Senior Trial Manager - Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit - 101417 - Grade 7

Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit, School of Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to June 2028

Closing date: 29th July 2026

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Role Summary

Responsible for managing a portfolio of trials associated with a clinical specialty and the staff working on those trials in addition to actively coordinating trials. Contribute to the design, conduct, analysis, publication and presentation of clinical trials research.

Main Duties

• Take a fundamental role in the design and preparation of new clinical trial research proposals and make a personal contribution to the Clinical Trial Unit’s research activity and profile. This will include preparation of costings and grant applications; writing and editing the protocol, and design of case report forms and databases used to collect research data.
• Keep up to date with current research literature and developments in the clinical speciality relevant to the portfolio of trials and the profession of clinical trial management. Maintain relevant bibliographies by regular literature searches and critical review. Bring ideas for innovative trials to the attention of the relevant clinical lead. Write literature reviews, develop and publish innovative approaches to improving trial methodology.
• Prepare appropriate interim publications (e.g. meeting abstracts) to maintain the research profile of each trial, and play a pivotal role in the preparation and timely completion of final research publications.
• Keep up to date with changes in trial methodology, regulatory issues and new legislation. Help develop strategies for their implementation at team level and also national level if appropriate to the trial. Help ensure that new skills, knowledge and best practice are disseminated internally and externally to study sites if appropriate. This will involve contributing to the quality assurance programme by writing/ approving / implementing Standard Operating Procedures for the trials unit.
• Personally manage selected trials taking a lead in preparing and organising meetings, reports and other activities of high importance and/or complexity and/or sensitivity that require specialist knowledge or expertise. This will generally include setting-up new trials, negotiation with key external bodies, overseeing the setting-up and monitoring of clinical sites and ensuring trials are run in accordance with current legislation.
• Take primary responsibility for ensuring that trial research data is complete and accurate. Work closely with members of the statistical team to validate the data set.
• Responsible for management of junior staff with respect to day-to-day supervision, motivation and support of the staff including work allocation, cover rotas, problem solving, staff development and monitoring performance. Advise and assist in the appointment and training of the junior trial management staff. Mentor, coach, and guide other members of the team as necessary.
• Obtain appropriate regulatory and ethical approval for individual clinical trials. Ensure the Standard Operating Procedures for the safe conduct of each trial are followed for example by reporting of adverse events to regulatory authorities and the Data Monitoring Committee.
• Prepare trial progress reports as required by the regulatory authorities; ethics committees; Trial Steering and Data Monitoring Committees; funding bodies, and external collaborators.
• Ensure a first point of contact is identified for day-to-day queries from study sites regarding compliance with each research protocol and provide cover for Trial Managers.
• Promote the research portfolio of trials for the relevant clinical specialty by the preparation of newsletters, posters and by presenting at local, national and occasionally international scientific meetings.
• Prepare Standard Operating Procedures for the running of individual clinical trials to ensure that the research complies with current legislation.
• Initiate and oversee the design, coding and testing of the research databases.
• Set up clinical sites, and ensure that participating staff at these sites understand and are able to comply with the trial protocol and Good Clinical Practice and ensure that appropriate audit trails are being maintained in line with current legislation.
• Monitor progress of each centre and take appropriate action to ensure good recruitment, compliance with the protocol and the quality and timeliness of the data collection. Use initiative to tackle any practical difficulties reported by clinical sites which may affect recruitment, protocol adherence or patient safety. Conduct problem solving / quality assurance monitoring visits as required.
• Interpret statistical data.
• Act as a member of one or more trial management groups, responsible for the management and organisation of the conduct of clinical trial protocols and administration of the clinical collaborative groups.
• Coordinate and support the activities of the Trial Management Group, Steering Committee, Data Monitoring Committee, and the larger collaborative group.
• Plan expenditure against own trial budgets and negotiate with suppliers.
• Lecture on relevant courses and supervise students as required.
• Make an active contribution to setting, maintaining and communicating Clinical Trial Unit policy, quality standards and trial management frameworks to junior members of staff.
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Support the delivery of clinical research in accordance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP), the Declaration of Helsinki, applicable legislation (including, but not limited to, the Medicines for Human Use Clinical Trials Regulations, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Data Protection Act 2018, Human Tissue Act), the Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care, Caldicott principles, and applicable NHS Trust and University policies and procedures, (including, but not limited to the University’s Data Protection Policy, Information Security Policy and Code of Practice for Research) in order to protect the research subject and the quality of each study.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• A higher degree (PhD or MSc) in a relevant biomedical science or associated subject with experience of clinical trials research (for some roles a proven track record of successfully obtaining research funding from a recognised funding body will suffice) or a graduate with strong experience as a Trial Manager and a proven ability to take on a senior role.
• An in-depth understanding of clinical research and trial management methodology, including applicable regulatory requirements, and a proven ability to apply these to the coordination of clinical trials.
• Experience preparing regulatory and ethics submissions; grant applications; writing and/or amending protocols; patient information sheets; case report forms; reports, and other relevant clinical trial management documentation.
• Proven project management and supervisory skills.
• Excellent administrative, clerical and office management skills.
• Effective communication, negotiation, presentation and inter-personal skills. Excellent computing skills including advanced word processing and email. Experience in the design, maintenance and interrogation of complex relational databases (MS Access preferred).
• Able to work on own initiative and problem solve.
• Must demonstrate a critical and intelligent attention to detail and high standards of accuracy.
• Experience preparing publications and submitting grant applications.
• Ability to meet the travel needs of the post which include travel nationally and internationally on occasion.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

Informal enquiries to William McKinnon, email: w.mckinnon@bham.ac.uk

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy.