• Location: UK / home based
• Position : 40 hours per week / permanent
• Travel required: 10 days / year (approx.)
• Gross Salary Range: £28,000– £33,000 depending on experience
• Starting date: hiring immediately

We are seeking a Research Assistant to support the research activities of the Patient Evidence Department of Myeloma Patients Europe (MPE).

Please, send your CV and cover letter at recruitment@mpeurope.org. Applications without a cover letter will be rejected. 

The following tasks and core responsibilities are non-exhaustive and subject to change depending on needs of the organisation.

Main Duties and responsibilities

Perform the following duties in conjunction with and under the guidance of the Head of Patient Research:

• Plan and conduct assigned research individually or jointly in accordance with project deliverables and department strategy
• Document research output including analysis and interpretation of data, maintaining records and databases, drafting progress reports and publications
• Maintain accurate records of patient data, safeguarding the confidentiality of patients and patient data, as necessary
• Writing for internal / external audiences (including academic journals, lay summaries, and, progress reports)
• Contribute to the dissemination of work including presentations at international and national conferences, internal and external meetings and workshops
• Contribute to the development of proposals to secure funding to support future research
• Engage with patients, families, clinicians, patient organisations and other stakeholders involved in MPE patient evidence projects and other myeloma research
• Represent MPE at internal / external meetings

Other responsibilities

• Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by the Head of Patient evidence
• Support the wider MPE team with research and evidence requests
• Critically appraise and provide advice to MPE wider team on academic research findings
• Build good relations with members, internal and external stakeholders (including doctors, researchers and medical representatives within companies)
• Respond to external patient organisations’ requests on research and evidence topics
• Attend scientific congresses and meetings
• Develop content for MPE website and social media and other communications
• Participate in advisory boards for the pharmaceutical industry
• Engage with training and continuing professional development

About you:

• A good undergraduate degree in a relevant subject area and either postgraduate qualification or equivalent research experience

• Knowledge and experience of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
• Understanding of principles of Good Clinical Practice in research
• Knowledge and experience of ethical review procedures (desirable)
• Ability to work from home in a virtual setting with a team spread across Europe
• Experience in a related field desirable – preferably working in a non-profit organisation, academic / clinical research, or medical/scientific setting
• Experience in working with patients, researchers, doctors and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry desirable
• Organised, with excellent project management and time management skills
• Strong listening and communication skills
• A motivated and self-aware team player, who can work independently or collaboratively with equal success
• Demonstrated excellence in writing, proofreading, and editing in English
• Good analytical, numerical abilities and ability to interpret complex information
• Ability to explain complex scientific terms and knowledge into lay language
• Willingness to attend face-to-face departmental meetings in Edinburgh on a quarterly basis
• Proficient at Office suite – Word, Excel, PowerPoint (or equivalent)

We offer:

• An exciting position in the emerging field of evidence-based patient advocacy, working together with key patient advocacy leaders across Europe
• Permanent position with flexible hours giving the opportunity to progress and to integrate in a dynamic, friendly and multi-cultural team working from different European cities

About MPE

Myeloma Patients Europe (MPE) is a pan-European organisation representing 52 myeloma and amyloidosis patient groups from over 33 European countries. It is registered as an international non-profit organisation under Belgian Law. A Board mainly composed of patients and caregivers is elected by the membership to oversee the strategy and governance of the organisation. A team of 13 staff members runs remotely the day-to-day operations, programmes and services within 4 divisions: Access and Policy, Medical Education and Scientific Engagement, Patient Evidence and Member and Patient Community Programmes.

MPE is dedicated to improving the treatment, care and quality of life of patients with myeloma and AL Amyloidosis. To this end, the main goals of the organisation are:

• Collaborating on projects to the benefit of the myeloma community
• Exchanging information and best practice
• Developing existing patient groups and encouraging and facilitating the setting up of new groups
• Helping to shape appropriate health-related policies and initiatives on a European and national level
• Ensuring patients across Europe receive timely access to new treatment
• Stimulating and promoting patient-centred research and clinical trials
• Developing a strong evidence base for the needs and wants of patients and their role in research

About the Patient Evidence department

The MPE Patient Evidence department was established in 2020 to generate evidence important to patients with myeloma and their families and is led by Dr Eilidh Duncan. Our goal is to understand unmet needs in the patient population and design patient-focussed research questions which will support new understandings and knowledge. MPE partners with academia, other patient organisations, industry and regulatory bodies where possible to understand more about what gaps exist within the myeloma landscape and how to best generate evidence on these. We work alongside MPE’s policy and access team to anticipate what questions need to be asked and what the data needs are for upcoming medicines approval processes.

The deadline for applications is June 8th and all applications will be reviewed immediately afterwards. Our hiring team will schedule interviews with successful candidates to take place in the following weeks. We will be in touch following the review period regarding next steps. 

If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to us at recruitment@mpeurope.org.