​​The NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Southampton have a leadership development opportunity for an Early Career Researcher in the BRC community to join the Capacity & Capability team as an ECR Co-Lead.

 

Opening date: Monday 28th September 2026

Closing date: Friday 9th October 2026

Interview date: Wednesday 14th October 2026

 

Overview

 

The primary aim of the BRC Capacity and Capability strategy is to attract, retain and develop individuals along all stages of the career pathway with a particular emphasis on bridging the gap to research independence. A key part of this aim is providing opportunities for Early/Mid-Career Researchers to be more involved with the management and planning within the BRC.

 

We are, therefore, inviting Expressions of Interest (EoI) for a BRC ECR to join the BRC Capacity & Capability team as an ECR Co-Lead. You will work alongside an existing ECR Co-Lead. 

 

The role will primarily be involved in developing ECR-focused events within the BRC to ensure that the needs of our diverse community of ECRs are met. Examples of events may include Research Poster sessions at the BRC Open Day, working with teams to deliver events such as the SoAR Spring School and WEMN Networking Event, etc. The successful applicant will have further suggestions to expand ECR/MCR engagement within the BRC. The successful candidate would be supported by the NIHR BRC: Southampton infrastructure to deliver any events.

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What will I gain from this role?

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• Career/leadership development within the research community

• Be a voice for the ECR/MCR community within the BRC: Southampton

• Have opportunities to be involved in the planning and implementation of the BRC and our Capacity Development strategy.

 

Eligibility Criteria

 

Essential:

• Be an Early-Mid Career Researcher aligned with the BRC’s research themes and experimental medicine focus.

• Must understand the barriers that healthcare professionals can face when pursuing a research career.

• Able to lead on projects involving several stakeholders from multiple organisations.

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Selection Criteria

 

Researchers from all professional backgrounds are welcome to apply. You do not need to have had prior links with the BRC Southampton to apply, and we welcome new ideas from a broad range of research areas across our local research community.  

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How to apply

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To apply, applications should be completed and submitted to BRC-applications@uhs.nhs.uk by 12:00 on Friday 9th October 2026.

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A review panel will assess all application documents. Candidates will be invited to interview to determine their suitability for the role. Interviews may be held face-to-face or digitally per panel and candidate availability. We expect to host interviews on Wednesday 14th October 2026.

 

The outcome of your application will be sent to you by Friday 16th October 2026. The BRC will require the successful candidate to start in their role in January 2027.

 

Your application should contain the following information:

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• A short cover letter detailing your reasons for applying, your alignment with the BRC’s Theme(s) and objectives and your suitability for the role.

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• A summary CV (max two sides of A4, size 11 font). The CV should contain basic information about education, employment history, current source of funding, job plan and academic responsibilities, as well as a list of the most relevant publications from the last five years.

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Host details

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• University of Southampton

• University Hospital Southampton NHS FT

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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

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The NIHR are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in everything we do. Diverse people and communities shape our research, and we strive to make opportunities to participate in research an integral part of everyone’s experience of health and social care services.

 

We develop researchers from multiple disciplines, specialisms, geographies and backgrounds, and work to address barriers to career progression arising from characteristics such as sex, race or disability.

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Contact for Enquiries and Reasonable Adjustments

 

Role Enquires: Malcolm West (M.West@soton.ac.uk)

 

Reasonable Adjustments: Beckie Miles (Rebecca.miles2@uhs.nhs.uk) (UHS ext. 8923) – please get in touch if you require any reasonable adjustments to help with the accessibility of your interview.

 

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Academic Career Development Leads (ACDLs) and/or the current ECR Co-Leads for informal discussions regarding the role.

 

Academic Career Development Leads:

• Mr Malcolm West - M.West@soton.ac.uk

• Prof Mark Johnson - M.Johnson@soton.ac.uk

• Dr Franchesca Houghton - F.D.Houghton@soton.ac.uk

 

ECR Co-Leads:

• Dr Colleen Deane - C.S.Deane@soton.ac.uk

• Dr Dakshat Trivedi - dakshat.trivedi@soton.ac.uk​​​

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