Research Assistant/Clinical Studies Officer (Phlebotomy Trained)

Joining #TeamNELFT means you'll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We're CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.

Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video

Job overview

We are looking to appoint a new research assistant phlebotomist to join our progressive and vibrant R&D team. The role is patient / staff facing and requires the post holder to have an aptitude and enthusiasm to work with a range of people from different cultures, ages, diagnosed conditions and environments. Our research portfolio covers mental health, dementia and community care services.

NELFT is an innovative and dynamic organisation with an accomplished record of delivering research studies throughout the Trust thanks to our skilled staff and clinicians. In the last year the team collaborated with community and mental health services to deliver more than 40 NIHR Portfolio Studies and the team enrolled more than 1400 people into research.

The post holder will work with services to establish, develop and maintain relationships to facilitate research activities and clinical tasks such as venepuncture and biological sample handling. Through these relationships they will identify and enrol patients, their carers and staff into research projects, undertaking duties such as advertising, screening, consent and data collection with participants as required.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will have a phlebotomy qualification (or equivalent) and experience of working with people with mental health problems, physical health problems and/or other disabilities and possess an understanding of research methods used in the NHS. They will be a creative problem solver, who is comfortable working independently and as part of a team. They will have excellent communication skills and the ability to establish and maintain relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. The post-holder will have the opportunity to develop their research skills through formal and experiential learning, supervision, mentoring and peer support. This role will include involve collecting and transporting blood samples in a community environment and having a valid UK driving license and access to a motor vehicle is essential.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an in-person interview that will include a practical phlebotomy assessment.

Here at NELFT, embracing a Just and Compassionate Culture is our commitment to our colleagues and to our patients that we will support and promote a culture based on fairness, respect, honesty, and trust, ensuring that we have consistent leadership behaviours and styles across the Trust. Our vision is to create an engaging place to work in partnership, where we value diverse perspectives and work in an environment in which you feel valued, supported, understood, and developed.

Working for our organisation

Our Values 2025 - 2030

Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.

They are:

• We are kind.
• We are respectful.
• We work together with our communities.

These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period.

Starting with Us

NELFT places great importance on new starters being properly welcomed into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks, including mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process, new starters will also have the opportunity to meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend several drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing, and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,313 to a maximum of £5,436 p.a. pro rata for part time).

High Cost Area Supplement - Fringe

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £1,192 to a maximum of £2,011 p.a. pro rata for part time).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For more information about the main duties of the job and role requirements, please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Phlebotomy
• Relevant postgraduate degree (e.g., MSc)

Experience

Essential criteria

• Research Experience
• Working with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities.

Benefits

We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:

• A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
• A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a 'Top 10 Family Friendly Employer' from the Working Families Charity.
• Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
• Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.

Supporting our Armed Forces

We recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community make to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Gold Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme. We have supportive policies, guaranteed interview schemes for veterans. reservists and military spouses and give additional leave to our Reservists so that they can attend their annual camp.

Equal opportunities employer

We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity and positively encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of any protected characteristic.

We are a Disability Confident employer and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with disabilities. If you require this application in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape please contact the recruitment team on 0300 300 1530 or email [email protected].

Correspondence with us

You are advised to regularly check your emails (including any junk mail/spam folders) for correspondence related to this post.

As part of our recruitment process, we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS. We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• Job Description & Person Specification (PDF, 416.4KB)
• Candidate Recruitment Pack (PDF, 671.2KB)
• Acceptable Use of AI in Recruitment (PDF, 3.9MB)