Lead Technical Expert - Information Governance

Job summary

Fixed term secondments at the HRA. Information Governance leads currently working in NHS/HSC (Northern Ireland) Organisations

The Health Research Authority (HRA) is offering a new, exciting opportunity for senior, experienced members of the professional information governance communities working in health and care research. These roles will contribute to improving study set-up by streamlining processes and supporting sites to take assurances, reducing time taken to setup research to meet the ambitious government target of 150 days or less.

We are seeking expert input and leadership to support this work, and appointments will be made from this pool of experienced professionals. Roles will be offered on a fixed-term secondment basis, with flexible whole-time equivalents, recognising that they will be undertaken alongside existing professional responsibilities.

Successful individuals will work on behalf of the HRA to help develop improvements in set-up and assurances provided for research involving information governance. They will work closely with HRA staff and existing experts who advise us to support change in the NHS and HSC (Northern Ireland) help organisations make proportionate use of study-wide assurance, provide early expertise and advice to industry sponsors and partners including the NIHR RRDN, CRDCs and Industry Hub.

Opportunities are offered up to 1.0 WTE IG lead in total and may be shared by up to 4 individuals depending on interest, expertise and availability.

In addition to the person specification, you will:

• be a senior member of staff with experience relevant to Information Governance and the set-up and delivery of commercial research
• currently work in the NHS/HSC (Northern Ireland)
• have experience of working across wide collaborative groups to drive improvements in practice, or evidence of authoring professional guidance or standards
• have direct experience within an NHS/HSC organisation of advising on Information Governance requirements related to the set-up of health and care research
• have relevant experience of cybersecurity and digital-system assurance, including experience of DSPT or devolved nation equivalents and understanding how assurance applies to third-party suppliers, electronic systems, devices and local integration in a research context (desirable)
• have a pragmatic and proportionate approach to research set-up and delivery
• be able to see the big picture and excited to deliver improvements for the UK as a whole
• have internal agreement and the time to commit to this fixed-term secondment opportunity

At the HRA, we are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive working environment where we actively invest in the development and empowerment of our staff, enabling them to perform at their best. We strive to promote a healthy workplace culture where wellbeing, collaboration, and professional growth are valued and encouraged.

Working at the HRA, we support flexible working, recognising that home based or hybrid arrangements provides us with the most productive environment to work well. Where possible, we'll offer a working pattern that suits you.

The HRA offers home based contracts for all locations. Newcastle, Manchester and Nottingham based staff can be office based and hybrid working arrangements are also possible. We encourage you to speak with us to explore how this could be accommodated.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that helps us to deliver the best services. We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community: age, disability, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and other diverse characteristics, and we have policies in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.

• Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience in information governance, data…