Project Coordinator for DMD Care Uk

Salary: £29,605 to £30,487 with progression to £32,982 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 03 May 2024

The Role

DMD Care UK is an established and impactful project that represents effective collaboration between clinicians and the patient community. The project’s aim is to improve and harmonise standards of care for all people in the UK living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The project has established work-streams of expert clinicians and patient representatives, has achieved endorsement from professional bodies and published care recommendations in peer-reviewed journals. 

We have now secured funding for an additional three years as we expand further into new aspects of DMD Care and related research. This means we have an exciting opportunity for an experienced and highly organised project coordinator looking to move into a role which will offer the opportunity to further develop your project management skills whilst having a direct impact on the lives of people living with DMD.

As the project activity and number of stakeholders expands, you will support the senior project manager and the project PI in managing these stakeholders (these include key-opinion leaders in the neuromuscular field: clinicians, members of the patient community, policy makers, pharma and professional bodies). You will implement systems and processes to ensure the efficient and smooth running of this expanding project and will use your experience and initiative to suggest improvements. You will also take a lead on some aspects of the project, agreed together with the senior project manager, as well as deputise where needed.

This diverse and rewarding role sits within the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre at Newcastle University - an internationally recognised centre of excellence for care and research in neuromuscular diseases. You will work closely with the DMD Care UK project team, including external patient organisations, and report directly to the Senior Project Manager, Cathy Turner. As part of the JWMDRC, you will also have opportunities to be involved in wider activities across the diverse team. 

This a full time post tenable until April 2027. 
 
If you would like to have a conversation about this opportunity, please contact Cathy Turner at catherine.turner@ncl.ac.uk

Key Accountabilities

• Significantly contribute to the work of the DMD Care UK project across the UK and provide support to the Senior Project Manager, deputising where necessary
• Support the Project PI including preparation of materials and briefing her as required
• Lead, manage and report on discrete pieces of work according to agreed project work-plan and strategy
• Coordinate the administrative organisation of DMD Care UK’s 15 work-streams including diary and meeting coordination, minute taking and action points, chairing meetings as needed
• Preparation of project information materials for different audiences in liaison with internal and external work-stream members and with Duchenne UK
• Have input on website development e.g., ensuring links work, material is up to date, publications appear on-line a soon as published, contacts are followed up
• Support for future education and training aspects of DMD Care UK – maintaining an on-line learning platform, arranging access for users, troubleshooting and acting as first point of contact
• Support for our developing project Research Portfolio – ensuring reporting is up to date, arranging meetings between research participants, keeping a log of activity, funding applications etc
• Travel and conference booking/management for project members
• Maintain up to date project records, contacts and mailing lists
• Support for event organisation (patient information days, in person meetings etc)
• Signpost queries from all stakeholders about DMD Care UK and related projects
• Represent DMD Care UK and the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre at meetings and conferences locally, nationally and internationally as required

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Experience of communicating effectively with colleagues and stakeholders from different backgrounds and levels of expertise
• Confidence speaking to large groups on-line and in person
• Excellent, accurate writing skills
• Good interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to prioritise workload to meet demanding targets and deadlines
• Demonstrable competence in planning, project and task management
• Ability to evaluate effectiveness of processes and suggest/implement improvements
• Experience in developing/implementing effective systems to organise project tasks and track progress
• Competent in the use of Microsoft Office, web editing software and online learning management systems
• Proven ability to work independently on agreed tasks

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to work to tight deadlines with a high level of accuracy
• Excellent problem solving with ability to use own initiative
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail
• Reliable and professional at all times
• Team player, able to develop and maintain productive working relationships with multi-disciplinary colleagues and project members
• A high level of sensitivity and professionalism, especially in communicating with rare disease patients and their families
• Flexible approach to working patterns which will include working outside of normal office hours from time to time and some national and international travel

Qualifications

• A good standard of A-level education

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26975