• Job Description

  Req#: 4182

  Position Details

  Cancer Research (UK) Clinical Trials Unit, College of Medicine and Health

  Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

  Full time starting salary is normally in the range £34,980 to £44,263 with potential progression once in post to £46,974

  Grade: 7

  Full Time, Fixed Term Contract for up to 18 months

  Closing date: 3rd October 2024

  Hybrid working is possible in line with both CRCTU and University of Birmingham policies.

  Our offer to you

  People are at the heart of what we are and do.

  The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

  We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

  We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

  Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

  The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

  Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

  Background

  This is an exciting opportunity to join one of the largest UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) registered clinical trials units in the country. The Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU) is based in the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences at University of Birmingham. The CRCTU employs a multidisciplinary team of around 200 staff including statisticians, systematic reviewers, trial management staff, research nurses, monitors, programmers, administrators and IT staff. It specialises in running early and late phase clinical trials in adults and children. Alongside trials portfolios in a broad range of adult solid cancers, CRCTU is the national lead for prestigious programmes of research for children’s cancer and leukaemia trials and the Trials Acceleration Programme for adult haemato-oncology and also incorporates a dedicated academic-led Diagnostics, Drugs, Devices and Biomarkers team (D3B) running specialist non-cancer trials.

  The post holder will provide statistical expertise and advice on the design, conduct and analysis of Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit’s (CRCTU) clinical trials and allied research. Biostatisticians play a central role in the Unit, actively liaising with clinical investigators, contributing to the design and conduct of clinical trials, being responsible for interim and final analysis of clinical trial data and having a key role in the presentation and publication of results. As academic members of the University, Biostatisticians contribute to teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

  The biostatistics team within the CRCTU is actively involved in developing and implementing novel statistical methodology related to clinical trials and associated translational research. Members of the team are encouraged to pursue their own research interests and opportunities exist to carry out postgraduate qualifications.

  More information on CRCTU can be found at http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/mds/trials/crctu/

  Role Summary

  The post holder will contribute to methodological and clinical research through the design and analysis of CRCTU’s clinical trials. The post holder will work alongside a large number of biostatisticians specialising in specific disease, trial phase and methodological areas in adult and paediatric oncology. This post provides an excellent opportunity for an ambitious biostatistician to apply their experience and expertise within a leading academic trials unit undertaking methodologically challenging research.

  Main Duties

  • Provide statistical advice for the design of clinical trials and related studies, and contribute to protocols and grant applications, under the mentorship of a Senior Biostatistician.
  • Determine appropriate analysis of clinical trial data and write statistical analysis plans for trials, under the mentorship of a Senior Biostatistician.
  • Undertake appropriate analysis of clinical trial data and prepare reports for Data Monitoring and Steering Committees and contribute to presentations and publications of clinical trial results.
  • Collaborate on relevant trial-related projects with researchers in other departments within the University of Birmingham in terms of the provision of statistical advice and/or analysis of data.
  • Liaise with Programmers and Trial Coordinators in the setting up of a randomisation process and development of data collections forms and databases for trials.
  • Provide statistical analysis to assist Trial Coordinators in the running of trials and monitor data quality of on-going trials.
  • Contribute to the writing of the Standard Operating Procedures for the CRCTU.
  • Lecture on basic statistics and clinical trial methodology and provide in-house staff training.
  • Carry out statistical methodological research relevant to cancer clinical trials and associated translational research in collaboration with senior members of the Biostatistics Team and contribute to presentations and publications of such research.
  • Support the delivery of clinical research in accordance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP), the Declaration of Helsinki, applicable legislation (including, but not limited to, the Medicines for Human Use Clinical Trials Regulations, Data Protection Act 1998, Human Tissue Act), the Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care, Caldicott principals, and applicable NHS Trust and University policies and procedures, (including, but not limited to the University’s Data Protection Policy, Information Security Policy and Code of Practice for Research) in order to protect the research subject and the quality of each study.
  • Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
  • Pursuit of post-graduate qualifications or personal research interests is encouraged, providing the work is agreed in advance, is of sufficient merit and time is available such that trial work would not suffer.

  Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

  The individual suitable for this post would have some experience or specific qualifications in medical statistics and would be capable of working with minimal supervision as a statistician on trials relating to a number of the key disease areas covered by the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit within a fairly short time of appointment.

  • MSc or PhD in Statistics OR a relevant higher degree with experience of working as an applied medical statistician.
  • Knowledge of survival analysis and statistical modelling.
  • Knowledge of statistical packages.
  • Knowledge of clinical trials.
  • An ability to impart statistical concepts to non-statisticians.
  • An ability to work well both on own initiative and within a team.
  • Evidence of good inter-personal, communication skills.
  • A flexible attitude and an ability to organise work to meet deadlines while handling more than one task at a time.
  • Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

  Planning and Organising

  A flexible attitude and an ability to organise work to meet deadlines while handling more than one task at a time is needed.

  Problem Solving and decision making

  An ability to make decisions on appropriate methodology to apply to research questions is required.

  Internal and External relationships

  As part of the biostatistics team, the post holder will help to advise potential clinical trialists and other researchers on the feasibility, design and analysis of proposed studies and will sit on project management groups.

  There will be in-house teaching commitments and occasional contributions to postgraduate and continuing professional development courses run by the School and other departments.

  Further particulars can be found here
  
  Informal enquiries to Professor Lucinda Billingham, email: L.J.Billingham@bham.ac.uk or Aimee Jackson, email: A.E.Jackson@bham.ac.uk
  
  View our staff values and behaviours here

  We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is one of our values. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .

• About the company

  The University of Birmingham is a public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom.

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