Job summary
- Main area
- Research and Development
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Fixed term: 15 months (until 31st March 2028, with potential for extension)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 267-CS8278290
- Employer
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Warneford hospital
- Town
- Oxford
- Salary
- £66,582 - £77,368 (subject to banding review) per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 21/10/2026 23:59
Employer heading
National Governance and Contracting Lead
Band 8b
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
We are a responsive and innovative Foundation Trust that places our values of Caring, Safe and Excellent at the heart of everything we do. We take great pride in our staff and believe that investing in you is key to us achieving our vision of outstanding care delivered by outstanding people.
We work with a wide range of partner organisations to deliver care and support to people in their own homes and from a number of hospitals and community bases. We focus on delivering care as close to home as possible for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset.
We actively support anti-racism, equality, diversity, and inclusion so, if you’re excited about this job opportunity and you meet our Trust values, but feel unsure about applying, then please get in touch and we will be happy to have a conversation with you.
We are also committed to increasing diversity in the workforce, that is why we actively encourage applications from those groups of people who are currently under-represented, which include amongst others: people with disabilities; men from all socio-economic backgrounds; people from diverse ethnic backgrounds; and people from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Good luck and we hope to hear from you.
Job overview
Main duties of the job
You will provide strategic leadership across a complex national research partnership, with oversight of governance and contractual risk. Key areas of focus will include collaborative research agreements, access to research data and biobanking materials, data sharing, trusted research environments, artificial intelligence and emerging digital technologies.
You will bring significant expertise in research governance, contracting or a related field, together with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and develop effective solutions across organisational boundaries. You will be a strategic and collaborative leader who can navigate complex regulatory and contractual environments while maintaining a clear focus on enabling high-quality research.
You will work closely with senior stakeholders across the NHS, academia, industry, regulatory bodies and government-funded research programmes to support high-quality, collaborative mental health research.
Working for our organisation
Oxford Health is a great place to work and to be able to showcase the best of yourself when making an application please read the “candidate guide to making an application” and ensure your supporting statement is tailored to the role you are applying for and addresses any essential criteria.
As a Trust we provide physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and Northeast Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people’s homes, delivering care as close to home as possible. Our vision is that no matter who you are or where you are, you will tell us that you receive: “Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team”
Our values are: “Caring, safe and excellent”
We offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing. These include:
• Opportunities for career progression
• Access to tailored individual and Trust wide learning and development
• 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
• NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailers
• Competitive pension scheme
• Lease car scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Staff networking and support groups hosted by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the “supporting statement” element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.
The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.
We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support their application. We kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of their experience and must take care to ensure the use of AI tools does not generate an application that does not accurately reflect their knowledge, skills and values.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Higher degree, or equivalent qualification, in a biomedical or related discipline
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant experience of the development of good relationships across a range of key stakeholders
- Proven experience of working at strategic level with academic research collaborations, commercial partners, and/or research funders
- Proven experience of working at strategic level with academic research collaborations, commercial partners, and/or research funders
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- In depth understanding and experience of research study and clinical trials set up and management within the NHS
- Good understanding of the regulatory systems within the UK. In depth understanding of research governance
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Julie Bieles
- Job title
- Operational Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01865 618168
- Additional information
At Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust we want to employ people not just with experience, but with the aptitude and motivation to succeed and whose values resonate with our own.
Therefore, if you don’t meet all the requirements of the role and are unsure about applying but are excited about the opportunity, please do get in touch. We will be happy to discuss the requirements in more detail ahead of making a written application.
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