Research Fellow National Radiotherapy QA Team

Would you like to be part of shaping the future direction of radiotherapy research in the UK? An exciting opportunity has arisen to work as a research fellow within the National Radiotherapy Trials Quality Assurance Group, based at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.
Applications are invited for this full-time research fellow post available from April 2025. The post is funded by the National Radiotherapy Trials Quality Assurance (RTTQA) Group.
The RTTQA Group is a centralised UK resource which designs and implements QA programmes for all NIHR CRN Portfolio trials that include a radiotherapy component. The group exists as a single multi-professional network of radiographers, dosimetrists, clinical scientists and clinicians working collaboratively across a number of NHS sites.
The RTTQA Group monitors the quality of radiotherapy delivery in the multicentre trials arena. Poor quality radiotherapy can compromise the outcome of a trial and may also have negative consequences on patient outcomes. QA is recognised as an integral and essential part of the radiotherapy clinical trial process.
In the UK new technologies and techniques are used in clinical trials. The RTTQA Group engages early in the clinical trial development process. You would have the opportunity to be involved in practice changing developments in areas including proton beam therapy, adaptive treatments, MR-Linac and SABR., An opportunity has arisen within the group, ideal for those looking to broaden their radiotherapy experience and knowledge. The ideal candidate will be enthusiastic, motivated, have exemplary communication skills and enjoy working as part of a dynamic team.
The applicant will be an integral member of the RTTQA Group providing clinical support and input. The post will be hosted by Mount Vernon Cancer Centre with activities across all RTTQA Group sites. The post holder will be expected to undertake a formal research project leading to a higher degree (MD) and to attend national and international meetings and conferences.
There will be an opportunity to maintain clinical skills within Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.
·, Assist with the development of trial protocols and radiotherapy guidelines, particularly with reference to imaging, outlining, multimodality and combination treatments.
Discuss and agree approaches with trial investigators to create acceptable consensus outlines for a trial. The post holder should have knowledge of target volume and organ at risk outlining for a variety of anatomical sites.
· Provide support for review and reporting of pre-accrual and during accrual outlining cases.
· Provide clinical advice and support to inform development of QA audit programmes.
· Take a lead in implementing outlining workshops for trial education and training purposes and be prepared to travel as required.
· Provide specialist clinical advice to radiotherapy consultants and other staff regarding the treatment of patients in clinical trials.
· Participate in the review of treatment plans and understand the effect of various treatment plan options on patient dose distributions. Discuss and agree approaches with the multidisciplinary group to create optimum treatment plans. The post holder should have knowledge of different planning techniques and be prepared to discuss this with other group members.
· Take an active role in RTTQA Group meetings and trial management groups.
· Develop an understanding of advanced radiotherapy, particularly in the areas of new treatment delivery and verification modalities and multi-modality imaging for target volume definition.
· Take an active role collaborating in the assessment and development of software for trial QA case review.
· The post holder will be expected to attend one or two clinical sessions per week according to training requirements and on occasions provide clinical cover during illness or absence.
Our values
We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.
Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.
Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.
Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.
Committed to our Community
East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .
We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.
We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing [email protected]
We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.
We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.
When you apply...
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As a publicly funded employer, we need to ensure we utilise our funds responsibly, this may mean we are unable to support sponsorship required to gain the right to work for particular positions. We strongly advise you to contact the line manager or a member of the Resourcing Team before applying to confirm if we will be able to support with sponsorship for that post.
King's Trust Support
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Secondments/Fixed term
Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.
If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.

At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.
We run the following hospitals:
+ The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
+ New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
+ Hertford County, Hertford
+ Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood
We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.
We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.