Early Phase Team Lead in Cardiff

An opportunity has become available for an experienced, senior research nurse to become an early phase lead within Velindre Cancer Centre's early phase unit. The unit runs a variety of early phase studies across multiple disease areas, looking at dose escalation and dose expansion studies of various SACT treatments. The team lead will be responsible for all phases of the research set up and day to day line management of the research team.

To be successful in this role you need to be experienced in clinical research, and have proven management skills. You need to demonstrate excellent leadership qualities, communication and organisational skills and have a comprehensive knowledge of the ethical, financial, organisational and regulatory environment in which clinical research is delivered.

• Provide nurse management oversight to support the delivery of new novel cancer therapies including advanced therapies such as mRNA cancer vaccine studies and other immunotherapeutic Clinical Trials.
• Manage the trials within the Multidisciplinary Team.
• Supervise, advise and develop a research team.
• Deputise for Band 8a in their absence.
• The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Here at Velindre University NHS Trust we are extremely proud of the specialist services we provide across the whole of Wales in our cutting-edge Velindre Cancer Centre and our award-winning Welsh Blood Service, as well as the expertise of our corporate functions that bring the two divisions together. We are also fortunate to host the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership and Health Technology Wales and have developed strong partnership working with these expert services.

Formed in 1999, the Trust has a dedicated workforce that continuously strives to apply the key principles of value based healthcare through a wide array of roles. We play a vital role in the communities we support and have ambitious plans for the future to continue to improve the services we deliver. We strive to maintain our core values in everything we do by being; accountable, bold, caring and dynamic, and ensuring the best possible care for our patients and donors.

If you want to work for an organisation that prides itself on making a real difference and offers exciting career opportunities then Velindre University NHS Trust is the place for you.

• Communicate competently complex information about specific clinical trials and their consequences, to patients and carers ensuring they have a good understanding of treatment options, thereby ensuring high standards of informed consent.
• Act as the key worker for patients in your direct care for the duration of active involvement in a clinical trial, ensuring that all patients, carers and appropriate community colleagues are well informed about their disease and its management, providing appropriate and timely information.
• Work in partnership with clinical investigators with all aspects of a clinical trial, including: trial set up, trial documentation, data collection, administration and patient recruitment and treatment coordination.
• Registered general nurse / practitioner with evidence of highly developed knowledge in oncology and clinical research to include well developed leadership and managerial skills.
• Educated to Masters level or equivalent experience or qualification.
• Takes personal responsibility for lifelong learning and personal development through clinical supervision, appraisal and knowledge and skills framework, actively engaging with learning and development opportunities in response to emerging knowledge and techniques.
• Work autonomously to manage a large caseload of patients acting as a professional nurse in ensuring a duty of care to the patient and their families.
• Provide an expert opinion on the creation and coordination of the disease specific portfolio in collaboration with the MDT.
• Judgements on information giving for conflicting studies.
• Assessing the feasibility of running a trial in VUNHST and CVUHB.
• Participate in service reviews in order to instigate and manage change and service improvement within a complex department.
• Influence and develop policy and clinical guidelines internally and externally.
• Lead on the contribution to the early phase service development, ensuring pursuit of excellence in care for trials patients.
• Work with the R&D Delivery Manager, and RD&I finance Manager in assessing the financial impact to the Trust and CVUHB of commercial and non-commercial trials.
• Deal with financial negotiations and contractual agreements with pharmaceutical companies when setting up a clinical trial.
• Identify and discuss with individual departments the physical resource implications.
• Mentor new research staff and provide training in own discipline and that of other Clinical Trials Unit posts of Band 6 and below as required.
• Managing and supervising an early phase team. Implementing annual PADRs.
• Ensure continued effective registration with the NMC and be aware of NMC Code of Professional Conduct. They must be accountable for their own practice. Work within the NMC Scope of Professional Practice and ensure competency to undertake duties as allocated.
• Be responsible for initiating and coordinating a range of UK, European and World Wide cancer trials for VUNHST and CVUHB as required, in collaboration with the relevant multi-disciplinary research teams.
• Ensure that as an individual and as a team lead a quality service is delivered maintaining safety of the patient, and working to WG national research KPI`s.
• Request trial related radiological procedures.
• Clinical assessment of patient.
• Use of ECGs, blood pressure machines and other equipment required to monitor the patient.
• Knowledge of trial SACT.
• Work with a number of different staff across research from Principal Investigators, research nurses, research officers, data management and Research Facilitation Officers.
• Close liaison with BNT research teams and Cardiff Cancer Research Partnership and late phase colleagues to ensure smooth and efficient working of the overall research portfolio.

• 1st level registered nurse or professional health care equivalent.
• Evidence of continued professional development.
• Working knowledge of G.C.P and its application in the NHS research environment.
• Clinical Research Qualification.
• Teaching qualification.
• Experience as a specialist nurse.
• Experience of caring for patients within the research setting.
• Experience of caring for patients in the Cancer setting.
• Phase 1 trial experience.
• Clinical skills in delivering novel early phase therapies.
• Ability to work on own initiative.
• Teaching and presentation skills.
• Counselling skills.
• Knowledge of the research process and regulatory requirements - G.C.P and research governance.
• Knowledge of MS Office application and E-mail.
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a Team.
• Enthusiastic and motivated.
• Ability to travel, in the course of duties.
• Flexible approach to working hours according to service needs.
• Welsh Speaker (Level 1) or willingness to work towards.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.