Research Associate/ Senior Research Associate in Biostatistics

Salary: 

Research Associate: £34,866 to £45,163  per annum

Senior Research Associate: £46,485 to £52,183 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 06 January 2025

The Role

We are pleased to announce a new role based within Newcastle University’s Biostatistics Research Group (BRG, www.newcastle-biostatistics.com). The role (available at Research Associate or Senior Research Associate) will involve developing and applying innovative trial designs for rare disease trials. The post is funded by James Wason’s NIHR Research Professorship and the new Lifearc-funded Rare Disease Trial Acceleration Platform (RD-TAP). The postholder will have the opportunity to develop their own research projects for funding (for example through fellowships or project grant applications). 

The BRG is a dynamic group of 31 applied and methodological biostatisticians who work together to develop and implement state-of-the-art statistical methods in health research.  The role will be based in our offices on the University main campus. In alignment with Newcastle University's flexible working policies, you will have the opportunity to work from home for up to half of your working week, providing a balanced work environment.

For Research Associate, we’re looking for an individual that has (or is soon to receive) a PhD in a statistical subject (equivalently, for candidates without a PhD, a period of relevant methodological research experience together with a relevant masters). 

For Senior Research Associate (SRA), we’re looking for an individual that has a PhD in a statistical subject with several years of experience as a postdoctoral researcher (equivalently, for candidates without a PhD, a longer period of experience together with a relevant masters). Having an impressive set of relevant published papers and ability to be involved in grant applications is essential. 

We are especially interested in individuals with interests in developing and/or applying methods that are relevant to rare diseases. This includes, but is not limited to, innovative trial design (adaptive designs, master protocols) or using external information (external/synthetic controls, Bayesian borrowing). Applications from applicants with other relevant research expertise is also welcome.

The role will report to Professor James Wason, who you will meet with regularly. You will also take part in regular RD-TAP meetings and collaborate with individuals within and external to the group. There will be opportunities to get involved in supervision of PhD students and (at the SRA level) line-manage colleagues.

We are looking for an individual who is ambitious to achieve results, who works well with others and who is willing to be involved to maintain and improve our positive research culture.

This post is fixed term until 30 November 2028. We are open to applications from individuals who want to work part-time or full-time.

For informal enquiries contact: james.wason@newcastle.ac.uk

Interviews to be held Monday 20th-Tuesday 21st January 2025. 

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/ 

Find out more about our Research Institutes here:https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/institutes/

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles.  These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Key Accountabilities

• RA role-specific accountabilities 
• Develop and apply innovative biostatistics methods for improving the design of rare disease clinical trials
• Support the application of innovative statistical methods to rare disease trials in grant applications, working with a collaborators in RD-TAP and beyond
• Disseminate published work and present results in written and oral form
• Contribute to the culture and general strengths of the BRG and Institute

SRA role-specific accountabilities

• Develop Research proposals and funding bids to develop own research objectives and proposals for funding
• Contribute to the supervision, with guidance, of postgraduate research students or Research Associates performing projects 

Generic university RA accountabilities:

• Although working under the general guidance of an academic or Principal Investigator, the postholder will contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of their studies, thus providing substantial 'added value' 
• Develop and carry out the specified project using appropriate techniques and equipment as outlined in the personal requirements 
• Determine appropriate methodologies for research, with advice and support where required
• Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and in time develop own research objectives and proposals for funding 
• Begin to write, with appropriate support, proposals for individual research funding or, where funders do not permit this, contribute to the writing of collective bids
• Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations
• Contribute to the writing up of their research for publication and dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications
• Present research findings, either at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline
• May be involved in the supervision, with guidance, of final year undergraduate research projects and in providing support to postgraduate research students or Research Assistants 
• Will need to work with the support staff and, on occasions, with undergraduate and postgraduate students, and interact intellectually with other academic members of the Institute
• May contribute to events celebrating the public engagement of science/social sciences/humanities
• Develop an awareness of University structures, policies and procedures and relevant issues in the higher education, research, social and political environment

Generic university SRA accountabilities (in addition to the above)

• Develop/co-develop research proposals and funding bids for prestigious funders (e.g. NIHR, MRC, ESRC) 
• Plan and lead high quality applied health research including project management, supervising and taking responsibility for the research team, and collaborating with external partners
• Monitor workload and supervise/train less experienced staff and/or students working across several projects
• Identify and undertake a programme of professional development including further training becoming an independent researcher
• Contribute to teaching on applied health research on the Institute and Faculty of Medical Science postgraduate and undergraduate courses as required

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• RA essential criteria
• Ability to work well as part of a team and rapidly acquire new skills
• Detailed subject knowledge in the area of research 
• Advanced skills directly related to the research projects 
• High level of analytical and problem-solving capability 
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity and to encourage the commitment of others 
• Experience of research with clear transferable skills and some experience or awareness of the research environment 
• Presentations at conferences and/or high-quality publications 

Role specific essential criteria

• Strong technical and methodological statistical skills applied to health research
• Experience of programming in R or other statistical programming languages
• Experience in conducting and publishing methodology research

Desirable criteria

• Experience of being involved in applied health research as a statistician
• Experience of managing, mentoring or supervising staff or students
• Experience of teaching statistics

SRA essential criteria (in addition to above)

• Considerable experience in conducting research, as evidenced by considerable number of publications in high-quality peer-reviewed journals
• Demonstratable ability to contribute to research funding applications

Attributes and Behaviour

• Keen to help others and play role in positive research culture
• Enthusiastic to grow and develop as a researcher
• Follows-through on commitments and drives projects forward

SRA essential criteria (in addition to above)

• Demonstrates development of intellectual independence within your particular research field and academic discipline via your outputs

Qualifications

• Having either 1) a PhD with substantial statistical content; or 2) masters level qualification with substantial statistical content and experience as a statistician in statistical methodology research

Desirable

• PhD in statistics in area relevant to clinical trial design

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 27741