Overview

Go back University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

CRDC UK Network Operational Director

The closing date is 22 September 2025. This is an exciting opportunity to impact the international and national landscape of commercial clinical trials, transform and accelerate the delivery of commercial research in the UK.

A Commercial Research Delivery Centre (CRDC) Network is being established to coordinate activities across a UK network of CRDCs, providing national leadership, alignment and strategic engagement, and enhancing the capacity and efficiency of commercial research delivery across the centres. This Network, engaging and coordinating all CRDCs across the UK, will be hosted and led by Leicester Hospitals NHS Trust.

You will join us at the outset as we establish this UK-leading, person-centred Network, ensuring equitable access, diverse recruitment, and efficient, gold-standard, aligned trial delivery. We will prioritise improving NHS and patient access to trials and accelerating approval of innovations, working closely with the devolved nations and existing national NIHR and commercial clinical trials infrastructure.

Interviews will take place between 6th – 17th October 2025.

Responsibilities

Network activities will be organised into nine themes overseen by a matrix of CRDC Directors and specialists drawn from the Network. Activities will be led and coordinated by the Network Operational Management Team led by the Network Operational Director. This is a key role as a senior leader and ambassador for the CRDC UK Network, contributing to the ongoing development of the vision, direction and strategic aims for the CRDC UK-wide approach and translating this into deliverable priorities.

About us

Our new strategy, developed with the support and feedback of colleagues, patients, and partners, is our compass for the next seven years (2023-2030).

We have four primary goals:

• high-quality care for all
• being a great place to work
• partnerships for impact
• research and education excellence

We will embed health equality in all we do, taking active steps to reduce avoidable differences in healthcare, working in partnership with communities.

Our strategy is underpinned by new values and we will work to ensure they are an everyday reality for all:

• we are compassionate
• we are proud
• we are inclusive
• we are one team

This is an exciting moment as we look to the future with clarity on what we already do well and where we need to focus our energies to make an even bigger difference for the people we serve.

About the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

Salary information and other details are provided by the employer; duties and requirements align with the role of CRDC UK Network Operational Director.

Salary

£109,179 to £125,637 per annum / pro rata for part-time hours

Job responsibilities

The CRDC UK Network Operational Director will be responsible for the overall delivery and management of the CRDC UK Network, providing industry with a high-quality, professional, coherent, efficient and standardised approach to bespoke commercial clinical trials across the four nations CRDC sites.

The Network Operational Director will co-develop and lead national programmes of work on behalf of the CRDC UK Network Senior Management Team and act as the central point of contact for industry sponsors.

Although predominantly remote working, it is anticipated that the postholder will travel to the Network host and CRDC sites (or their partner institutions), and regular travel to Network in-person meetings will be expected and supported.

Person Specification

Training and Qualifications

• Masters level qualification or equivalent

Experience

• Comprehensive understanding of commercial research, the NHS and the wider health and care system including responsibilities to the public and patients
• Experience of working in the health and care research sector, the health and social care service sector or academic environment at a senior level*
• Professional research leadership, both strategic and operational at a senior level*
• Experience of working across complex organisational structures and effective matrix management
• Proven senior level experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive environment
• Significant experience of managing a large budget with solid knowledge of financial process requirements
• Experience of leading business planning cycles from concept to delivery
• Direct experience of business planning and robust financial management at appropriate scale
• Knowledge of national systems, structures and processes for supporting clinical research in NHS and non-NHS settings
• Experience of working collaboratively and in partnership with other organisations, with demonstrable experience of delivery across organisational boundaries
• Evidence of managing effective collaborations and partnerships
• Good understanding of performance management techniques
• Knowledge of utilizing Business Intelligence solutions to work within a performance management framework
• Political astuteness and understanding of the health & social care context
• Comprehensive knowledge of programme sponsorship and management
• Experience of leading continuous improvement

Skills

• Highly developed leadership, strategic thinking and planning skills with ability to demonstrate these in highly political environments
• Demonstrable ability to use autonomy to undertake actions as a result of own interpretation of policy and guidance, providing a source of expert advice to the organisation and the ability to make decisions autonomously when required
• Proven interpersonal skills to work with clinical and management colleagues at all levels across a range of organisations and the ability to develop strong working relationships with senior stakeholders
• Ability to deal with challenging situations in a formal setting
• Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment with knowledge of and experience in handling media relations
• Advanced negotiation skills to reconcile stakeholder expectations of financial allocations within challenging fiscal environments
• Ability to communicate highly complex, sensitive or contentious information orally and in writing, to a range of audiences
• Extensive experience of delivering presentations to large groups of stakeholders in often pressured and politically sensitive environments to a high standard (Board level quality)
• Ability to analyse and interpret highly complex information to make judgments on a range of management issues
• Ability to distill critical issues into clear arguments and articulate them verbally or in writing
• Ability to plan, manage, adjust and deliver complex projects involving multiple agencies and individuals to tight deadlines
• Ability to work independently and understand long-term implications of decisions
• Good IT skills, particularly in Web applications and MS Office

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

• Able to demonstrate a commitment to and understanding of the importance of treating all individuals with dignity and respect appropriate to their needs.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust