Project Manager

Salary: £33,966 to £36,024 with progression to £44,263 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 13 February 2024

The Role

You will join a dynamic, international, multidisciplinary team working in the area of translational research for neuromuscular diseases within the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre at Newcastle University.

This exciting new role will develop and manage a centrally coordinated network including a national recruitment contact database for Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) patients interested in participating in BMD clinical trials.

You will hold a degree qualification in a relevant or transferable discipline and with extensive project management experience you will take overall responsibility for project managing the BMD Hub activities related to the central recruitment database. This will require excellent organisational skills with proven ability to organise resources and deliver results on time.

You will have excellent communication skills with the ability to manage multiple pieces of work and prioritise tasks. 

Experience of working within the rare disease field is highly relevant as is an understanding of patient databases, GDPR requirements and how to apply them. The ability to manage budgets, work under pressure and to strict deadlines is essential, as is the ability to lead, collaborate and work effectively within a team and with key stakeholders. Occasional international travel will be required for this role. 

This is a full time post (37 hours), fixed term until 24th September 2025. 

Informal enquiries should be directed to Emma Heslop (Emma.Heslop@ncl.ac.uk).

Weblinks: 
http://jwmdrc.org
 

Key Accountabilities

Scope out, set up and coordinate a BMD Hub National network 
•    Act as the first point of contact for the BMD Hub
•    Contribute to the resource planning process to ensure finances are appropriately and efficiently managed
•    Nurture national relations and collaborations between existing BMD (and DMD) initiatives to align with the BMD Hub objectives

Implement, manage and maintain an efficient central recruitment database
•    Take overall responsibility for scoping out, developing and managing the central recruitment database for BMD
•    Provide a coordinated and efficient service to the various stakeholders, including patients, clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry
•    Ensure the smooth running of the central recruitment database steering committee and organise related meetings
•    Ensure that information is correctly researched, collated, and validated for inclusion into the database and reports/documents
•    Organise internal and external activities/events efficiently to publicise the central recruitment database

Curate the central recruitment database data 
•    Ensure that registrations are valid, complete and accurate
•    Act as first point of contact to assist patients in the registration process as required
•    Obtain information from patients’ reports, liaising with patients where necessary, to assist identification of patients who are potentially eligible to be recruited into specific clinical trials
•    Keep registrations up to date by coordinating annual update reminders
•    Provide regular feedback to registered patients about research results and other related clinical trial information
•    Act as the interface between the central recruitment database and clinical trial sites or sponsors to assist with the identification and recruitment of patients from the database into clinical trials
•    Make appropriate information and statistics available for patients by means of newsletters, websites and printed materials
•    Analyse data in the database to collect information of relevance to healthcare and link with existing initiatives to publish in appropriate forms (including academic publications, reports for use in policymaking initiatives, as well as information for patients)
•    Liaise regularly with others in similar roles or with similar responsibilities (including DMD Hub staff and registry curators)
•    Present the contact database and the BMD Hub at relevant meetings and conferences, and write related reports

Communication and dissemination
•    Work with patient organisation stakeholders to develop content for the BMD Hub website and newsletter, authoring content as directed for use in publications and websites
•    Utilise global links with TREAT-NMD and national links (with patient organisations and funded projects to provide information with an international / national dimension and added value for patients registered in the database
•    Consult clinical colleagues to produce medically reliable information for patients
•    Promote the BMD Hub and central recruitment database among clinicians, nurses and other medical professionals to encourage recruitment

Strategic planning and implementation
•    Take ownership of the sustainability of the central recruitment database; proactively identifying and leveraging funding streams and opportunities for income generation and developing a plan for sustainability following the initial funding period
•    Liaise with other stakeholders to maximise synergies when working on related activities
•    Represent BMD Hub interests within the wider international neuromuscular field, providing an interface with relevant initiatives to ensure BMD central recruitment database representation/participation and to identify opportunities for collaboration

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 
•    Awareness of the benefits and challenges of patient registries, particularly in the rare disease field
•    Comprehensive understanding of GDPR requirements and how to apply them in practice
•    High level of awareness of how the various stakeholders function; including people affected by BMD, their families, carers and the public; and funders and sponsors of research
•    Excellent written and verbal communication skills; confident, adept and empathetic communicator in a variety of media
•    Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills
•    Excellent team-working skills
•    Excellent numerical and data analysis skills
•    Excellent presentation skills
•    Excellent project management skills
•    IT literate across a wide range of applications
•    Ability to take responsibility and prioritise workloads
•    Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
•    Ability to work to agreed targets and strict deadlines
•    Ability to use initiative, think strategically and adopt an active approach to problem solving
•    Ability to understand complex scientific and medical information
•    Experience in a senior role 
•    Experience communicating and discussing sensitive personal information 
•    Experience handling complex projects to deadlines
•    Experience of acting in an advisory capacity to colleagues at all levels
•    Experience of networking and dissemination work
•    Experience of healthcare issues related to patients and their families
•    Experience managing complex interpersonal situations
•    Experience dealing with complex numerical and scientific data
•    Experience of engaging clinicians in data provision

Attributes and Behaviour

•    Has the ability to see the “big picture”, to think strategically and to manage complex problems and issues
•    Uses clear, concise and accurate communication, tailoring the approach accordingly and encouraging a two way communication process
•    Works collaboratively with others, plays a positive role in teams and establishes and grows relationships across the organisation where different skills, expertise and opinions are valued
•    Manages time and resources by prioritising and organising effectively
•    Ability to undertake national and occasional international travel with overnight stays when required
•    Ability to undertake work outside of normal working hours and travel nationally and internationally for work on an occasional basis

Qualifications

•    Degree qualification in a relevant or transferable discipline
•    Healthcare or communication qualification in a relevant or transferable discipline
 

 Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26620