Job vacancy: R&D Project Manager, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, West Bromwich

Job summary

Main area: Research
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract: Permanent: substantive
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 381-CO-7237143

Employer: Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: SWB NHS Trust
Town: West Bromwich
Salary: £46,148 - £52,809 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 23/07/2025 23:59

R&D Project Manager

NHS AfC: Band 7

Here at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust we’re committed to recruiting and supporting a diverse workforce and we welcome applications from all parts of the community. We are committed to having a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences and abilities whilst employing people to our organisation who meet our Trust values of ambition, respect and compassion. With the opening of our new hospital, Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, it’s the coming together of expertise from every corner of our organisation and a show of our commitment to provide better healthcare and create more jobs and so much more. We at the Trust actively encourage Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and disabled applicants, as well as members of the armed forces community and value the positive impact that difference has on our teams. We are committed to equality and diversity within our workforce.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached Job description and Person specification for full details on the main duties and responsibilities.

Person specification

Written Skills

Essential criteria

• Strong report writing and presentation skills. • Able to write project initiation documents, business cases, dashboard reports, policies and procedures. • Provide support to the production of strategic plans for the project.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Specialist experience and working knowledge of project management, financial implications and improvement methodologies, with the ability to apply them in a clinical and operational setting, working with different staff groups at all levels within the organisation. • Proven problem-solving ability to develop sustainable new solutions. • Ability to design and implement monitoring and evaluation mechanism to measure the performance of health services. • Good understanding of the health and social care environment and roles and responsibilities within it • Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and • adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly. • Ability to coach staff and teams at all levels • Ability to build successful teams to enable project and programme deliveries. • Experience of working in partnership across organisations; Works across boundaries, looks for collective success. • Able to identify, assess and categorise risks, where appropriate developing and implementing control measures to prevent further risk.

Desirable criteria

• Recent experience of working in the NHS • Understanding and knowledge of clinical and service (operational/logistic) pathways • Recent experience of service improvement and redesign that brought about improvements to staff/patterns whilst delivering productivity and efficiency benefits. • Experience of working with clinical staff and operational teams.

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to master’s level in a relevant subject area or equivalent level of • professional experience in field of business intelligence, research and improvement

Desirable criteria

• Project management qualifications • Improvement Methodology training • Evidence of Continued Professional Development

Knowledge

Essential criteria

PERSONAL QUALITIES • Flexible approach; willing to adapt and to learn new skills. • Diplomatic and professional at all times • Honesty and probity, with high standards of personal integrity • Motivated and proactive • Meticulous attention to detail and accuracy at all levels; combined with the ability to extract key messages from complex analysis. • Initiative, enthusiasm and determination • Ability to work independently and within team. • Independent thinker with demonstrated good judgement, problem solving and analytical skills. • Excellent organisational and time management skills • Able to identify and agree key requirements; can interpret and compare information to optimise the design of solutions for implementation in different areas, to reach and agree appropriate decisions in a timely manner. • Ability to analyse complex problems and to develop practical solutions at all levels. • Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making in a feasible manner. • Ability to plan and organise a broad range of complex activities and adjust plans where necessary. • Able to manage own workload, working to tight and often changing timescales. • Ability to implement policies and propose changes to own practices & procedures. • Ability to actively promote equality, diversity and inclusion within • Experience of working with multidisciplinary teams/ stakeholders independently • Demonstrate a strong desire to improve performance and make a difference by focusing on goals. • Strong customer/client focus • Professional calm and efficient manner • Continued commitment to improve skills and ability in new areas of work. AF/I

communication

Essential criteria

• Identifies the impact of contextual factors on communication. • Manages people’s expectations and adapts communication to take account of the • intended audience – for example, the ability to translate technical language into an understandable format for all. • Able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive, or contentious information where there may be barriers to communication or a requirement to achieve agreement, cooperation or provide reassurance. • Able to engage with people at all levels. • Experienced in persuading and influencing others of the importance of the project initiatives, under difficult situations and potential conflicts. • Proven skills in supporting individuals and teams to deliver in challenging circumstances. • Evidence of competence in facilitating groups to achieve desired outcomes. • Ability to build effective networks with a broad range of stakeholders - shares and engages thinking with others. • Skills for nurturing key relationships and maintaining networks. • Make formal presentations to large groups.

OTHER

Essential criteria

• Advanced skills in MS Microsoft; Excel, Word and PowerPoint • Excellent time management • Effective resource management • Flexible across hours of work when required. • An ability to maintain confidentiality and trust. • Evidence of continuing professional development
Ability to work across the Black Country travelling regularly between locations, sites.

Supervision and line management

Essential criteria

Effective organiser; listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others Managing a number of initiatives simultaneously, formulating and adjusting plans to reflect changing circumstances, especially in relation to changing internal and external influences Ability to line manage the Research Engagement Officer

phsyicical and mental effort

Essential criteria

Used to working in a busy environment Frequent requirement to concentrate on complex documents where the work pattern is unpredictable Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with conflicting priorities, uncertainties and changes Ability to set realistic and stretch milestones; Frequent document reviews and statistical analysis when required Occasional requirement to manage emotional or distressing circumstances where unwelcome or contentious issues need to be addressed To manage conflict when disagreements arise around changes required to deliver efficiency and quality improvements To respond to challenge in a positive way to ensure that all are able to contribute effectively to the development process. Ability to organise, host events both internally and externally

As a major employer in the Black Country and West Birmingham region we are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance. We want the Black Country and West Birmingham region to be the best place to work and as such will consider all requests to work flexibly taking into account personal and individual circumstances alongside the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the Recruiting Manager as part of the on-boarding process.