Job vacancy: Head of Investigator Initiated Trials, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton

Job summary

Main area: Admin
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8c
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 282-CR812

Employer: The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: The Royal Marsden Sutton
Town: Sutton
Salary: £82,906 - £94,632 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 19/09/2025 23:59

Head of Investigator Initiated Trials

NHS AfC: Band 8c

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification.

• Working as a member of the senior management team, provide leadership and contribute to developing the strategic direction of the research directorate.
• Develop strategy for RM to build and sustain a nationally and internationally competitive portfolio of sponsored clinical trials, which is aligned with the research priorities of our NIHR BRC.

• Provide effective and visible leadership and direction in the management of the sponsored portfolio.
• Line manage senior clinical trial management staff, identify and meet development needs, and review performance through the Trust Personal Development and Performance review process.

• Take responsibility for the financial performance, including the achievement of financial targets, balancing the potentially conflicting demands of budgetary requirements and clinical standards.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential criteria

Higher degree qualification (e.g. MSc) in a relevant subject.
Recognised Good Clinical Practice certification.
Commitment to continued professional development.

Desirable criteria

Project management qualification (e.g. PRINCE 2).
People management and leadership qualification.

Experience

Essential criteria

Significant expertise of clinical trials management for non-commercially sponsored (i.e. NHS or university sponsored) research
Hands on experience of running individual clinical trials
Experience of overseeing and developing a wider portfolio of both interventional and complex noninterventional studies funded by both commercial and non-commercial funders
Extensive experience and excellent skills in managing and developing staff and successfully establishing and maintaining high performing, effective teams.
Experience of developing new infrastructure
Experience of working with staff from a range of backgrounds and different levels of seniority.
Good experience of managing change
Experience of managing meetings and producing reports.

Desirable criteria

Experience of developing a strong culture of customer service
Experience of working across organisations.
Experience of delivering training sessions.
Experience of project management

Skills / knowledge

Essential criteria

Excellent leadership and management skills, able to inspire and motivate staff
Able to work unsupervised, managing and prioritising workload, meeting deadlines and exercising initiative.
Able to analyse and communicate complex issues to staff at all levels
Excellent written and verbal skills and to produce clear written and verbal reports
Excellent interpersonal skills; able to build effective relationships with a wide range of people
Innovative and creative thinker
Able to network effectively; represent RM externally
Effective planning and organisational skills
Able to work under pressure and handle working on a wide range of areas simultaneously
General IT skills – databases, spreadsheets etc
Good attention to detail
Extensive expert knowledge of legal, ethical, managerial and regulatory requirements for clinical trials and studies
Knowledge of developing budgets for clinical trials and practical use of AcoRD
A detailed understanding of the clinical trials approval process to conduct clinical research in the UK.
Knowledge of the requirements of clinical trials and clinical research projects during their life cycle especially at the start-up stage.

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.

All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.

Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff

At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.

The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.