Position Details

College of Medical and Dental Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £38,619 to £65,955

Clinical Post

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to 4 years or CCT date, whichever is the sooner

Closing date: 2nd May 2024

Please note: We are advertising 3 NIHR Clinical Lecturer posts in Public Health (4499), Cardiology (4500) or Obstetrics and Gynaecology (4113), however there is only one post available which will be awarded to the successful candidate at interview, from either speciality.

Background

The successful candidate will spend 50% of the working week specialist trainee in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the other 50% as a Clinical Lecturer for the University of Birmingham.

Lead NHS Hospital/Trust in which training will take place:

Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (Women’s Campus) or Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS trust for trainees pursuing gynaecological cancer research.

Research institutions in which training will take place:

Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research / Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences/ Institute of Applied Health Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham.

Role Summary

Description of research component of programme

The primary objective is to facilitate clinicians who will go on to become future academic leaders in the field of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Particular areas of focus for this post will be ‘platform science and bioinformatics’. Highly motivated and capable trainees will be selected and an internationally leading academic faculty will provide high quality training.

The academic work of the ACL in Obstetrics and Gynaecology will be based at the University of Birmingham. The opportunities involve engagement in research in maternal and perinatal health, reproductive health, cancer research and global health. The O and G research provides opportunities for working with big data at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health and Tommy’s Centre for Miscarriage, along with fetal medicine and gynaecology. The University has a large and expansive portfolio of Cancer research with a diverse range of expertise including basic cell and structural biology, genomics , virology, immunology, bioinformatics, medical oncology, radiotherapy and statistics. 

Opportunities are available to work in following areas of research 

• Preterm birth
• Maternal health – obesity, diabetes, epilepsy
• Miscarriage and fertility
• Gynaecology – endometriosis, adolescent gynaecology
• Gynaecological Cancer portfolio
• Global Health

Strengths of GMC Programmes

The ACL post would be based in obstetrics and gynaecology; a specialty with an established track record of successfully supporting academic trainees.  The post is based at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust or Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals, within Birmingham Health Partners, and trainees regularly cite the quality of experience offered and the benefits of working with research active clinicians. Recognised experts that cover all sub-specialties provide clinical support to trainees. The West Midlands clinical specialty training schemes are committed to the development of excellent clinical academics and all specialty Training Programme Directors support this application. The successful candidate’s clinical training will be monitored by the TPD (O+G) and NHS England WM Associate Dean for Academia ensuring provision of a comprehensive spread of clinical experience to achieve all required competencies. Academic training will be protected (50% time) and delivered in blocks of weeks or months to optimise research time and clinical experience, and can be front‐ or back‐loaded depending on prior experience and progression.

Description of clinical training component of programme 

The Clinical training will be at the Birmingham Women’s Hospital or at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS trust ( for trainee interested in gynaecological cancer research).  BWH has 8500 deliveries per year and has large Programmes for benign gynaecology. It has the centre for minimal invasive surgery.

BWH also has three subspecialty training programme for the RCOG focusing upon:

1. Maternal and Fetal Medicine. Tertiary referrals of complex maternal and fetal medicine cases.
2. Urogynaecology. Management of urogynaecological cases.
3. Reproductive Medicine. Aspects of both assisted reproductive technologies, benign gynaecological surgery, genetics and endocrinology.

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS trust is a large teaching hospital for the University of Birmingham and Aston University, and an acute trust. A planned relocation of services to a new purpose built hospital Midlands Metropolitan University is anticipated in 2024.

Subspecialty training programme for Gynaecological oncology is situated at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Academic Lead (University) for the IAT Programme

Prof Kristien Boelaert, IAT Lead at the University of Birmingham: k.boelaert@bham.ac.uk

Prof Shakila Thangaratinam is a Professor of Maternal and Perinatal Health and Consultant Obstetrician. She is the co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health and heads the IPPIC and i-WIP networks (5 million pregnancy data) on predicting and preventing pregnancy complications: s.thangaratinam.1@bham.ac.uk

Prof Sudha Sundar is Professor of Gynaecological cancer/Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist and President of the British Gynaecological Cancer Society. Her research interests are in ovarian cancer detection, development of novel diagnostics and surgical outcomes from cancer surgery in the UK and globally: s.s.sundar@bham.ac.uk

Academic Supervisor (University) details

The senior research academics include Prof S Thangaratinam (maternal health, global health), Prof RK Morris (Fetal medicine), Prof A Coomarasamy (global health, reproductive health), Prof S Sundar (gynaecological oncology), Prof J Clark (Gynaecology).

Clinical Supervisor(s) (Trust) details

Dr Sam Pretlove: Clinical Director in Maternity Services (s.pretlove@nhs.net)

Ms Abha Sinha: Clinical Director in Gynaecology, SWBH 

Deanery Programme Training Director details

Dr Swati Ghosh, Lead and Programme Training Director (swati.ghosh@worcsacute.nhs.uk)

Dr Andrew Sizer, Deanery Programme Training Director in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (a.sizer@nhs.net)

Administrative coordinator is juliaarnold@nhs.net

Person Specification

Eligibility

• Evidence of achievement of Foundation competences or equivalent. 
• Candidate must be at IMT3 or above. 
• Must hold a higher degree (MD, PhD or equivalent) in a relevant subject area.
• Evidence of commitment to GMC specialty. 
• Intercalated honours degree and/or additional qualifications e.g. MSc etc.
• Evidence of good progress in clinical training and that completion of specialty training may be accommodated either during or after the 4 year period of the NIHR CL award.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience 

• Demonstration of acquisition of the level of knowledge and skills necessary for the achievement of Foundation and clinical (matched to the entry level) competencies or equivalent. 
• Demonstration of the potential for scientific independence and the ability to lead a research team. 
• Potential to become a leader in chosen field.
• Knowledge of the centre hosting the research and how this is best placed to support the research, education and training needs. 
• Prizes or distinctions.
• Presentation of work at a national or international meeting. 
• Significant publications in peer reviewed journals. 
• Demonstration of understanding, and commitment to, an academic career.
• Indication of medium and long-term career goals. 
• Demonstration of educational reasons for applying for the Clinical Lectureship Programme.
• Evidence of team working skills. 
• Evidence of leadership potential.

All candidates should have submitted their final thesis to be eligible to apply and must have been fully awarded their higher degree in order to be able to take up the post (prior to 01 Sep 2024).

OH/DBS required 

The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Occupational Health and DBS clearance prior to appointment.

Further particulars can be found here

Informal enquiries to Sudha Sundar, email: s.s.sundar@bham.ac.uk 

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.