R84050 NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre Chief Operating Officer

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

This new full time post is available from 1st May 2024 on a permanent basis subject to extended funding.

Summary of the Role

We are seeking to attract a highly skilled and experienced leader to undertake the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Exeter BRC; a collaboration between University of Exeter (UoE), The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHS Royal Devon) and other SW NHS organisations. The COO will be responsible for the operational delivery of the £15.8m research programme and will be a key member of the BRC Senior Leadership Team with shared responsibility for developing and delivering the strategic objectives of this major health research programme, the first of its kind in the South West.

Establishing and utilising strong governance and accountability structures, the COO will act as a key relationship manager across the Exeter BRC collaboration to ensure a focus on strategy (research, impact and capacity development) to its key customers/stakeholders, including NHS partners, charities and commercial partners in the region.  

In collaboration with senior colleagues at NHS Royal Devon, the COO will be responsible for all aspects of financial, staff and programme planning and will hold research teams to account for progress and outcome delivery, including the management of the c.£3 million annual budget. The COO will develop entrepreneurial initiatives to maximise opportunities for generating research and commercial revenue and raising the profile of the Exeter BRC, the NHS and its collaborators.

The COO will: have strong intellectual capacity and reasoning; have proven staff management and leadership experience; a high degree of initiative, responsibility and self-motivation and a professional and proactive approach to problem solving; be a confident decision maker with strategic experience and significant operational delivery experience who can lead through periods of change; have experience of designing processes, systems and services to meet a diverse range of needs and have experience of managing complex budgets and contracts.

This role will be based within the University of Exeter’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, in close proximity to and liaison with NHS Royal Devon. There will be flexibility for some home / remote working within the region of the BRC. 

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role by clicking on the attachment.

NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)

The NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre for Exeter (Exeter BRC) is a collaboration between University of Exeter (UoE), The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHS Royal Devon) and other SW NHS organisations. The first of its kind for the South West, its fundamental objective is to improve health outcomes for patients and the public by translating scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies. The Exeter BRC has received £15.8M and will create an environment in the South West for world-leading researchers to thrive and contribute significantly to the local and national economy.

The BRC teams will focus on five major, complementary research themes:

• Neurodegeneration: We will find and test new, better drugs that prevent and treat major brain conditions in older adults such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
• Rehabilitation: We will use exciting new approaches to help older people to recover from illness or manage their long-term conditions like dementia and arthritis. This will include using technology to improve movement, maintain brain health and prevent falls.
• Diabetes: We will improve the way diabetes is diagnosed and treated, and we will explore how to help those most at risk of developing the disease.
• Genetics: We will unlock the power of genetics, using it to improve diagnosis of rare illnesses in children and rare cancers, and to create treatments for common diseases that can be tailored to different people based on their unique genetic profile.
• Clinical Mycology: We will seek better treatments to prevent and manage fungal infections that are common in the UK and understand better how fungi become resistant to drug treatments.

We will achieve these ambitious aims by building on the partnerships and relationships we already have with the NHS, the commercial sector, and other scientists in our field.

Professor Sallie Lamb is the Exeter BRC Director as well as the Pro Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (HLS) at UoE and Honorary Consultant (NHS Royal Devon).  

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHS Royal Devon)

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was established in April 2022, bringing together the expertise of both the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust.

Stretching across Northern, Eastern and Mid Devon, the Trust has a workforce of over 15,000 staff, the largest employer in Devon. Providing for more than 615,000 people, the Trust covers more than 2,000 square miles across Devon, while some specialist services cover the whole of the peninsula, extending reach as far as Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The Trust delivers a wide range of emergency, specialist and general medical services through North Devon District Hospital (EX31 4JB) and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (Wonford) (EX2 5DW). Alongside the two acute hospitals, the Trust provides integrated health and social care services across a variety of settings including community inpatient hospitals, outpatient clinics, and within people’s own homes. Primary care services are also offered, a range of specialist community services, and Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC).

The Trust’s hospitals are renowned for their research, innovation and links to universities.

NHS Royal Devon is the joint lead, alongside UoE, for the Exeter BRC.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

We are committed to ensuring reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community. 

With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 150 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN and Project Juno for Physics), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer.

Benefits

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

• 41 days leave per year
• options for flexible working
• numerous discounts at leading retailers
• onsite gyms on all of our campus’ and a cycle to work scheme
• sector leading policies around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to six weeks full pay) and a Fertility Treatment Policy
• stunning campus environments in Exeter and Cornwall, in the beautiful South West of England

Interviews are expected to take place on the 17th of April 

Before submitting an application you may wish to discuss the post further by contacting Jo Shuttleworth, NIHR PenARC Operations Director, [email protected] or Professor Sallie Lamb, BRC Director (Des), [email protected]