• Collecting progress reports from award holders

3. Maintain electronic records with accurate information on competitions, applications and awards.

4. Support annual award data collection exercises, that enable the NIHR to understand and demonstrate the impact of the research it has funded

5. Regularly interact with a range of people at all levels of seniority, including NIHR colleagues, Department of Health and Social Care staff, committee members and the research community.

6. Operate as a flexible resource within NIHR CCF, e.g. providing support to projects and performing data analysis

7. Occasionally travel to meetings (once face-to-face committee meetings are safe to resume).

Behaviours and Competencies Required:

• Able to gather information systematically from multiple sources
• Excellent attention to detail and meticulous record keeping when managing large amounts of information
• Able to manage time effectively including managing competing demands, prioritising tasks, adapting flexibly to changes and meeting all deadlines. Research Officers are often involved in at least 2-3 competitions running at any time, with overlapping and conflicting timescales
• Able to act on initiative, identify opportunities and be proactive in putting forward ideas and solutions
• A determination to get things done, make things happen and constantly looking for better ways of doing things
• A willingness and enthusiasm to learn new systems and processes
• Excellent team working, i.e. able to work confidently and effectively in a group
• Excellent verbal communication, i.e. able to express ideas clearly and confidently in speech, and vary delivery to match the specific audiences
• Excellent written communication, i.e. able to express yourself and information clearly and concisely in writing.
• An interest in advancing health care and/or a health science background

Benefits

As a large company, a range of benefits are offered to our employees, including a local subsidised work nursery, subject to availability. If you wish to make an informal enquiry about this post, please contact: [email protected]

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early application is strongly encouraged to avoid disappointment - click apply to start your application.