Job responsibilities
STRATEGIC
LEADERSHIP
Lead on the regional delivery of the RDN Workforce strategy to support the
strategic, system-wide development of the research delivery workforce across
a broad range of roles, specialties and settings
Motivate and inspire teams by being a visible leader and acting as a role
model for others
Work as a senior member of the national RDN Workforce and Organisational
Development team, representing the region at a national
level
and participating in nationally agreed initiatives
Propose key innovative opportunities for increasing research delivery
workforce capacity and capability across the RDN
Act as an ambassador for the RDN and wider NIHR
BUSINESS
PLANNING
Coordinate engagement with and adherence to annual planning and reporting
requirements
Input into the development of RRDN business planning and management for other
services and functions where there are dependencies on workforce development,
organisational development and the people side of inclusion
INFORMATION
& ADMINISTRATION
Develop shared, national systems and processes for gathering robust research
delivery workforce intelligence to inform the strategic
development
of regional workforce planning activities with partners
Oversee and manage the coordination of regional and where appropriate,
national programmes of learning and development including design, delivery
and evaluation
Lead and develop the use of Information and Learning Technology to support
learning, teaching and assessment across the network and to align with the
digital enablement strategy
Report on and present complex data with clarity to senior forums including at
Board Level
OPERATIONAL
MANAGEMENT
Line manage staff members in the Workforce Development function, which will
include undertaking staff reviews to identify training and development needs,
and establishing how those needs will be met, and managing performance
against agreed objectives
Ensure adherence to all RDN approaches and frameworks, and employers policies
by all staff in the Workforce Development function
Provide the link for all courses at a national level and provide advice and
guidance to the local facilitators
Provide operational oversight and management of regional and, where
appropriate, national programmes of work
Ensure effective local induction programmes are in place for all RRDN staff
Provide highly specialist advice on all aspects of the research process in
particular interpreting legislative and regulatory requirements and
providing
guidance to researchers on fulfilling their obligations
Write regional policies and SOPs by interpreting national directives and
guidelines for local implementation, and to work with local partners to
support the implementation of these where necessary
SERVICE
IMPROVEMENT & DEVELOPMENT
Actively contribute to the development and delivery of national projects and
initiatives to drive national and regional impact
Contribute to the development of research leadership that enables a positive
One RDN culture and behaviours
Understand regional and national research delivery learning and development
needs and partner in the development of high-quality
learning
that is inclusive and meets the needs of a diverse workforce
Work as a collegiate partner with colleagues across the Network to ensure
consistency of the development opportunities provided to staff, customers and
stakeholders
PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
Manage the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Facilitator Development Programme and
ongoing facilitator development, including performance
management
issues where required
Determine capacity of the facilitator community across the RRDN region in
conjunction with health and care organisations and advise/guide accordingly
Performance manage course facilitators from the RRDN and Delivery
Organisations to ensure a standardised approach to logistics for delivering
learning and development is implemented
Lead in managing performance issues locally as agreed with the Workforce and
Organisational Development Directorate (RDNCC)
LIFE
SCIENCES INDUSTRY
Actively collaborate with the RDN Life Sciences Industry in supporting the
development of the research delivery workforce within new sites and
increasing capacity and capability to deliver a range of studies
Champion RDN Life Science Industry research and the importance and
contribution of industry to NHS and social care within learning and
development
activities for RDN staff and stakeholders
FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Develop business cases/options papers for the RRDN leadership team to inform
decisions regarding workforce and organisational development
Working with the RRDN Finance team, provide accurate financial analysis for
use by the RRDN Leadership team to inform strategic network wide decisions
Provide effective management of any financial resources allocated for the
successful development & delivery of high-quality, cost-effective
learning and development as well as regional and national meetings or events
to ensure value for money
Proactively manage and review resource allocation, identifying areas of
potential cost savings
Procure and manage necessary hardware and software required for the design,
development and delivery of learning and development, including annual
subscriptions and licensing
CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
Embed a culture of continuous improvement (CI) across the network in support
of utilising shared CI methodologies to facilitate a learning
organisation
that meets measures of organisational maturity
Promote the RDN as a learning organisation that uses the knowledge and skills
of all members to improve performance and generate helpful and shared outputs
and contribute to service improvement programmes
Support the engagement from providers of NHS and social-care services,
research participants and staff involved in portfolio research and relevant
stakeholders in consultations about ways to improve the RDN service
Ensure national systems and processes for the evaluation of all programmes of
learning and development are adhered to, acting where
performance
falls short of expected standards
Seek innovative ways of embedding digital enablement as a key workforce
development strategy throughout the RRDN
COMMUNICATION
& STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT (NHS AND
NON-NHS)
Identify, establish and maintain working relationships with the relevant
stakeholders and partners e.g. Clinical Trials Units, RSSs, Trust and
regional R&D Directorates, commissioning bodies, patients, carers and the
public and other relevant groups/individuals
Work closely with staff and stakeholders, both within and outside the RRDN
Host Organisation, to ensure a high-quality Workforce
Development
function that meets the needs of its customers. This will include working
with learning and development teams, subject matter
experts
(i.e researchers, health and care providers, life sciences, etc), and liaison
with external providers where appropriate
Act as the main point of contact for all queries regarding the regional
Workforce Development function
Collaborate with NIHR infrastructure colleagues regionally and nationally to
support a One NIHR approach to workforce development
Work closely with regional and national communications teams to ensure
learning and development opportunities are shared across a range of channels
to engage new and existing groups
Ensure local engagement of NHS organisations with the Workforce Development
strategy of the RDN
ENSURING
PATIENT, CARER AND PUBLIC INFORM AND INFLUENCE DELIVERY OF RDN STRATEGY
Demonstrate understanding of the regional participant, carer and public
impact on the research landscape
Through the provision of high quality learning, development and inclusion
programmes and initiatives, enable the efficient and effective delivery of
RDN services and functions, resulting in a positive impact on patients,
carers and the public
CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
Support corporate governance through the provision of regular and ad hoc
reports to the RRDN leadership team and Boards as required
KEY
RESULT AREAS
Autonomously manage and deliver the Workforce Development function with
specific responsibility for programmes of learning and development,
organisational development initiatives, a programme of continuous improvement
embedded across the regional service, as well as key workforce inclusion
activities
Manage arrangements for exceptional circumstances where a standardised
approach is not workable, to minimise the impact on learner
experience
and course aims
SPECIALIST
RESPONSIBILITIES
Lead on equality, diversity and inclusion as it relates to our people,
working with host organisations and the NIHR Inclusion team to ensure a
systemic approach to embedding principles of equality, diversity and
inclusion throughout the network
Coordinate expert advice and guidance on research governance requirements and
related regulations to guide safe and appropriate
training
development and delivery. This includes being accountable for maintaining
high quality local delivery of the NIHR Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
Education suite of training courses
