Job summary
Advanced Practitioner Radiographer (Evaluative Commissioning in Protons (ECIP) research programme)

3-year fixed term contract

The successful candidate will support the delivery of the Evaluative Commissioning in Protons (ECIP) programme as a key member of the ECIP project team. This will involve supporting patients participating in ECIP programme studies whilst they are at the proton beam therapy (PBT) centre for treatment, ensuring that protocol mandated assessments are performed, and liaising with clinicians, referring centres and the Proton Clinical Outcomes Unit (PCOU) to ensure accurate and timely on-treatment and follow-up data collection. Additionally, they will support the clinical implementation of local and national clinical trials and research within the PBT department.

The immediate team comprises research radiographers and a research manager working to implement and facilitate research and trials in the PBT department. Alongside them, the wider team includes key workers, clinicians, physicists, play therapists, and pre-treatment, treatment, and specialist radiographers, all working together to offer patients quality care.We are looking for a radiographer who is passionate about delivering quality care to patients and is ready to expand their skills in radiotherapy research. We are able to offer a supportive environment in the workplace with opportunities for career growth and continued professional development.

Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will:

• Be responsible for the provision of the ECIP programme and study related information for the purpose of patient recruitment and consent and ascertain and record sensitive information as required for case report form (CRF) completion.
• Provide an important point of contact for the patient and carers regarding their participation in an ECIP programme study, PBT clinical trial or departmental research, both during and after completion of treatment, ensuring continuity of care.
• Use clinical reasoning in the assessment of patients for the ECIP programme and study related activities.
• Assess and troubleshoot patient care issues and provide support, advice and referrals where appropriate, particularly with regard to the ECIP programme, clinical trials and/or the research patient pathway.
• Ensure that treatment deviations from ECIP programme (and PBT trials protocols) are appropriately reported.
• Act as lead radiographer on the ECIP programme projects, demonstrating an ability to work autonomously and as a team member.
• Ensure that Trust standards are maintained, and all staff are kept up-to-date with clinical trials and research developments across the PBT service.
• Participate in organising and facilitating visitors to the PBT department, in both operational and clinical trials/research aspects.

About us
The Christie is one of Europe's leading cancer centres, looking after more than 64,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 25% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.

We are the largest radiotherapy provider in the NHS with one in 20 treatments delivered at The Christie. We have up to 15 linear accelerators operating across our network of sites. We operate the largest chemotherapy unit in the UK on our main site and treatments are also provided at 13 other networked sites, and in patients homes. And as a specialist tertiary surgical centre, we focus on rare cancers, complex procedures, and multidisciplinary approaches to cancer surgery, specialising in colorectal, peritoneal, gynaecological, urological and plastic surgery.

We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We have been named by the UK's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), as one of the best hospitals providing opportunities for patients to participate in clinical research studies, with more than 800 studies open at any time, caring for over 3,000 patients.

Job responsibilities
PBT is an advanced radiotherapy technique. There are two NHS PBT treatment centres in the UK; one in Manchester and one in London. The NHS is committed to ensuring the best use of this limited resource by investigating which patients will benefit from PBT treatment. ECIP is a programme of studies that explore the role of PBT for patients with different types of cancer. ECIP studies are not randomised studies, meaning that all eligible patients will be offered proton therapy. Evaluative commissioning enables more patients to access treatments and technologies which are not routinely commissioned in the NHS. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical trials/research:

• Be responsible for the provision of ECIP programme and study related information for the purpose of patient recruitment and consent and ascertain and record sensitive information as required for case report form (CRF) completion.
• Provide an important point of contact for the patient and carers regarding their participation in an ECIP programme study, PBT clinical trial or departmental research, both during and after completion of treatment, ensuring continuity of care.
• Plan and prioritise workloads i.e., organise daily schedule and acceptance of ECIP programme (and PBT trial patients). Lead, supervise and/or undertake an active role in audit, research, development, improvement/ implementation of new techniques and practices, assessing results and impacts.
• Have a sound knowledge of research governance, clinical governance, research ethics, and trial regulations and comply with the principles of ICH GCP, ensuring certification remains current.
• Attend National Institute of Health Research and The Christies research and innovation department training courses, lectures, presentations, and conferences to maintain current knowledge and skills in clinical trials and research.
• Ensure that all documentation and QA is completed prior to any trial or study opening.
• Ensure correct care paths are input for ECIP programme (and PBT trial patients), with established links to relevant stakeholders, so plan reviews are completed in a timely and efficient manner.
• Be responsible for the accurate collection, reporting and transcription of ECIP programme (and PBT trial related data), working closely with the PCOU team ensuring such data is stored securely, and where appropriate, anonymised, according to ECIP programme stipulations and exported to the ECIP platform.
• Liaise with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, the Greater Manchester Clinical Research Network, The Christies research and innovation department, local and national research organisations, and trials registration offices to facilitate the implementation of studies within the ECIP programme and PBT services.
• Assess, analyse, and interpret research data and use this to make evidence-based clinical judgements.

Clinical:

• Participate in and supervise, where competent and appropriate, in pre-treatment imaging, treatment delivery, image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and adaptive radiotherapy (ART) for patients across the PBT service.
• Ensure accurate and safe delivery of highly complex treatment plans and to act as an expert in the delivery of trials-based treatment techniques.
• Give information at an appropriate level of understanding to ensure a patient is fully informed along all stages of the patient pathway.
• Communicate effectively and sensitively with patients and their families/carers by offering support, treatment information, and advice on radiotherapy side effects.
• Use clinical reasoning in the assessment of patients for the ECIP programme and study related activities.
• Assess and troubleshoot patient care issues and provide support, advice and referrals where appropriate, particularly with regard to the ECIP programme, clinical trials and/or the research patient pathway.
• Report faulty equipment and medical devices to the appropriate supervisor.
• Ensure that treatment deviations from ECIP programme (and PBT trials protocols) are appropriately reported.
• Maintain in-depth knowledge of UK radiation legislation IR(ME)R 2017 and IRR 2017 and act as an expert resource in interpretation of the legislation with regards to standard operating procedures and error reporting; plus knowledge of other relevant legislation, including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, and MHRA Safety Guidelines for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Equipment in Clinical Use.

Supervisory and managerial:

• Provide professional, technical, operational and clinical leadership regarding ECIP programme (and PBT trial procedures) to radiographic staff.
• Promote opportunities for team development and individual role enhancement.
• Be responsible for the collection of key performance indicator data to support business cases for team expansion.
• Support and deputise for the Principal Clinical Trials Research Radiographer by playing a key role in the department management, which includes undertaking clinical operational responsibility, contributing to business case development and attending trust committee, local trust partnership, managerial, radiotherapy-related research, and research and development meetings when required.
• Ensure that Trust standards are maintained, and all staff are kept up-to-date with clinical trials and research developments across the PBT service.
• Establish and maintain excellent communication links with the multi-disciplinary team.
• Act as an advocate for The Christie, and the radiotherapy profession, at national and international forums, conferences, and vendor meetings
• Develop and review work instructions and operating procedures in conjunction with the clinical trials radiographers.
• Act as lead radiographer on the ECIP programme projects, demonstrating an ability to work autonomously and as a team member.
• Continually assess and monitor risk in own practice and that of others, challenging others as appropriate.
• Participate in the recruitment and selection of staff through supporting appointment panels, completion of paperwork and liaison with Human Resources and Occupational Health departments to ensure successful employment of candidates.
• Demonstrates the Trusts values and be accountable for own attitude and behaviour.

Teaching and training:

• Induct, train, and supervise clinical trials staff, ensuring competencies are attained in a timely manner.
• Participate in organising and facilitating visitors to the PBT department, in both operational and clinical trials/research aspects.
• Disseminate specialist findings to colleagues and members of the health care professions through presentation and publication at national and international level.
• Participate in the development and implementation of competencies and training packages relevant to all aspects of the IGRT and ART workflows.
• Supervise and manage pre-registration student training in accordance with Trust/university policy.
• Ensure that opportunities for clinical audit, research and technical developments are identified and that staff are encouraged to participate in relevant projects.
• Support the learning needs of the wider multi-disciplinary team, including clinicians, physicists, Research & Innovation staff such as research nurses and clinical trials coordinators.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• BSc in Therapeutic Radiography (or equivalent).
• Registration with the HCPC as a Therapeutic Radiographer

Desirable

• Research or education or management/leadership qualification or relevant CPD.

Experience
Essential

• Clinical experience at a senior level within the radiotherapy setting (such as expertise with advanced and complex radiotherapy techniques such as IMRT, IGRT, SABR, SRS, ART, SGRT).
• Experience of teaching and supporting the learning of others such as on-the-job teaching with students, new staff, and/or other healthcare professionals.
• Experience of service improvement, governance, and quality such as active role in the setting and maintenance of quality standards.
• Experience of working flexibly both autonomously and as part of a team.

Desirable

• Experience of clinical trial application across proton, MR-linac or photon services.
• Experience working in a proton beam therapy service.
• Experience preparing teaching and learning materials.
• Experience providing feedback and/or assessing progress of learners.
• Experience with the development of process maps, systems analysis and organisational improvement proposals.
• Project management/leadership experience

Skills
Essential

• Ability to communicate effectively with all grades and disciplines of staff, patients, carers, and the general public.
• Ability to disseminate information through different media, including in group settings, and utilising presentation aids as appropriate.
• Excellent organisation skills and ability to manage workload and the completion of tasks to a high quality within agreed deadlines, prioritising amongst competing demands.
• Effective management of workflows/pathways to ensure patient activities are conducted in a safe, effective, and efficient manner.
• Ability to analyse data and formulate plans based on these.

Desirable

• Research skills such as critical analysis of current literature and evidence-based practice.
• Ability to show initiative and innovation in order to develop the service for the future.
• High standard of communication skills including negotiation and conflict resolution.
• Ability to manage difficult conversations.
• Track record of publications in scientific and/or professional journals and/or presentation of own research.
• Data analysis, including use of Excel and/or similar statistics packages.

Knowledge
Essential

• Good knowledge of the radiotherapy pathway with extensive understanding of radiotherapy practice and its role within wider oncology pathways.
• Good knowledge of the policy environment applicable to radiotherapy in the NHS such as IR(ME)R 2017 and IRR 2017 and responsibilities relating to own professional practice, data protection legislation, health and safety legislation, and other clinical governance.

Desirable

• Good knowledge of clinical trials and research principles such as ICH GCP guidelines and NIHR/GMCRN governance and knowledge of the local, national, and international governing bodies and committees for clinical trials.
• Knowledge of the target times for clinical trials implementation.
• Awareness of current trials (chemotherapy and radiotherapy) ongoing for all disease groups in both the radical and palliative settings.

Values
Essential

• Ability to demonstrate the Trust's values by supporting the core values of the Trust as an organisation that cares for patients and those who are important to them.
• Ability to demonstrate the Trust's behaviours by being accountable for one's own attitude and behaviour and modelling positive behaviours to colleagues.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).