Head of Research

Overview

We are a fast-growing healthtech specialising in cannabis-based medicines
, combining digital healthcare, clinical expertise, and pharmacy operations to improve access to safe, evidence-led care. Our mission is to build a clinically credible, patient-centred service that not only delivers care today but actively contributes to the evidence base shaping the future of medical cannabis. Research is central to that mission.

As Head of Research
, you will own and lead our research strategy end-to-end. This is a senior, hands-on role for someone who can operate at both strategic and delivery level — designing a research roadmap, building partnerships, and translating real-world clinical data into high-quality evidence that informs practice, policy, and product development.

You will work closely with clinical leadership, data, pharmacy, and operations teams to ensure research is embedded into routine care — not running in parallel to it. This role is ideal for someone excited by real-world evidence, pragmatic study design, and the challenge of generating meaningful data in a rapidly evolving regulatory and scientific landscape.

Research strategy & leadership

• Define and own the company’s research vision and multi-year roadmap, aligned with clinical priorities and business strategy
• Identify high-impact research questions across key therapeutic areas (e.g. pain, mental health, women’s health, neurology)
• Prioritise studies that balance scientific rigour with operational feasibility in a real-world care setting

Study design & delivery

• Design and oversee observational studies, registries, audits, service evaluations, and pragmatic clinical research
• Lead protocol development, statistical planning, and analysis strategies (working with internal or external analysts where required)
• Ensure studies are delivered on time, ethically, and to a publishable standard

Governance, ethics & compliance

• Lead ethics submissions (IRAS / REC where applicable) and ensure compliance with GDPR, GCP principles, and local governance requirements
• Work closely with clinical governance teams to ensure research activity aligns with patient safety, consent, and data integrity
• Develop internal SOPs for research governance and data use

Real-world evidence & data

• Partner with data and engineering teams to optimise real-world data capture from clinical systems
• Translate routine clinical data into robust research outputs
• Ensure research outputs meaningfully inform clinical guidelines, MDT decision-making, and service design

External partnerships & profile

• Build and manage relationships with academic institutions, CROs, patient groups, and industry partners
• Lead abstracts, posters, and peer-reviewed publications
• Represent the company externally at conferences, round tables, and research collaborations

Culture & capability building

• Build research capability across the organisation by supporting clinicians and teams to engage in research activity
• Mentor clinicians interested in research and foster a culture of curiosity, reflection, and evidence-based practice

• PhD or equivalent experience in a relevant field (clinical research, epidemiology, public health, health data science, pharmacology, or similar)
• Significant experience leading health or clinical research programmes
• Strong understanding of research governance, ethics, and data protection in the UK
• Proven ability to design and deliver real-world or observational research
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including publication experience

• Experience in digital health, healthtech, or regulated startup environments
• Familiarity with cannabis-based medicines or novel therapeutics
• Experience working with routine clinical data or registries
• Track record of cross-functional collaboration with clinical and operational teams

• You won’t be inheriting a static academic programme — you’ll build something from the ground up
• You’ll shape how evidence is generated in a rapidly evolving area of medicine
• Your work will directly influence patient care, clinical decision-making, and policy conversations
• You’ll operate with…