Job description
 
This is an exciting new opportunity for a talented individual trained and experienced in sound statistical approaches and their communication to join our flourishing Nightingale-Saunders Clinical Trials and Epidemiology Unit (NSU), the part of King’s Clinical Trial Unit (KCTU) led by Professor Toby Prevost in the Faculty. The reporting line is to the designated Senior Clinical Trial Statistician. The NSU supports high quality complex clinical trials and related studies in nursing, midwifery, palliative care, rehabilitation and relevant heath care and clinical studies. The appointee will contribute as the trial statistician to current and newly funded clinical trials. This will involve supporting studies to completion and publication, with senior trial statistician supervision. The appointee will have roles both in the conduct, analysis and reporting stages of clinical trials, working with the senior statistician, as required by the King’s CTU Standard Operating Procedures for Clinical Trials. 
 
This will include:
-          development of statistical analysis plan
-          statistical contribution to ensuring a suitably designed database
-          statistical analyses to produce reports for presentation to data monitoring committees
-          final statistical analysis to produce trial results
-          a co-authorship role in contributing statistical results to final trial reports and publications
 
Further design stage work will be required in supporting the senior statistician in the design of new trials.
 
This will include:
-          Verification of the sample size calculation
-          Assisting with statistical requirements in grant applications and study protocols
 
The appointee will undertake this role initially in a programme of funded randomised controlled feasibility trials of predominantly complex interventions, led by nursing researchers in the faculty, and will assist in the design of other trials that are led more widely, and which include clustering. The post offers very good prospects for extension and personal development, as the current trials are an ongoing programme and have potential for subsequent larger effectiveness trials. Additionally, the NSU has been successful with early phase adaptive trial grant applications, another form of preliminary trial.
 
The roles within this NSU post offer an opportunity develop and apply a range of methodological skills to be put into practice in areas such as in the progression of feasibility trials to large trials, and the statistical choices around developing complex designs, interventions and outcome measures, as well as encouraging effective trial teamwork and communication. The Faculty offers fields of PhD study including in ‘Clinical Trial Statistics’, and the NSU within KCTU is co-ordinating the development of education materials relevant to clinical trials. 
 
This post will be offered on an indefinite contract  
This is a full-time

Key responsibilities
 
•        Under the supervision of a senior statistician, to undertake statistical requirements in the design, conduct, ongoing reporting, analysis and interpretation of Unit trials. 
•        To ensure that key aspects of the trial in relation to the data quality and data credibility are considered, evaluated, with key decisions documented. 
•        To lead the development of the statistical analysis plan, to manage and manipulate datasets, and analyse data using syntax-based statistical software. 
•        To proactively contribute to the co-authoring of trial documents including: developing the statistical analysis plan; writing and presenting data monitoring committee reports; interim and final analyses; and contributing to clinical study reports and final papers.  
•        To communicate conceptual and complex ideas within trial teams, and to lay and technical audiences in the Clinical Trials Unit and Faculty.   
•        To contribute actively in presenting work to team meetings and providing advice to others. 
•        To work well with others at a range of levels, and to work as part of a team. 
•        To work independently and effectively in planning day to day activities in accordance with the project deadlines under the guidance of the senior statistician.   
•        Independently to provide advice and deal with queries of a specialist nature, and to interpret requirements of collaborators 
•        To organise relevant statistical meetings, including for data monitoring committee meetings, and ensure accurate minutes are kept and distributed appropriately. 
•        To promote good statistical programming standards operating to CTU Standard Operating Procedures  
•        To demonstrate a good working knowledge of the Good Clinical Practice and the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004. 
•        To report and disseminate statistical methodology and analysis plans and results. 
•        To show a desire to establish a personal area of methodological research. 
•        To write or contribute to publications or disseminate research findings using other appropriate media. 
•        To embrace the attitude of a team player and play a full part of a multidisciplinary research teams. 
•        To attend and contribute, via presentations, to relevant Unit and Divisional meetings to ensure feedback on and progress of NSU projects are disseminated by the team. 
•        To demonstrate a willingness to develop personal objectives via regular appraisals with the line manager. 
•        To engage in risk assessments, complying at all times with the requirements of the Health and Safety regulations with responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of others in the working environment 
•        To be able to use the computer for long periods with appropriate breaks.   
 
 
The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.  
 
Skills, knowledge, and experience 
 
Essential criteria 
 
1.       Formal qualification in statistics or a substantial statistical content 
2.       Post-graduate degree in Medical or Applied Statistics 
3.       Skills in syntax-programming and dataset manipulation in statistical software packages such as SPSS, STATA or R 
4.       Understanding of the fundamental principles of epidemiology or medical statistics  
5.       Competence in the analysis of longitudinal data 
6.       Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to communicate to lay, as well as technical audiences  
7.       Experience of working as a statistician in a research environment 
8.       Motivated and self-disciplined 
9.       Ability to work under pressure and meet competing deadlines 
10.   Willingness to undertake responsibility and to seek help appropriately 
11.   Commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusivity 
 
Desirable criteria 
 
1.       Qualification in the conduct of clinical trials, or experience of the conduct of clinical trials in a regulated industry   
2.       Experience as a statistician in the conduct of randomised controlled trials  
3.       To have published peer reviewed publications  
4.       Experience of working as the technical expert in a multidisciplinary team 

 
Further information
 
About the Faculty: 
The Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care (NMPC) is a world-leading centre for research education, and training. Its applied clinical and health research transforms health, quality of life and care across nursing, midwifery, palliative and end of life care, rehabilitation and related clinical, health and social sciences. Our research develops, understands, implements and evaluates interventions, therapies and care across our fields to build knowledge, lead policy and practice and improve outcomes for patients and those important to them. Teams address complex, multi- and interdisciplinary health and social challenges. Our research is carried out locally, nationally and internationally, and globally. We work with local services and our partner NHS Trusts, lead national studies supported by NIHR, UKRI, EU and NIH and globally, and major research programmes in Africa and Asia. Our global studies are in collaboration with King’s Global Health Institute, which provides a focal point for King’s large academic community of Global Health researchers and students.  
 
Our Faculty has around 3,000 undergraduate, postgraduate taught and research students, with a growing international intake. The Faculty teams across Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care have developed and remain home to some of the leading clinical academics in our fields. Our international education is expanded through its collaborations with Nanjing Health School in China and Ngee Ann Academy in Singapore. Our programme in Singapore is the first King’s degree taught fully outside of the UK and is designed to equip qualified nurses with critical skills that will transform the way they approach challenges in their career. 
 
In 2017 Nursing and Midwifery was united with the Cicely Saunders Institute, to create the new Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care.  The Cicely Saunders Institute unites clinical, research and education teams in the world’s first and only purpose-built institute of Palliative Care, established in 2010, with an internationally recognised research and staff development programme. Palliative Care at King’s is ranked top in Europe and second in the world according to citation analysis. Citation analysis places King’s nursing and midwifery top in the UK. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF2014), rated over 90% of our research as world class or world leading, and 84% of our impact was world leading. In the last three years (2019-2021) of QS World University Rankings by Subject, King’s is ranked top in Europe and second in the world for nursing (including midwifery). In 2018 our new research strategy created research divisions to focus critical mass in areas of strength and increased support for, and representation from, early career researchers and PhD students. In 2021 we launch our new postgraduate research strategy, creating the Nightingale-Saunders Centre for Doctoral Studies within the King’s Centre for Doctoral Studies.    
 
We now comprise:  The Cicely Saunders Institute for Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, a multiprofessional team comprising doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and social scientists, that researches ways to improve care and its cost-effectiveness for the growing numbers of people with progressive diseases and in multimorbidity, and delivers undergraduate and postgraduate education, including a leading MSc programme and provides clinical palliative care. Three Research Divisions: Care in Long Term Conditions, that unites teams researching across mental health, diabetes, bowel conditions and care for older people; Applied Technologies for Care, that has innovated and trialled new devices, and technologies; Methodologies, that has pioneered the methods of experienced-based co-design to develop interventions, and our new Nightingale Saunders Clinical Trials Unit. We have four teaching departments providing undergraduate, preregistration and some postgraduate teaching: Adult Nursing; Mental Health Nursing; Midwifery and Child and Adolescent Nursing. Our pre-registration courses are designed to prepare students for their careers, and we offer qualified nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals the chance to continue their learning through professional development.  
 
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion is a key driver in all our work. Both the Faculty and the Cicely Saunders Institute hold Silver Athena SWAN awards for our commitment to gender equality, with an ambition to achieving gold in future submissions. 
 
For further information visit:   https://www.kcl.ac.uk/nmpc 
 
 
A PhD is not essential for the Clinical Trial Statistician post at Grade 6. A postgraduate degree in medical or applied statistics is essential (Masters). This is in alignment with other universities and faculties. Prefer for this to be Research Associate.