Head of Clinical Research

About the company

Founded in 2018, we’ve already grown to be a 300+ team distributed across the globe, united by a singular mission: empowering people to take control of their health.

The company is transforming health: we’ve built a cutting-edge platform that integrates diagnostics, medication, supplements, digital programmes, and doctor consultations. Giving people the tools they need to maximise life.

To deliver on our transformative mission, we are guided by our 5 company values:

• Patients first.
• Learn fast.
• Own the quality.
• Succeed together.
• Care deeply.

Backed by top-tier investors, the company is already having a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of patients here in the UK, and we want you to help us deliver this mission!

Behavioural Medicine / Mat cover, 12-month FTC / Remote

Level: Head of function

The Role

We are seeking an experienced, PhD-level clinical researcher to lead the company's clinical research function. The role has two mandates: acting as Principal Investigator (PI) on a range of studies, both interventional and RWE and building the infrastructure, partnerships and pipeline that establish the company as a credible, externally recognised clinical research organisation.You will develop the company's external research relationships with pharmaceutical partners, academic institutions and funding organisations, and shape the next generation of studies that demonstrate the company's impact as a real-world digital healthcare treatment platform.

The Team

You will report directly to the VP Behavioural Medicine, and work closely with the Behavioural Medicine team and with data science and analytics colleagues. You will represent the company as its lead clinical researcher in external forums. Any resources contracted to deliver projects and studies, such as project coordinators or health coaches, will report directly into this role.

You'll be

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Holding PI responsibility for almost all the company RWE studies , including legal, regulatory and ethical accountability

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Leading development and maintenance of  study protocols, statistical analysis plans, data management plan and all governance documentation

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Overseeing study intervention design and delivery, with a suitable clinical governance infrastructure in place

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Overseeing randomisation, adverse event reporting, protocol deviation management and master file maintenance

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Acting as primary point of contact for any  funding partners on research methodology, governance and reporting

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Overseeing quantitative and qualitative outcome streams, working with data science colleagues on analysis

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Recruiting and line managing project-specific staff, which may include Health Coaches and  research coordinators / intervention designers

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Leading or co-leading peer-reviewed publications from the company real-world evidence, and driving conference abstracts and presentations at high-impact forums (e.g. ECO, ObesityWeek, UKCO)

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Representing the company as a scientific thought leader, working with the public affairs and PR teams to increase external visibility and coverage

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Developing and maintaining the company's clinical research strategy and forward pipeline, with oral medication research as the immediate priority

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Establishing the processes, systems and governance needed to scale research capacity, including study templates, ethics frameworks, data collection standards and publication workflows

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Identifying and prioritising the research questions that best demonstrate the company's real-world outcomes, and developing proposals to pursue them

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Collaborating with data science, product, clinical and behavioural medicine teams to embed a research-informed culture

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Acting as the internal authority on clinical research standards, and working with the regulatory team to keep the clinical research claims library up to date

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Developing and managing relationships with pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and public health organisations

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Leading the pursuit of external research funding (e.g. NIHR, Innovate UK, industry grants, commercial study partnerships)

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Representing the company at external research events, forums and steering groups

We're looking for someone who has

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A PhD in a relevant discipline (e.g. clinical or health psychology, nutrition, public health, epidemiology, obesity research or a related field)

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Experience as a Principal Investigator or equivalent lead on clinical or behavioural research studies, with full accountability for governance, ethics and regulatory compliance

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A strong track record of peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations in health, behavioural or clinical research

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Experience developing and maintaining external research partnerships with academic, NHS, pharmaceutical or funding organisations

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Strong knowledge of UK research governance frameworks, including GCP, HRA ethics submissions and ICH guidelines

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Experience with a variety of study designs, and the ability to lead complex multi-outcome analysis plans

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The strategic vision to build research infrastructure and pipeline, not just execute individual studies

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Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to represent the company credibly to external scientific and industry audiences and translate evidence into compelling narratives internally

It’s a bonus if you have

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Experience in obesity, weight management, GLP-1 pharmacotherapy or digital health research

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Established networks within the UK obesity research, academic or clinical community (e.g. UKCO, Association for the Study of Obesity)

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Experience securing external research funding or leading industry-academic partnership studies

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Familiarity with real-world evidence study designs and large-scale digital health datasets

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Experience working in a scale-up or commercial digital health environment

Our benefits include...

🏖  -  25 days holiday pro rata, plus bank holidays.

🩺  -  Health insurance with Vitality.

🚘  - Electric car salary sacrifice scheme with Octopus.

🧸  -  Enhanced maternity and parental leave.

🥳  -  A day off on your Birthday!

🐥  -  Nursery benefit provided by YellowNest.

💼  -  Employee assistance programme (access to therapy, financial planning and discounts).

⚖️  -  Generous pension (includes both employee and employer contributions).

💻  -  Flexible working options, including a dog-friendly office in Farringdon.

📚  -  Personal training and development budget via Learnerbly.

👟  -  Wellhub membership, giving you access to over 2,000 locations in the UK.

🚲  -  Cycle to work scheme.

🚆  -  Season ticket loan.

%   -  Discount on the company products for your friends and family.

🤲  -  Paid volunteering days.

Diversity at the company

At the company, people are at the heart of who we are. We recognise and value the unique perspectives and experiences that individuals from all backgrounds bring.

We promote innovation and creativity, enabling us to tackle things from various viewpoints and are committed to equal opportunities and continuously strive to create a workplace where everyone feels respected, heard, and valued.

Embracing diversity isn't just our goal; it's our strength, driving us towards a more inclusive future.