Research Fellow National Radiotherapy QA Team

Here at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust,

Our mission is: Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is: To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Job overview

Would you like to be part of shaping the future direction of radiotherapy research in the UK? An exciting opportunity has arisen to work as a research fellow within the National Radiotherapy Trials Quality Assurance Group, based at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.

Applications are invited for this full-time research fellow post available from April 2025. The post is funded by the National Radiotherapy Trials Quality Assurance (RTTQA) Group.

The RTTQA Group is a centralised UK resource which designs and implements QA programmes for all NIHR CRN Portfolio trials that include a radiotherapy component. The group exists as a single multi-professional network of radiographers, dosimetrists, clinical scientists and clinicians working collaboratively across a number of NHS sites.

The RTTQA Group monitors the quality of radiotherapy delivery in the multicentre trials arena. Poor quality radiotherapy can compromise the outcome of a trial and may also have negative consequences on patient outcomes. QA is recognised as an integral and essential part of the radiotherapy clinical trial process.

In the UK new technologies and techniques are used in clinical trials. The RTTQA Group engages early in the clinical trial development process. You would have the opportunity to be involved in practice changing developments in areas including proton beam therapy, adaptive treatments, MR-Linac and SABR.

Main duties of the job

An opportunity has arisen within the group, ideal for those looking to broaden their radiotherapy experience and knowledge. The ideal candidate will be enthusiastic, motivated, have exemplary communication skills and enjoy working as part of a dynamic team.

The applicant will be an integral member of the RTTQA Group providing clinical support and input. The post will be hosted by Mount Vernon Cancer Centre with activities across all RTTQA Group sites. The post holder will be expected to undertake a formal research project leading to a higher degree (MD) and to attend national and international meetings and conferences.

• Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Assist with the development of trial protocols and radiotherapy guidelines, particularly with reference to imaging, outlining, multimodality and combination treatments.

• Provide support for review and reporting of pre-accrual and during accrual outlining cases.
• Provide clinical advice and support to inform development of QA audit programmes.
• Take a lead in implementing outlining workshops for trial education and training purposes and be prepared to travel as required.
• Provide specialist clinical advice to radiotherapy consultants and other staff regarding the treatment of patients in clinical trials.
• Participate in the review of treatment plans and understand the effect of various treatment plan options on patient dose distributions. Discuss and agree approaches with the multidisciplinary group to create optimum treatment plans. The post holder should have knowledge of different planning techniques and be prepared to discuss this with other group members.
• Take an active role in RTTQA Group meetings and trial management groups.
• Develop an understanding of advanced radiotherapy, particularly in the areas of new treatment delivery and verification modalities and multi-modality imaging for target volume definition.
• Take an active role collaborating in the assessment and development of software for trial QA case review.
• The post holder will be expected to attend one or two clinical sessions per week according to training requirements and on occasions provide clinical cover during illness or absence.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Hold a current license to practice from the General Medical Council
• FRCR Part 1

• FRCR Part 2

Previous Experience

• Broad range of experience in Oncology
• Experience of supervising undergraduates, doctors in training and other colleagues
• Experience of audit

• Experience in organising educational activities
• NHS experience

Skills

• Ability to apply sound clinical knowledge and judgement to problems
• Demonstrable interest in and comprehension of Oncology and treatment planning
• Ability to teach clinical skills
• Participation in research
• Demonstrate an interest in clinical trials
• Able to show situational awareness and application of good decision making

Knowledge

• Able to evidence engagement with clinical governance and the identification of errors and the learning from errors
• Can evidence leading on patient safety issues and achieving a change in practice
• Up to date and fit to practice safely and aware of own training needs
• Evidence of engagement with appraisal and revalidation

• Computer skills and IT literacy
• Formal training and/or qualification in management and administration

Other requirements

Essential criteria

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include

We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect

We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve

We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing [email protected]

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

When you apply...

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date in certain circumstances. Please ensure that you make your application as soon as possible.

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As a publicly funded employer, we need to ensure we utilise our funds responsibly, this may mean we are unable to support sponsorship required to gain the right to work for particular positions. We strongly advise you to contact the line manager or a member of the Resourcing Team before applying to confirm if we will be able to support with sponsorship for that post.

King's Trust Support

Please contact Enquiries.H&[email protected] for support.

Secondments/Fixed term

Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.

If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.