Senior Clinical Research Nurse
The closing date is 07 June 2026
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated Senior Clinical Research Nurse to join the Innovation, Research & Development team at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
The post holder will act as an autonomous practitioner, leading and supporting the delivery of a portfolio of commercial and non-commercial clinical trials across a range of specialties. You will play a key role in the coordination, management and delivery of research studies, ensuring high-quality patient care, regulatory compliance and achievement of recruitment targets.
Experience of working within a research environment is essential. Applicants must have a minimum of two years’ experience as a Research Nurse, with senior research nurse experience being desirable, particularly within a community setting.
This is a leadership role requiring advanced clinical and research knowledge, with responsibility for supporting and developing research staff, promoting a positive research culture and ensuring research is embedded within clinical pathways across the Trust.
Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received.
Main duties of the job
- Possess highly developed specialist knowledge of research activity, research governance and at least one clinical disease area.
- Undertake complex work planning on a daily basis, coordinating own workload, study teams and activities to ensure organisational, study and patient requirements are met.
- Allocate and reallocate tasks in line with staffing levels and service needs.
- Support and coordinate the set‑up and delivery of clinical trials, recruiting participants to both commercial and academic studies within the Trust.
- Ensure accurate data management and timely reporting of safety findings in accordance with ICH GCP, HRA, REC and MHRA requirements.
- Contribute to the delivery of Research Delivery Network (RDN) objectives across the North East and North Cumbria region.
- Establish and maintain effective communication with local specialty teams, support services, external research teams and commercial partners.
- Undertake research‑related training to support the safe and high‑quality delivery of clinical research.
Please refer to the job description and person specification for full details of the role and responsibilities.
About us
We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, in addition to our state‑of‑the‑art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. We also care for people in their homes and provide services from facilities in local communities such as health centres.
We give people greater choice and control over their care to help them to live independently at home and avoid hospital admission where appropriate. High quality patient care is at the heart of everything we do and we strive to ensure every single patient and service user has an exceptional experience with us. We have one of the most extensive patient experience programmes of any trust in England.
Job responsibilities
The post holder will be required to:
- Review the research portfolio for hosted studies, assessing feasibility and supporting the coordination of study set‑up and delivery at site.
- Investigate and report on participant recruitment challenges, identifying solutions to improve study performance.
- Ensure research activity is embedded within clinical teams by maintaining it as a standing agenda item in clinical and Trust‑wide meetings.
- Engage and influence support services, including radiology, pathology and pharmacy, to enable effective research delivery.
- Promote research opportunities to staff and patients through local and national awareness initiatives.
- Work as an autonomous practitioner, playing a key role in the organisation, coordination and management of clinical trials within the Trust.
- Provide leadership to research staff, supporting the development of the team and contributing to continuous improvement in research delivery and nursing practice.
- Ensure all research activity safeguards patient wellbeing and is conducted in accordance with ICH Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines and regulatory requirements.
- Act as a specialist resource and advisor to clinical teams on the application of research within practice.
- Maintain robust systems to ensure that all essential study documentation is accurate, traceable and stored appropriately in line with regulatory requirements.
- Ensure all studies are appropriately registered, approved and managed through the Trusts Innovation, Research & Development (IR&D) processes prior to commencement, with amendments reported in a timely manner.
- Lead on the recruitment, consent, education and monitoring of patients participating in clinical trials.
- Work closely with Principal Investigators and multidisciplinary teams to support patients throughout the research pathway, providing information and acting as an advocate.
- Take responsibility for the coordination and management of a clinical research portfolio, ensuring continuity of care and study delivery.
- Participate in and support delivery of education programmes, identifying and meeting the training needs of research staff and wider teams.
- Role model compassionate and inclusive leadership, fostering a culture that:
- Engages, enables and empowers others
- Uses coaching to support learning and quality improvement
- Promotes effective team working and collaboration across services
- Meet the travel requirements of the role, including holding a valid driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes (reasonable adjustments will be considered where appropriate).
Person Specification
Qualifications
- Registered General Nurse (Clinical)
- Masters Degree in research related subject or equivalent in short courses or relevant experience
- Recognised management or leadership qualification/course
Experience
- Previous experience at Band 6 working within a clinical research environment for at least 18 months
- Experience in research permissions submission i.e. IRAS / NHS / MHRA
- A good working knowledge of NIHR and commercial funding models
- Knowledge of or experience in Quality improvement tools, techniques and methods
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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
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