Public Health Research Delivery Manager

Salary: £47,389 to £50,253 with progression to £56,535 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: 31 October 2025

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity to join the NIHR RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health as a Public Health Research Delivery Manager. 

Our vision is to develop the infrastructure, capacity and capability to support practitioners and researchers to carry out high quality public health research, outside the NHS, to produce robust evidence to improve population health and reduce health and care inequalities.  

This is a key role in the NIHR RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health and will involve, playing a part in the development and delivery of this NIHR investment to support public health research in settings outside of the NHS.  You will be responsible to the Public Health Senior Research Delivery Manager, Chief Operating Officer, Centre Director, and to stakeholders across England.

Reporting to the Public Health Senior Research Delivery Manager, you will work as part of a team of Public Health Research Delivery colleagues to take forward a new national pilot as agreed with DHSC to test what is needed in practice for public health research conducted in settings outside the NHS, and which is not in scope for the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN). 

You will work with partners nationally, including NIHR, the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN), NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) across England and with external stakeholders including Local Authorities, universities, public organisations, and voluntary and community sector partners. You will work to co-design the pilot with colleagues across academia, local government, other settings outside the NHS and with public contributors. 

We are looking for candidates who have an extensive understanding of, and experience in, research delivery and programme management and skills and experience which enable you to lead and deliver key elements of the Centre’s vision.

To apply, please upload a CV and letter of application which outlines how your skills, experiences and knowledge align with the job description below.

This position is fixed term for 2 years

We are committed to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion for all staff and students. Applications for part time/flexible working are welcome, as are requests for secondments; please state your desired working arrangements in your application.

For more information and an informal discussion please contact Laura Renwick, Public Health Senior Research Manager Laura.Renwick2@newcastle.ac.uk or Kay Howes, Chief Operating Officer Kay.Howes@newcastle.ac.uk

Key Accountabilities

• Take full operational responsibility for the day-to-day management and delivery of a pilot funded by the Department of Health and Social Care to test what is needed in practice for public health research conducted in settings outside the NHS, and which is not in scope of the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN). This includes ensuring that agreed targets are met and to illustrate the capability and potential of the NIHR RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health

The pilot includes, but is not limited to the following work packages:

• • Scoping the support needs for public health research delivery outside of the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) remit
  • Co-producing with stakeholders, a pilot public health research delivery service
  • Supporting the expansion of the Centre’ s pre-award research design advice service
  • Piloting the public health research delivery service for public health researchers in universities, local authorities and other settings outside of the NHS

• Working with the Public Health Senior Research Delivery Manager, scope, plan, design and deliver the pilot and proactively monitor its progress, identifying and managing all relevant risks and issues, and initiating appropriate corrective action to ensure that they are delivered on time and within budget
• Manage and lead a small team of Public Health Research Delivery Facilitators, involved in supporting public health researchers to successfully set up and deliver research
• Ensure effective quality assurance and the overall integrity of the pilot, focusing on the consistency of the pilot’s component work packages with the centre’s other programmes of work, finding innovative solutions to resolve any conflicting priorities and potential overlap or gaps in provision
• Ensure that the pilot is developed using evidence-led practice, offers value for money and that any national policy and regulatory requirements and good practices are embedded
• Be responsible for the co-design and delivery of the support systems required to facilitate the research process, including efficient governance and setup, study placement, and successful delivery and close down of public health research studies
• Develop robust performance indicators and risk management metrics for each work package to ensure they achieve their objectives
• Develop and deploy appropriate processes to capture, report and retain evidence of delivery, and in doing so provide a high-quality research service in accordance with the requirements of the funder and stakeholders
• Work with the Communications Manager to promote the remit, benefits and successes of the pilot
• Manage, monitor, control, and report budgets for the pilot, working closely with the Senior Administrator and Chief Operating Officer, to ensure that the pilot comes in on time and target.  Produce progress reports to the Public Health Senior Research Delivery Manager and Centre Executive Board and Operations Group, meeting reporting deadlines as required
• Engage with key national stakeholders including NIHR, RDN, RSS, public health researchers in universities and local authorities, the wider public health community, VCSEs, and other funders of public health research e.g. UKRI, Wellcome; founded upon transparency, openness, and mutual respect; to ensure that the pilot is co-designed with researchers, practitioners and the communities they serve

•     Represent the Centre at local, regional and national meetings, at national and international conferences, preparing and delivering presentations as appropriate

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Understanding of the research journey from research idea through to dissemination of findings
• Experience of research study set up and delivery
• An understanding of the NHS research and development (R&D) strategy and governance. framework, and how this differs for research conducted outside of the NHS
• Experience of managing a team
• Experience in developing, implementing and following standard operating procedures and processes
• Experience of leading and coordinating programmes and projects and demonstrable ability to deliver results on time and within budget
• Proven high level of decision making and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrable ability to lead initiatives, prioritise and plan appropriately within a strategic framework
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills including diplomacy, motivation, negotiating and influencing
• Success in developing effective working relationships with colleagues at all levels and across a range of disciplines and partner organisations and providing authoritative advice to senior colleagues
• Ability to work independently, and to make decisions on complex or overlapping matters
• Strong digital literacy skills and ability to communicate and collaborate easily using digital tools
• Well-developed understanding of funding and financial management procedures
• Experience of research management and governance

Desirable

• Knowledge of public health or applied health related research field
• Experience of working in the NIHR or on a NIHR funded research project
• Experience of working in/with local government, or evidence of a thorough understanding of how it operates
• Experience of supporting researchers to set-up and deliver NIHR-funded research
• Experience of working with the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) and a clear understanding of its remit, strategy and function

Attributes and Behaviour

• Able to collaborate and communicate effectively with a variety of colleagues and stakeholders
• Acts in a collaborative, inclusive, transparent and open manner, acting with integrity and able to build high levels of trust
• Able to see the “big picture”, to think strategically and to consider the detail in complex situations, including where there are conflicting priorities
• Ability to think creatively to come up with new ideas good problem-solving skills and ability to imagine beyond the status quo
• Uses benchmarking to analyse external practices, gain a deeper understanding of the issues and to identify opportunities
• High drive and initiative, able to demonstrate professional resilience
• An articulate, confident and politically adept communicator, ready and able to deal with difficult situations and to challenge where necessary
• Works collaboratively with others, plays a positive role in teams and establishes and grows relationships across the organisation where different skills, expertise and opinions are valued
• An energetic and “can do” approach which will inspire and enthuse others, ready to take the lead in driving forward initiatives

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent level qualification, or significant vocational experience, plus experience in a similar research-related role, demonstrating development through progressively more demanding, relevant roles

Desirable

• Project and Programme Management qualification

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 gold 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: 28602