Research Assistant Intern in Manchester

Main area Research and Innovation Grade Band 3 Contract 2 months (Fixed term contract) Hours 37.5 hours per week (Fixed term full time) Job ref 413-110187-RI-TM

Site CPCR - Q02158 Town Manchester Salary £25,760 - £27,476 Per annum, Pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 23/10/2026 23:59

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen within Research and Innovation, Christie Patient Centred Research (CPCR) unit at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. Applications are invited for a Research Intern to join the CPCR team and gain experience in a variety of research projects focused on improving patient experience and quality of life.

We are seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated individual currently undertaking a degree in nursing, social work or related subject. Responsibilities include assisting and facilitating data collection, data analysis and preparation of reports/publications.

The internship is part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Undergraduate Internship Programme which aims to engage and attract students from underrepresented professions in the early stages of their academic studies to consider a career in health and social care research.

Main duties of the job

PRINCIPLE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Planning and Organisational

• Work with CPCR team members to meet project milestones

Communication

• Actively participate in meetings as required.

Research Governance

• Ensure that all projects adhere to Good Clinical Practice guidelines.

Project Facilitation

• Support Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) activities.
• Assist with report writing and manuscript preparation.

Equality and Diversity

• Carry out all duties in a way that supports equality and values diversity. This responsibility includes actions in relation to all internal and external stakeholders.
• To facilitate the promotion and support of equality in access to research and value diversity ensuring the service provided meets the needs of all service users.

Other

• Be responsible for promoting the work and reputation of the Trust and supporting its wider activities.
• Be responsible for ensuring that personal, professional and corporate essential training requirements for self and staff under line management are met. Proactively engage in the PDR process ensuring that preparation work, objectives and personal development needs are identified and met.

Working for our organisation

The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, looking after more than 64,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 25% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.

We are the largest radiotherapy provider in the NHS with one in 20 treatments delivered at The Christie. We have up to 15 linear accelerators operating across our network of sites. We operate the largest chemotherapy unit in the UK on our main site and treatments are also provided at 13 other networked sites, and in patients homes. And as a specialist tertiary surgical centre, we focus on rare cancers, complex procedures, and multidisciplinary approaches to cancer surgery, specialising in colorectal, peritoneal, gynaecological, urological and plastic surgery.

We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We have been named by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), as one of the best hospitals providing opportunities for patients to participate in clinical research studies, with more than 800 studies open at any time, caring for over 3,000 patients.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will support project activities within the Christie Patient Centred Research (CPCR) team. CPCR lead a range of research projects exploring patient experience and quality of life. Duties will be varied but will include data collection and analysis, dissemination, administrative functions and literature reviews.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as a point of contact for the Research and Development core team, study sponsors, clinical research organisations and specific research teams, communicating directly with them regarding data queries, monitoring visits and other enquiries relevant to general trial conduct.
• Assist with the general administrative duties associated with the set up and initiation of trials within CPCR, under the Research Associate/Research Assistant.
• Assist with completion of activity logs. Maintain investigator site files and essential documentation in accordance with ICH-GCP and Trust SOPs to ensure they are kept inspection ready at all times.
• Assist with the processing of trial documentation (e.g. IRAS forms, amendment submissions, protocol registration) in accordance with ICH-GCP and Trust SOPs and timelines, under the supervision of the Research Associate/Research Assistant.
• Provide administrative support to the Research Assistant, Research Associate and Research Fellows for safety reporting in accordance with protocol requirements, under the supervision of the Research Assistant and Research Associate.
• Complete team reporting mechanisms (i.e. recruitment activity logs, patient visit logs, costing spreadsheets, case report form trackers and electronic proformas).
• Assist the Research Assistants and Research Associate with the write up of research findings for review by the Senior members of CPCR.
• Communicate with patients and study participants to arrange data collection methods, and assist in data collection (e.g. interviews), patient engagement activities (e.g. focus groups) and data analysis using relevant data analysis methods and software.
• Liaise with internal and external NHS staff regarding case notes, data collection, mortality data, and other general trial activities, which may be confidential and sensitive in nature.
• Arrange team and trial related meetings as required, producing minutes in a timely manner.
• Communicate complex information, orally, in writing and electronically.
• Ensure that data is available and up to date for any meetings related to studies in collaboration with other members of CPCR.
• Attend project related meetings, investigator meetings teleconferences, as necessary.
• Assist with general preparation for audit and inspections within assigned teams, under the direct supervision of the CPCR team.
• Assist with trial document archiving by following the Trust’s archiving guidelines.
• Undertake general administrative tasks as delegated by managerial representatives from the Research Division to contribute to the smooth running of the patient recruitment teams. Demonstrates the agreed set of values and accountable for own attitude and behaviour.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Currently studying for an undergraduate degree in a science or health related discipline and be in the second or penultimate year of study during the internship.

Other

• Flexible With ability to adapt to service requirements
• Hardworking; ability to manage a busy workload
• Ability to work unsupervised or as part of a team
• Ability to work to tight and/or unexpected deadlines.

Experience

• Experience of administrative tasks including data management.
• Completed some research training or experience of working in a research environment.
• Experience of working within a health care system.

Skills

• Good written and oral communication skills.
• Able to think critically (e.g. consider the pros and cons of different ideas).
• Excellent scientific writing skills with an ability to convey research ideas and findings to academic and non-academic audiences.
• Accuracy and attention to detail.
• Good understanding and demonstrated use of Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Good organisational skills
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Good understanding and demonstrated use of the full Microsoft Office suite.

Knowledge

• Some understanding of the clinical trials process.
• Some experience of academic writing.
• Understanding of medical terminology and cancer.
• Knowledge of patient information systems.

Values

• Ability to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours.

The closing date for this post may be extended if there are insufficient applicants or brought forward if there is a high volume of applicants.

Application Information - If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, I regret that on this occasion your application will have been unsuccessful.

Sponsorship Information We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

Pre-Employment Checks To confirm your suitability for the role, we will carry out pre-employment checks in line with NHS Employment Check Standards. These include:

• Identity verification
• Right to work check
• Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role, payment of this will be the applicants responsibility)
• Professional registration and/or qualification check
• Occupational health assessment
• Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust will be required to provide their HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history andreferences.

If you require sponsorship, we will assess your eligibility based on current government guidance. If the role is not eligible and you cannot demonstrate your right to work, your conditional offer may be withdrawn.

If You're Offered the Role - you will be agreeing to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and will form part of the recruitment process. In the event that you are successful following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.

Sponsorship Information We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

No Smoking Policy - You should be aware the Trust operates a No Smoking Policy and therefore employees are not permitted to smoke at work.

Additional Information - We want to ensure that everyone who works at the Christie or uses our services is welcomed, valued and treated with dignity and respect. The Christie values diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and fair representation across the organisation at all levels. In support of these commitments, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and people with disabilities for this post. Appointment will be only on merit.

We are committed to creating a balanced and diverse workforce. As such we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Together we will foster inclusion and tackle inequity and health inequalities in cancer care.

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all our activities. We have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery in any of its forms, including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour, and human trafficking. We are fully committed to acting ethically and with transparency in all our business dealings and relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our organisation or supply chains.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

Name Kate Law Job title Postdoctoral research fellow- Nurse, PhD Email address Kate.law4@nhs.net

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