Senior Project Manager - Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom - Newcastle University

Description

Salary: £45,585 to £48,350 with progression to £54,395 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 06 June 2024

The Role

We are looking for a talented and motivated and experienced individual to join an international, multidisciplinary team working in the area of translational research for neuromuscular diseases.

You will be based at the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (JWMDRC) at Newcastle University. You will play a key role in managing the Real-World Data and Patient Reported Outcome Measures Program.

You will have relevant knowledge and experience of working at a senior level of project management. Demonstrated evidence of ability to set up, plan and execute national and international multi-stakeholder projects will also be important.

This post is full time, fixed term for one year.

Informal enquires to Emma Heslop or Chiara Marini Bettolo, and

Please note that if you are successful to this role, you will require medical clearance before you can commence in the role.

For further useful information please see:

sma-
dm-
fshd-

fkrp-

Key Accountabilities

• Have oversight and take responsibility for both strategic and day-to-day decisions relating to the project needs and team's activities

• Be in charge of coordination and take the lead in liaising with academic staff (internal and external) to provide guidance, advice and support in determining and addressing the needs of the project, allocating work to the project staff as appropriate

• Create and manage a workload plan to ensure project management support is provided to the research project as required and without delay. Assess the need for additional staff to deliver the work of the project and work with the JWMDRC Network Strand Lead to develop a strategy for the JWMDRC network team

• Take overall responsibility for coordination and management of several Rare Disease Patient registries and Adult SMA REACH Programme team's activities, ensuring all milestones and deliverables assigned to the team are completed on time and to the required standard

• Supervise, mentor, motivate and line manage the Patient registries and Adult SMA REACH team, providing strategic support and advice to all members of the team to ensure they have the skills, experience and expertise required to deliver their annual objectives and support projects to achieve their long-term goals

• Have oversight of all projects falling under this program and act as the primary point of contact for all parties involved in Patient registries and Adult SMA REACH on a day-to-day basis, communicating clearly with work stream teams, collaborators, stakeholders and university professional services staff for all project performance and management responsibilities, including meeting the funders' financial and deliverable reporting deadlines

• On behalf of the PI and work stream partners, have oversight of and prepare detailed study/research timelines and milestone reports, monitoring progress on a continuous basis with a clear understanding of any impact on the critical path

• Coordinate and actively manage project progress in association with the research, support and clinical teams, also across different centres, to achieve milestones within set timescales. This will involve collaboration with other organisations e.g. Universities or NHS Trusts, as well as the day-to-day management of project team support staff and coordination of staff recruitment

• Recruitment and line management of additional project staff including project managers

• Have an understanding of clinical governance and good clinical practice (GCP) to facilitate the management of low-risk clinical research as part of Patient registries and Adult SMA REACH

• Have oversight and ensure the early identification of potential risks to meeting required objectives and coordinate the development of plans to recover the situation where possible, liaising with the funding bodies as appropriate, keeping the Investigator and team fully appraised throughout

• Manage the £4 million plus total project finances including: negotiating and applying for additional funding to meet the demands and additional tasks of Patient registries and Adult SMA REACH, forecasting, liaison with the University's Contract Financial Management Team to ensure financial transactions and reporting are managed in line with the contract and holding regular meetings with work stream leads to ensure effective budget management

• Have oversight and organise regular project update meetings, maintaining appropriate communication with all stakeholders

• Ensuring actions are created in line with the project objectives/timeline. Ensure agreed actions are undertaken by those assigned responsibility

• Establish, organise and contribute to project management groups as required to support the project e.g. Advisory Boards, Steering Groups, inter- disciplinary working groups

• Further develop an understanding of the scientific, regulatory and technical elements of the project in order to cross communicate between different work packages

• Have oversight and manage the relationship with the funder, also ensuring compliance with reporting requirements

• Coordinate and take a lead role in authoring, submitting and presenting peer-reviewed papers, posters and conference presentations for academic and patient community audiences

• Take responsibility for identifying own learning needs and those of the team, including identifying appropriate courses to ensure up to date knowledge in the funding streams available to support care improvement, care delivery, influencing policy and conducting research for self and others; as well as developing an awareness of the regulations governing these

• Participate actively in the Management Team of the JWMDRC. Identify opportunities to meet the strategic vision of the JWMDRC including funding, research collaborations and promotional opportunities

• Take leadership and an advisory role in JWMDRC's PPIE strategy and activities, helping colleagues to develop and establish this as a growing area of strength

• Undertake other reasonable duties or responsibilities as appropriate for a senior member of staff

• Have oversight of the Horizon Scanning work related to this project to contribute to the JWMDRC activities delivering internal and external collaborative projects with key stakeholders resulting in innovative and tangible, outcomes for project beneficiaries

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Demonstrable understanding and experience of translational research and RWD and PROMs

• Extensive experience of working with patient organisations, especially in the neuromuscular field and an excellent understanding of their needs

• Ability to communicate effectively about all aspects of RWD and PROMs confidently and knowledgeably with a wide range of stakeholders – including paediatric patients, adults and families, policy makers, pharma, academics both in the UK and internationally

• Experience presenting at conferences preparing peer-reviewed papers

• Significant experience of working in a research environment

• Advanced knowledge of project management methodology and relevant business operating procedures including financial management.

• Significant experience of working in a project management role demonstrable through a series of progressively demanding roles

• A proven ability to manage projects in neuromuscular care improvement across paediatrics but also linking to adult services to defined deliverables and meet audit requirements

• Excellent organisational and management skills with proven ability to organise resources and deliver results on time

• Experience of leading, managing and developing a team with demonstrable people-management skills and the ability to guide and motivate colleagues to achieve deliverables

• Experience of requirements and delivery of PPIE

• Developing and implementing policies and procedures

• Identify areas of quality improvement and innovation and embed methodologies of Quality Improvement into the project

Attributes and Behaviour

• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate clearly and concisely in writing and verbally

• Excellent organisational and time management skills

• Excellent financial management skills

• An ability to work to deadlines, organise own workload and work independently

• Attention to detail

• A proven ability to be adaptable, innovative and proactive in project work

• A positive and supportive attitude; ability to work flexibly and cooperatively with others

• Excellent IT skills, including competent use of Microsoft Office including MS Project, Excel and Access

• Ability to motivate others and seek solutions to challenges

• Ability to work independently

• Flexibility with respect to working hours

• Willingness to travel internationally

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent professional qualification) in a relevant discipline and significant experience of working in project management

Desirable

• Post-graduate degree in a relevant discipline

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 27100