Data Manager – Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit – 103024 – Grade 4

Position Details

Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit, School of Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 4, salary £25,866

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to November 2026

Closing date: 6th November 2024

‘Open House’ Drop In Session: We will be holding an ‘open house’ drop in session at the University’s Exchange building, in Centenary Square, Birmingham, between 10am and 5pm on Tuesday 24th October 2024. If you’re interested in working at the University of Birmingham and perhaps have a few questions, this is an opportunity to meet colleagues in the Recruitment team. It will be a relaxed and informal event – you can drop in at any time.

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Role Summary

The Data Manager provides administrative support to the multi-disciplinary collaborative Trial research group(s) engaged in conducting trials.

The Data Manager is responsible for the clinical research data set for one or more clinical trial(s) protocols which are designed to improve the treatment and care of patients. Day to day principal duties include obtaining, entering and cleaning data from participating sites.

Main Duties

• Be a fully trained member of the units’ randomisation team and take part in the regular 9-5 cover rota.
• A key communications point for the research team and members of the collaborating group, answers initial enquiries and generally follows through to resolution. Handles routine communications with the clinical investigators, research support staff and others in external centres for data collection. Must keep confidentiality and represent the unit well at all times.
• Ensure the smooth day-to day running of the study protocol and the data collection.
• Record and code incoming forms etc., checking for inconsistencies, violations and unusual or adverse events. May be required to abstract or verify data from source medical records, possibly involving visits to centres. Maintain and apply coding lists under the guidance of the Statistician, Trial Manager and Programmer.
• Enter routine data into the various research & administrative databases. Enter non-routine or ad-hoc data (i.e. that requires more interpretation or development of new codes) under guidance.
• Perform regular, systematic checks to validate and verify information on the data base(s) in order to produce a clean, accurate and complete data set for analysis. Identify and resolve any missing, incomplete or contradictory data. This typically involves sending standard letters or telephoning to outline the problem. Produce reports and lists on both a regular and ad-hoc basis.
• Work with Programmer, Statistician and Trial Manager to test data entry, validation and report generation applications (i.e. confirming proper functioning of the trial database systems), reporting errors and suggesting modifications if appropriate. May create and test simple ad-hoc data bases, forms and report generation.
• Provide secretarial support as required by the research team. Maintain stocks of supplies (both internally and at outlying centres) tracking on current version numbers. Assist in the organisation of collaborative group meetings and travel arrangements. May handle petty cash. Responsible for the day to day distribution of trial materials, and drug supplies required by external centres.
• Develop and document standard operating procedures for the work of the post, under the guidance of the Trial Manager. Help supervise and train junior team members, and check the work done by others.
• Continue to develop and expand trial management skills and experience. Ongoing formal and on the job training to develop advanced computing and broader trial management skills.
• Will help to cover for the Trial Manager /project leader within own areas of expertise or projects. Other duties appropriate to the band may be assigned to the post.
• Other duties appropriate to the band may be assigned to the post.
• Supports equality and values diversity, moderates own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.
• Support the delivery of clinical research in accordance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP), the Declaration of Helsinki, applicable legislation (including, but not limited to, the Medicines for Human Use Clinical Trials Regulations, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Data Protection Act 2018, Human Tissue Act), the Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care, Caldicott principals, and applicable NHS Trust and University policies and procedures, (including, but not limited to the University’s Data Protection Policy, Information Security Policy and Code of Practice for Research) in order to protect the research subject and the quality of each study.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to at least ‘A’ level, or other equivalent formal vocational qualification (e.g. HND or NVQ 4), or relevant work experience ideally gained in a medical or academic setting.
• Experience of medical data coding, data entry and data validation techniques. Able to query and maintain computer databases (including Microsoft Access).
• Strong all-round office management experience and possess secretarial skills that must include up-to date computing and office automation skills (e.g. email, excellent word processing, good document layout etc).
• Must demonstrate a critical and intelligent attention to detail including high standards of accuracy.
• Good communication skills and an excellent telephone manner. 
• A flexible and willing attitude to being part of a multidisciplinary team. Works well independently, with access to advice in deciding own short-term priorities and timetabling of tasks to meet agreed deadlines.
• Aptitude for learning and applying new skills, and once trained have the ability to work independently to gather information or simply finding missing or inaccurate data.
• A data manager should develop an understanding of the general underlying concepts of trial design, conduct and analysis. 
• Data Managers are expected to develop an understanding of and have the ability to follow complex data management and administration procedures including the operation and maintenance of complex computer database and information systems.
• Ability to identify and break down potential problems using past experience and knowledge of good research practices. Work to develop and improve working procedures with coaching from colleagues and supervision from the Trial Manager e.g. to ensure consistent interpretation and coding of the data.
• Understands the importance of quality and diversity in the workplace.
• Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.

Further particulars can be found here

Informal enquiries to Ryan Ottridge, email: [email protected]

View our staff values and behaviours here 

We believe there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.