Person Specification
Post: Deputy Chair for an HTA Funding Committee
Accountable to: HTA Programme Director
Time Commitment: 0.5 days per week
Salary: Honorarium of £7,500 per annum to employing institution.
Tenure: 3 years in the first instance.
Proposed Start date: 1 September 2022
Essential Knowledge, qualities and skills
- Knowledge and experience of health technology assessment
- Knowledge of health and social care service delivery
- Ability to communicate efficiently and effectively
- Confident negotiation skills
- Discretion in the handling of confidential information
- Evidence of supporting and working effectively with patients and the public
Essential experience
- Proven experience of chairing large committees
- Proven track record of research achievements and leadership
- Knowledge of current developments of R&D in the NHS , social care and public health including research methods
Qualifications
- Higher degree
Job Description
Title: Deputy Chair, HTA Funding Committee
Accountable to: HTA Programme Director
Background information
The NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme commissions research to produce independent information about the effectiveness, costs and broader impact of health and social care interventions, treatments and tests for those who plan, provide or receive care from NHS and social care services. It works alongside the other programmes of the NIHR.
The HTA Programme is committed to ensuring the appropriate involvement of the public throughout its processes and activities. Public involvement helps to ensure that we assess funding proposals according to patient need, offers a broader and more relevant perspective on research proposals as well as increasing the range of knowledge and insight on our committees.
How the programme funds research
The awarding of research funds is a competitive process. The HTA Commissioning, HTA General and HTA Clinical Evaluation and Trials (HTA CET) Committees, are advisory funding committees (~25 members each). The Commissioning Committee largely deals with the commissioned stream of work and the CET Committee with researcher led stream, the General Committee considers applications under both streams as well as proposals submitted for themed calls and for evidence synthesis. Each committee meets three times a year, usually for two days per meeting, to assess the scientific merit of the proposals received, and to make funding recommendations to the HTA Programme Oversight Committee (POC) and the Programme Director. POC reviews and agrees the final ranked list of funding recommendations made to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Final funding decisions are formally approved by the DHSC.
Commissioned stream
The HTA Programme invites proposals on specific questions about health and social care technologies that have been prioritised by the programme.
Researcher-led stream
HTA researcher-led work stream has ongoing open calls with three close dates per year inviting two-stage proposals for primary research or evidence synthesis research. Unlike the commissioned workstream, prioritisation of the research proposals is embedded within the funding committee assessment. Stage one researcher-led applications are reviewed by the HTA Programme Remit and Competitiveness Group, and those proposals deemed in remit and competitive will then progress to an HTA funding committee for assessment of need for and importance of the question to patients and service users in health and social care, scientific quality and value for money.
Job Summary
The Deputy Chair will play a pivotal role in funding HTA research (current budget of £81 million), a role in monitoring funded research projects and developing HTA strategy as a member of the HTA Funding Committees’ Policy Group and other strategic meetings.
The Funding Committee is managed by the programme secretariat which provides all the necessary support to the Deputy Chair to facilitate their role.
Papers will be sent in advance of the Funding Committee meetings and the Deputy Chair will attend a Chair's Brief teleconference before each meeting with the Chair, Programme Director and members of the secretariat. The Deputy Chair will be expected to Chair around a third of the items being considered at the Funding Committee, particularly those for which the Chair is conflicted.
The Deputy Chair will work with the Chair to ensure that all items are sufficiently discussed so that a consensus is reached as to the outcome for each proposal, according to the criteria for assessment (an electronic voting system is used when assessing stage two proposals). The Deputy Chair will also support the Funding Committee in agreeing feedback to applicants and reviewing responses from applicants within the fund with changes process.
Currently funding committee meetings were held are held with two virtual meetings and one face to face meeting a year. However, this policy will be reviewed and may change.
The Deputy Chair will also be a member of the HTA Funding Committee’s Policy Group, which meets three times a year for three hours by teleconference to consider and advise the Programme Director on the ways in which the commissioning and funding committee process is conducted.
You will attend up to five monitoring visits per year to review progress of ongoing research projects and up to four teleconferences.
The Deputy Chair will also be expected to attend a yearly one-day meeting to discuss the strategic direction of the programme and other ad-hoc workshops and teleconferences that are relevant to the role.
Conditions of service
Honorarium: Reimbursement of £7,500 per annum to host institution.
Application Process
For informal discussions about the role prior to application please contact the secretariat: Karen Williams, Senior Research Manager: seniorexternalrecruitment@nihr.ac.uk
You may also wish to discuss the role with the Programme Director, Professor Andrew Farmer Andrew.Farmer@phc.ox.ac.uk
Please submit a full CV and supporting letter by the 27 May 2022. Applications should be submitted by email to Karen Williams at: seniorexternalrecruitment@nihr.ac.uk
Applications will be assessed by a shortlisting panel against the essential criteria in early June and shortlisted applicants will be invited for interview on the 23rd June. It is anticipated that interviews will take place remotely. The successful applicant will be invited to attend the Commissioned committee meeting on the 13th & 14th September 2022 as part of the induction process.