Quality & Performance Facilitator

An exciting opportunity has arisen to apply for a Quality & Performance Facilitator role within the Health Research Authority’s Approvals Support & Improvement team. The role is fixed term maternity leave cover until 28 February 2025.
The successful candidate will support the team with the following:

• Processing and recording breaches relating to health and social care research and providing advice to staff and stakeholders on the management and review of breaches
• Managing The Over-Volunteering Prevention System (TOPS) for early phase clinical trials involving healthy volunteers
• Updating policies and procedures on behalf of the Approvals Support & Improvement Division ensuring that the information is accurate and accessible
• Coordinating the ethics review of documents submitted to the Generic Review Committee and ensuring that documents are reviewed within the required timeframes
• Providing secretariat services to various meetings
• Facilitating requests from members of the research community and members of the public to observe Research Ethics Committee (REC) meetings.

We are looking for someone with comprehensive knowledge of the HRA Approvals process and other related procedures and guidance such as the Governance Arrangements for Research Ethics Committees (GAfREC) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Research Ethics Committees.
The post holder will support the Quality & Performance team in five main areas:

• Project support
• Processing and recording breaches of the REC favourable opinion
• Central administration to support directorate-wide quality assurance activities and document management
• Managing The Over-Volunteering Prevention System (TOPS) for Phase 1 trials involving healthy volunteers
• Co-ordinated management of REC and CAG observations, including members of the public, members of the HRA executive team, HRA staff and those wanting to join a meeting, ensuring the observers, Chairs and HRA staff are briefed and there is a mechanism for capturing and collating their feedback to provide a basis for acting on these insights
• Administration for the Generic Review ethics Committee.

The role will require collaborative working with a range of stakeholders internal and external to the HRA, and requires the post-holder to work under their own initiative under general oversight and direction from the line manager or Head of Division.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for you, not just us and the work we do.
We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that help us to deliver the best services.
We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community. This includes:

• age
• disability
• ethnicity
• gender identity and expression
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation
• other diverse characteristics

We have policies in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.
When applying to work here, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement – if it works for you, we’ll do our best to make it work for us.
This role sits within the HRA Approvals Service directorate which consists of various teams that all work together to provide the appropriate approval for health research in England and, for some applications, across the UK.
This directorate is responsible for:

• Delivering HRA Approval
• Supporting the Confidentiality Advisory Group and advising on the use of confidential patient information without consent
• Working to refine the systems and processes researchers need to follow to ensure a swift, robust and simple experience
• Providing guidance to applicants
• Providing training
• Working collaboratively with external partners to improve the research environment.

To find out more and to understand the full duties of the role, please refer to the job description attached.
In submitting your application with us, please note the following:
We currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies.
We do not hold a sponsorship licence and are unable to offer employment under any sponsorship arrangement.
Where applicants fail to demonstrate how they meet any one of the essential criteria of the person specification, the application will not be shortlisted. You will be considered based only on the information in your application form. CVs will not be considered.
The HRA reserves the right to close this vacancy early should it receive a sufficient number of applications.