Director of Research and Development

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board. West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow. We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.

As the Director of Research and Development you would join a thriving and enthusiastic team to progress the Research Strategy across the full range of services in West London NHS Trust. The Trust has a growing research portfolio of clinically relevant research and strong relationships with Imperial College London and other academic organisations across the capital. The research portfolio spans mental health and community in the Boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham, as well as High Secure, Medium, Low Secure and Community forensics. Lived experience and expertise inform our research agenda and service user involvement is integral to all aspects of research in the trust, including strategy development, governance of de-identified data resources, communications and being co-researchers on projects. The trust works with the vocational services to actively support those with lived experience taking up roles in research in the trust.

Main duties of the job

• Key areas of the role include being accountable to the Board for the Delivery of the Research Strategy, through the Chief Medical Officer, along with ensuring the trust has robust governance arrangements.
• Research leads are in post across the trust and the Director supports each of them to ensure they receive personal and professional development to thrive within their areas.
• Management of the R&D budget is a key function, alongside promoting a culture of research and development while maintaining and developing relationships with partner organisations within the NHS and academic institutions.

Working for our organisation

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation. Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m. The Trust is rated as 'Good' overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'. The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Essential criteria: Senior healthcare leader. Evidence of professional development. Clinical qualification and/or experience of working as a senior clinician.
• Desirable criteria: Postgraduate qualification in Leadership / Healthcare Management.

Eligibility

• Essential criteria: Proven track record of operational / clinical leadership at a senior level. Experience of collaborative working with academic partners. Successful track record of managing complex organisational change and development of services. Demonstrable achievement in negotiating and influencing others. Strong record of multi-professional collaboration at a senior level.
• Desirable criteria: Experience of driving culture change. Experience of leading and successfully implementing Service Developments and developing Business Cases.

Knowledge

• Essential criteria: Active mental health researcher with considerable experience of R&D project management or equivalent senior management experience. Understanding of national research performance indicators. Familiarity with Research & Development governance processes and procedures within the NHS. Comprehensive understanding of healthcare provision across different services with an awareness and appreciation of current NHS policy and priorities, particularly in relation to integrated mental and physical healthcare.
• Desirable criteria: Experience of delivering Research & Development governance processes. Knowledge of NHS finance systems.

Academic skills and lifelong learning

• Essential criteria: Ability to work in and lead a team. Able to work in partnership with clinical and operational leaders and external partners. Facilitative management style. Business, service planning, analytical and numeracy skills. Ability to motivate and engage staff at all levels, improving confidence and containing anxiety. Able to demonstrate a genuine commitment to ensuring that research meets the needs of service users and their carers and are delivered with multi-cultural sensitivity. Ability to work collaboratively with central support services. IT conversant including word processing, presentation tools and spreadsheet packages.
• Desirable criteria: Understanding of research capability of big data and the governance thereof.

As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution.

We reserve the right to close adverts prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications. By applying for this post you are agreeing to West London NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment checks which can take between 4-8 weeks. After which your information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR).

Please ensure you include email addresses for your referees which MUST be at supervisory or managerial capacity covering the last 3 years of employment to date to avoid delay in the recruitment process. West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We encourage applicants to personalise their recruitment applications to fully showcase their unique skills, experiences, and achievements. While technology can be a helpful tool, we do not encourage the use of AI-generated content in applications. Relying on AI to generate responses rather than highlighting your own strengths and experiences may negatively impact the success of your application. Please note that all applications will be carefully assessed based on the essential and desirable criteria for the role, and it is crucial that your application and supporting information clearly demonstrate how you meet these requirements.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.