Research Assistant/Associate

Job content

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Salary: Research Assistant: £28,331 - £30,046 per annum
Research Associate: £30,942 - £32,817 with progression to £40,322 per annum

Closing Date: 9 August 2021

The Role

An exciting opportunity has arisen for proactive researchers to join the Innovation Observatory £16M initiative, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, based at Newcastle University with an academic home in the Population Health Sciences Institute. Here we bring together information specialists, data scientists, text mining, horizon scanning and evidence synthesis researchers to provide essential intelligence to several national agencies, whilst developing new methodology and novel AI tools.

As part of a large multi-disciplinary team, you will contribute to the delivery of the Innovation Observatory’s research programmes; developing rapid evidence synthesis (narrative and meta-analytic); scoping review methods and outputs, and supporting the translation of intelligence/data through the use of dashboards and novel visualizations, helping our stakeholders (and others) to make informed decisions about the innovation pipeline and access to innovation.

We are looking for 8 people with an understanding of the healthcare regulatory and market access processes with a demonstrable understanding of clinical study design and/or evaluation methods. Knowledge and experience of the drug/device/diagnostic/digital regulatory and market access processes is highly desirable.

A PhD in a relevant topic area, such as biomedical, health or engineering sciences, pharmacy or regulatory science will be required for Research Associate along with experience of developing project proposals/plans and delivering/day-to-day management of a research project from commencement to completion. A MSc degree or equivalent professional qualification in the same areas will be required for Research Assistant.

This post is available fixed term initially for 2 years.

For informal queries contact: Dawn Craig by email at: dawn.craig@io.nihr.ac.uk or dawn.craig@ncl.ac.uk

Key Accountabilities

Support Innovation Observatory research across its research programmes, determining appropriate methodologies and plans for research projects, with advice and support as required
Carry out research projects within agreed timelines, meeting project milestones and to an appropriate standard
Undertake the interrogation and analysis of regulatory pathways and innovation intelligence to facilitate discussion, study and reporting
Assist in the development of new methodological approaches for evidence identification, retrieval and synthesis
Apply Artificial Intelligence tools and methods (machine learning, data mining) to support identification, extraction and visualisation of data
Contribute to the development and delivery of training and advice, liaising with other groups and organisations
Delivery of technology reports, rapid evidence synthesis, pipeline analysis, and scoping reviews to our stakeholders and for academic publication
Proactive in the development of new methodologies in the fields of data intelligence, evidence synthesis and horizon scanning
Contribute to the ongoing development of a suite of internally facing AI tools and externally facing platforms that facilitate data identification, collation and sharing
Attend meetings with National Stakeholders and other events appropriate to projects and the Innovation Observatory
Contribute to the preparing and writing of research papers for publication and disseminate the findings at conferences and seminars
Carry out administrative tasks and other duties to support the Innovation Observatory/Evidence Synthesis Group as required by the Director (NIHRIO) or Dean (NUPHSI)

The Person (Essential) - Research Assistant
Knowledge, Skills and Experience

An understanding of the healthcare regulatory and market access processes
Demonstrable understanding of clinical study design and/or evaluation methods
Ability to build effective relationships with a range of different stakeholders, across different levels
Evidence of potential to write for peer reviewed publications and present findings at conferences
Ability to communicate effectively and confidently to a range of audiences and stakeholders
Evidence of the ability to deliver high-quality work within agreed timelines
Ability to meet deadlines, prioritise and to manage conflicting priorities
Aptitude to work flexibly and cooperatively with others
Experience of undertaking literature searching and data monitoring (Desirable)
Advanced Excel skills including complex data queries and advanced functions (e.g. macros) (Desirable)
Experience of working with AI tools to support outputs or data collection (Desirable)

Research Associate
Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Knowledge and experience of the drug/device/diagnostic/digital regulatory and market access processes
Ability to build effective relationships with a range of different stakeholders, across different levels
Demonstrable understanding of clinical study design and/or evaluation methods
Experience of developing project proposals/plans and delivering/day-to-day management of a research project from commencement to completion
Ability to work to tight deadlines and competing priorities while maintaining a high quality of outputs
Demonstrable ability to present research findings both visually and orally to a range of audiences
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to critically analyse and assess complex issues
Excellent planning and organisational skills, including effective prioritisation
Experience of publishing peer reviewed journal articles and other outputs from research
IT skills across a range of relevant applications, including Advanced Excel skills
Aptitude to work flexibly and cooperatively with others
Understanding of the Stakeholders active across the innovation and evaluation landscape - particularly in the UK (Desirable)
Experience of supervising student projects (Desirable)
Experience of applying Artificial Intelligence tools to support research (Desirable)

Attributes and Behaviour - Research Assistant/Associate

Ability to work independently and as a member of a team
Excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills
Ability to maintain confidentiality
High level of attention to detail and accuracy
Motivated, proactive researcher

Qualifications

An MSc or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant topic area, such as biomedical, health or engineering sciences, pharmacy or regulatory science (Research Assistant
A PhD in a relevant topic area, such as biomedical, health or engineering sciences, pharmacy or regulatory science (Research Associate)
A Master’s degree or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant topic area, such as biomedical, health, or engineering sciences, pharmacy or regulatory science (Research Associate)

Newcastle University is committed to being a fully inclusive Global University which actively recruits, supports and retains staff from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, as well as being open to flexible working practices.

The University holds a silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. The University also holds the HR Excellence in Research award for our work to support the career development of our researchers, and is a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 9422