Research Fellow – Exercise and cancer rehabilitation service evaluation lead – Active Together programme at Sheffield Hallam University

The Job 

As a Research Fellow, you will be an integral member of the Active Together team, supporting the delivery of a large and complex cancer rehabilitation programme at the AWRC and sites across Yorkshire.  Working closely with the project manager, wider team and fellow researchers, you will be at the heart of delivering a pioneering multidisciplinary, cancer rehabilitation service, contributing to its development, evaluation and roll out across the county.

We are looking for an experienced researcher to spearhead the evaluation of our pioneering cancer rehabilitation service. You will liaise with local delivery partners across Yorkshire to tailor and implement the Active Together service evaluation, providing training and supporting them to navigate governance processes within their respective organisations. You will lead on data collection and collation including monitoring performance, reporting on progress, and highlighting and mitigating risks or issues. This will include the safe and secure processing of data, data analysis, visualisation and interpretation. Disseminating the results of the evaluation will be an important part of the role. You will share results with the programme’s funder, Yorkshire Cancer Research, all stakeholders involved in service delivery, and academics, clinicians and practitioners at national and international conferences and through peer-reviewed publications. You will be at the forefront of developing, evaluating, and implementing a groundbreaking cancer rehabilitation service across Yorkshire, advancing the evidence-base in applied cancer rehabilitation research.

You will work closely with NHS Trusts and their collaborative partners to assist in the set-up of their data collection and transfer, including advising on appropriate data protection and sharing agreements and governance procedures.

You will review, evaluate and synthesise the latest research in multi-modal cancer rehabilitation, making recommendations for evidence-based service change and development. You will contribute to other physical activity and health research within the Physical Activity, Wellbeing and Public Health Research Group where appropriate and develop research proposals of your own related to the Active Together programme.

The successful candidate will be someone with a PhD, or equivalent experience, in a relevant discipline with experience of supporting the delivery and evaluation of a complex public health services/interventions and/or detailed knowledge of exercise oncology/cancer prehabilitation and rehabilitation. You will be able to demonstrate strong experience of health-related data collection, management and analysis. Problem-solving, communication and facilitation skills, and well-developed stakeholder and customer service skills will be advantageous. Insight and experience of NHS services (particularly cancer services) and processes would be desirable.