Research Assistant - Quality of Life Research

About Us

The TOUR (Transforming cancer OUtcomes through Research) team is committed to improving patient outcomes by translating oncology research into clinical practice, with a strong emphasis on patient-centred care and quality of life. Led by Professor Mieke Van Hemelrijck, the team includes a diverse group of researchers-spanning qualitative and quantitative disciplines-alongside clinicians, students, research nurses, and trial coordinators. Together, they work across a wide range of translational oncology projects, with a particular focus on the development and implementation of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).

A key strand of TOUR's work involves collaboration with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group, where the team contributes to the development and validation of tools to assess health-related quality of life in cancer patients. These projects often involve international partnerships and span a variety of cancer types and treatment contexts.

This post will support the studies with the EORTC as well as a collaborative quality of life research project with The Royal Marsden Hospital, focusing on the integration of patient perspectives into cancer care. The successful candidate will be based within the TOUR team and will hold an honorary contract with The Royal Marsden, enabling access to data and facilitating close collaboration with clinical and research colleagues across both institutions.

About the role

We are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Research Assistant to join the TOUR (Transforming cancer OUtcomes through Research) team at Guy's Cancer. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to internationally recognised research focused on improving the quality of life for people living with and beyond cancer.

The role will involve close collaboration with clinical teams and international partners, including the EORTC Quality of Life Group, to ensure that patient perspectives are meaningfully integrated into cancer care and research. The successful candidate will also support a collaborative project with The Royal Marsden Hospital, with a specific focus on the development and implementation of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and identified supportive care needs.

Reporting to Professor Mieke Van Hemelrijck and the senior TOUR team, the post holder will be responsible for providing administrative and project management support across the quality of life research portfolio. Key responsibilities include coordinating ethics submissions, supporting patient recruitment and qualitative interviews, managing study documentation, and assisting with data collection and analysis. The role will also involve liaising with internal and external stakeholders to ensure smooth project delivery.

This position offers an excellent opportunity for someone with a background in health, psychology, or a related discipline who is passionate about patient-centred research. An understanding of qualitative research methods and data protection regulations (e.g. GDPR) is essential, as is the ability to work both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.

The successful candidate will be based at Guy's Cancer Centre and will also hold an honorary contract with The Royal Marsden Hospital, enabling access to data and facilitating collaboration across both institutions.

If you are enthusiastic about improving cancer care through high-quality research and want to be part of a supportive team, we encourage you to apply.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract of 12 months.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential Criteria

• BSc in a health, psychology, or data-related discipline (or pending completion).
• Experience supporting research studies with rigorous attention to detail, including ethics submissions and participant recruitment.
• Understanding of both qualitative and quantitative research methods in the context of applied health research.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to summarise and present research findings.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines, and operate within regulatory frameworks.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with qualitative or mixed-methods data tools (e.g. NVivo, Excel, REDCap, SPSS).
• Knowledge of GDPR, the Data Protection Act, and best practices in data confidentiality and security.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams and external partners.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience conducting or supporting qualitative interviews.
• Familiarity with patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) or quality of life questionnaires.
• Experience working in a clinical or academic research environment - with a specific focus on the National Health Services (NHS).
• Ability to work independently and adapt to changing priorities.
• Interest in oncology, survivorship, or patient-centred research.

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click "Apply Now". This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further Information

At King's, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King's guidance.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ' How we Recruit ' pages.

Interview dates: February 12th.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service clearances.