Senior Research Associate (Health Economics)

Salary: £47,389 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: 15 December 2025

The Role

The Population Health Sciences Institute is seeking a highly motivated Senior Research Associate in Health Economics to contribute to the delivery of the prestigious Accelerating Rare Diseases Trials (ARDT) Programme, a £12 million initiative funded by LifeArc to improve the design and delivery of clinical trials for people living with rare disease across the UK. The successful candidate will join the Health Economics Group, a thriving research active group that will offer opportunity for collaborative multidisciplinary research.

The successful candidate will work closely with Dr Gurdeep Sagoo taking the day-to-day lead on Work Package 5 of the ARDT Programme, Implementing Innovation in the NHS. The work package focuses on embedding economic analysis in early-phase trial design, evaluating the cost-effectiveness and system impact of rare disease interventions, and generating evidence to inform regulatory, reimbursement, and policy decision-making.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic and thriving multidisciplinary research team, whilst embedded in a research active health economics group. The successful candidate will have a strong research profile in health economics with a focus on stakeholder preference work including the use of methods such as multicriteria decision analysis, and a track record of collaboration with multidisciplinary teams in a fast-moving research environment.

As part of our commitment to career development for research staff, the University has developed three levels of research role profiles. These profiles set out firstly, the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly, the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Full Time, Fixed Term 3 years from appointment, in the first instance.

Further information can be obtained by contacting Informal enquiries regarding the post may be made to Dr Gurdeep Sagoo (gurdeep.sagoo@newcastle.ac.uk).

Key Accountabilities

• Lead the development of a standardised approach to patient-informed riskbenefit trade-offs in the area of rare diseases exploring the use of methods such as multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA)
• Lead the day-to-day delivery of the ARDT programme including the design, lead and delivery of a systematic review exploring the barriers and facilitators to NHS adoption from a range of stakeholder perspectives
• Maintain academic standards and freedom, and work in accordance with university policies (e.g. equal opportunities, health and safety policies)
• Attract funding for research from a range of peer reviewed external sources in line with the aims of the health economics aspects of the ARDT
• Plan and lead high quality research, project managing the research activity, supervising and taking responsibility for the research team. Plan the research to be undertaken, as a self-contained item or as part of a broader programme. This will include designing and running stakeholder workshops.
• Carry out research within agreed timelines, meeting project milestones and to an appropriate standard
• Consistently publish research in peer-reviewed publications at a 3* level, with significant contribution at the 4* level
• Undertake teaching relating to health economics and the health technology assessment of rare diseases on the Institute and Faculty of Medical Science postgraduate and undergraduate courses as required
• Collect and organise data; ensure that research activity and data is consistent with current research governance instructions and Data Protection legislation; ensure that research activity and data collection and management meet the demands of new instructions and legislation as these come into effect and
  keep appropriate records
• Identify and undertake a programme of professional development, including further training in research methods and other transferable skills
• To contribute to the activities of the Health Economics Group at Newcastle University
• Carry out administrative tasks and other duties to support the Population Health Sciences Institute as required by the Dean

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Significant knowledge of economic methods including, for example, multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), programme budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA) and/or risk-benefit trade-offs
• Effective time management and prioritisation skills to balance the potentially conflicting demands of ARDT work and other research and teaching commitments; and the ability to meet deadlines
• High level of understanding and experience of working with a range of stakeholders across sensitive topics
• Ability to work independently and as part of the research project team
• Excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work flexibly and cooperatively with others to successfully deliver research projects
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and protect research/personal data according to protocols and principles of good research practice
• Ability to prepare reports and papers for presentation at national and international conferences and meetings
• Experience of preparing research proposals and applying for research funding
• Evidence of ability to write for high quality peer reviewed publications with a publication record at a national level
• Evidence of skills in using relevant statistical and economic modelling packages and the ability to undertake analysis of study data

Desirable

• Experience of research in rare diseases
• Experience of research on methodological aspects of economic evaluation and advanced evidence synthesis or mixed methods research
• Experience of supervising less experienced staff and postgraduate students
• Teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate level in an academic setting

Qualifications 

• PhD in Health Economics, Epidemiology or Evidence Synthesis or a closely related quantitative subject or equivalent experience to specifically include advanced evidence synthesis skills

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: 28844