Research and Development Costing and Contracts Officer
Velindre University NHS Trust
Are you ready to make a difference in the fight against cancer? Do you want to improve the lives of those living with cancer?
Velindre University NHS Trust is seeking a dynamic and motivated person to support the exciting developments within our Research Service, and its cutting‑edge clinical research trials.
The Role
As the R&D Costing and Contracts Officer, you will be essential to the development of our R&D costing and contracts service for commercial research. You will work closely with researchers, research nurses and R&D Office colleagues to ensure that accurate costs are recovered from commercial research sponsors and disbursed appropriately to partners providing research support services, using research agreements based on national and local templates. You will support cost recovery in a variety of ways including in some non-commercial research.
Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities
Analyse information about research projects, seeking input from researchers, research nurses or R&D Office staff, to make judgements about the appropriate costing of commercial research using the UK-wide commercial costing tool.
Review study-specific financial information in model research agreements to ensure compliance with NHS research costing and cost recovery principles.
Review and assess research contracts, comparing them to agreed national and local templates, to determine whether all relevant issues have been addressed.
Work closely with colleagues to reduce research set‑up delays around costings and contracts, ensuring rapid trial initiation while protecting NHS resources.
About you
We are looking for a highly numerate person with strong analytical skills and significant attention to detail who can work collaboratively to solve problems whilst maintaining a customer‑focused professional approach. You will demonstrate a detailed understanding of national NHS processes for research costing and contracting within the context of NHS site set‑up. You will have experience of using complex financial spreadsheets designed by others and be able to work on your own initiative with minimal day‑to‑day supervision within a multi‑disciplinary team.
This post is fixed term/secondment until 31/03/2029.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Knowledge
- Educated to first degree level in a business, law, health or social care discipline or equivalent knowledge and experience.
- Detailed understanding of health-related research across a range of settings and knowledge of research management and governance, legal issues and funding, in particular: Good working knowledge of the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research and UK clinical research governance review processes.
- Good up to date knowledge of costing commercial research in the NHS.
- Good understanding of NHS R&D finance and costing policies in Wales and across the UK.
- Working knowledge of model research contracts for commercial and non-commercial research in the NHS.
- Understanding of basic principles of accountancy/financial management and financial management systems, including financial probity in the public sector, and NHS in particular.
- Specialist knowledge of R&D finance in a Health/Social Care setting.
- Specialist knowledge in applying the following accounting concepts – budgeting, financial planning, costing, variance analysis and financial reporting.
- Knowledge of current national systems and structures for the funding and support of commercial clinical research in the NHS including costing clinical research studies and implementing successful cost recovery and income distribution mechanisms.
- Knowledge and experience of applying the ACoRD Guidelines.
- Knowledge of contract law and practice, intellectual property rights, UK law relating to human tissue and data protection in the context of medical research.
- Working knowledge of the issues affecting the negotiation of NHS research contracts and non-disclosure agreements.
- Holding or working towards an accountancy or legal qualification.
Experience
- Good knowledge of MS Office applications (particularly Excel) and use of Web applications.
- Experience of working with complex spreadsheets designed by others to manipulate financial data.
- Experience of working with multidisciplinary teams and cross-organisational working.
- Experience of working within a clinical research management environment such as an NHS R&D Office or Joint Research Office or in a sector where grant funding is important.
- Experience of working within a cancer research environment.
- Experience of costing commercial studies.
- Experience of implementing successful cost recovery and income distribution mechanisms for NHS research.
- Knowledge and experience in the practical application of R&D finance policies.
- Experience of designing and formatting spreadsheets to manipulate financial data.
- Financial management experience, especially within the NHS.
- Experience of developing, reviewing, negotiating, overseeing and/or managing clinical research contracts for both commercial and non-commercial studies.
- Experience of providing advice and support on research related issues, particularly costings and contracts.
Skills and Attributes
- Highly numerate, enjoys working with numbers and demonstrates strong quantitative analytical skills combined with significant attention to detail, ensuring integrity of financial information produced including when working to tight timescales.
- Ability to analyse and investigate complex information, including financial data, and problems, think laterally, make sound, evidence-based judgements and offer relevant, pragmatic and risk adapted solutions at an early stage.
- Proven interpersonal skills to work and build relationships with colleagues at all levels, across administrative, financial, managerial, academic and clinical disciplines, and external peers across a range of organisations, sometimes in adversarial situations.
- Customer focussed professional approach to all situations treating others with respect and courtesy.
- Ability to articulate complex, sometimes contradictory information in a professional, calm and supportive manner in order to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
- Communicate complex information, both orally and in writing, internally to colleagues including in other Welsh NHS organisations and externally to peers in higher education institutions and commercial research sponsors/contract research organisations.
- Persuasive negotiation skills, including to overcome barriers to understanding, which will be needed in all areas covered, but is a particular issue in terms of research contract reviews, to facilitate agreement and co-operation between the Trust, other NHS organisations, higher education institutions and commercial research sponsors/contract research organisations.
- Self-motivated and able to work on own initiative with minimal day-to-day supervision within a multi-disciplinary team, making appropriate recommendations about what is needed to ensure the research contract service delivers and sponsors and funders maintain and increase confidence in the Trust as a research site, a collaborator and a sponsor.
- Able effectively to plan and prioritise work, manage time efficiently and deliver results on time, meeting strict deadlines.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.
#J-18808-Ljbffr”, “datePosted”: “2026-05-05”, “hiringOrganization”: { “@type”: “Organization”, “name”: “Velindre University NHS Trust”, “sameAs”: “https://uk.whatjobs.com/pub_api__cpl__423715821__4861?utm_campaign=publisher&utm_medium=api&utm_source=4861&geoID=33047” }, “jobLocation”: { “@type”: “Place”, “address”: { “@type”: “PostalAddress”, “addressLocality”: “Cardiff” } } }Research and Development Costing and Contracts Officer
Velindre University NHS Trust
Are you ready to make a difference in the fight against cancer? Do you want to improve the lives of those living with cancer?
Velindre University NHS Trust is seeking a dynamic and motivated person to support the exciting developments within our Research Service, and its cutting‑edge clinical research trials.
The Role
As the R&D Costing and Contracts Officer, you will be essential to the development of our R&D costing and contracts service for commercial research. You will work closely with researchers, research nurses and R&D Office colleagues to ensure that accurate costs are recovered from commercial research sponsors and disbursed appropriately to partners providing research support services, using research agreements based on national and local templates. You will support cost recovery in a variety of ways including in some non-commercial research.
Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities
Analyse information about research projects, seeking input from researchers, research nurses or R&D Office staff, to make judgements about the appropriate costing of commercial research using the UK-wide commercial costing tool.
Review study-specific financial information in model research agreements to ensure compliance with NHS research costing and cost recovery principles.
Review and assess research contracts, comparing them to agreed national and local templates, to determine whether all relevant issues have been addressed.
Work closely with colleagues to reduce research set‑up delays around costings and contracts, ensuring rapid trial initiation while protecting NHS resources.
About you
We are looking for a highly numerate person with strong analytical skills and significant attention to detail who can work collaboratively to solve problems whilst maintaining a customer‑focused professional approach. You will demonstrate a detailed understanding of national NHS processes for research costing and contracting within the context of NHS site set‑up. You will have experience of using complex financial spreadsheets designed by others and be able to work on your own initiative with minimal day‑to‑day supervision within a multi‑disciplinary team.
This post is fixed term/secondment until 31/03/2029.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Knowledge
- Educated to first degree level in a business, law, health or social care discipline or equivalent knowledge and experience.
- Detailed understanding of health-related research across a range of settings and knowledge of research management and governance, legal issues and funding, in particular: Good working knowledge of the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research and UK clinical research governance review processes.
- Good up to date knowledge of costing commercial research in the NHS.
- Good understanding of NHS R&D finance and costing policies in Wales and across the UK.
- Working knowledge of model research contracts for commercial and non-commercial research in the NHS.
- Understanding of basic principles of accountancy/financial management and financial management systems, including financial probity in the public sector, and NHS in particular.
- Specialist knowledge of R&D finance in a Health/Social Care setting.
- Specialist knowledge in applying the following accounting concepts – budgeting, financial planning, costing, variance analysis and financial reporting.
- Knowledge of current national systems and structures for the funding and support of commercial clinical research in the NHS including costing clinical research studies and implementing successful cost recovery and income distribution mechanisms.
- Knowledge and experience of applying the ACoRD Guidelines.
- Knowledge of contract law and practice, intellectual property rights, UK law relating to human tissue and data protection in the context of medical research.
- Working knowledge of the issues affecting the negotiation of NHS research contracts and non-disclosure agreements.
- Holding or working towards an accountancy or legal qualification.
Experience
- Good knowledge of MS Office applications (particularly Excel) and use of Web applications.
- Experience of working with complex spreadsheets designed by others to manipulate financial data.
- Experience of working with multidisciplinary teams and cross-organisational working.
- Experience of working within a clinical research management environment such as an NHS R&D Office or Joint Research Office or in a sector where grant funding is important.
- Experience of working within a cancer research environment.
- Experience of costing commercial studies.
- Experience of implementing successful cost recovery and income distribution mechanisms for NHS research.
- Knowledge and experience in the practical application of R&D finance policies.
- Experience of designing and formatting spreadsheets to manipulate financial data.
- Financial management experience, especially within the NHS.
- Experience of developing, reviewing, negotiating, overseeing and/or managing clinical research contracts for both commercial and non-commercial studies.
- Experience of providing advice and support on research related issues, particularly costings and contracts.
Skills and Attributes
- Highly numerate, enjoys working with numbers and demonstrates strong quantitative analytical skills combined with significant attention to detail, ensuring integrity of financial information produced including when working to tight timescales.
- Ability to analyse and investigate complex information, including financial data, and problems, think laterally, make sound, evidence-based judgements and offer relevant, pragmatic and risk adapted solutions at an early stage.
- Proven interpersonal skills to work and build relationships with colleagues at all levels, across administrative, financial, managerial, academic and clinical disciplines, and external peers across a range of organisations, sometimes in adversarial situations.
- Customer focussed professional approach to all situations treating others with respect and courtesy.
- Ability to articulate complex, sometimes contradictory information in a professional, calm and supportive manner in order to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
- Communicate complex information, both orally and in writing, internally to colleagues including in other Welsh NHS organisations and externally to peers in higher education institutions and commercial research sponsors/contract research organisations.
- Persuasive negotiation skills, including to overcome barriers to understanding, which will be needed in all areas covered, but is a particular issue in terms of research contract reviews, to facilitate agreement and co-operation between the Trust, other NHS organisations, higher education institutions and commercial research sponsors/contract research organisations.
- Self-motivated and able to work on own initiative with minimal day-to-day supervision within a multi-disciplinary team, making appropriate recommendations about what is needed to ensure the research contract service delivers and sponsors and funders maintain and increase confidence in the Trust as a research site, a collaborator and a sponsor.
- Able effectively to plan and prioritise work, manage time efficiently and deliver results on time, meeting strict deadlines.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.
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