Health Research Programme Manager

Contract: Fixed Term for 2 years (with the possibility of extension of up to a further 12 months)

Hours: 28 hours per week (FTE is 35 hours per week)

Location: London (hybrid), with occasional travel within the UK)

Interview dates: Week Ccommencing 28^th September (London Office)

Freedom from Torture has an exciting opportunity for a Research Programme Manager to join our team and play a central role in delivering an innovative international mental health research programme funded by a major UK research funder. The programme will explore whether artificial intelligence can safely and effectively support survivors of torture with managing distressing memories. Survivor co-design is central to the programme, ensuring that people with lived experience across diverse cultures, languages and backgrounds meaningfully shape innovation in mental health.

About us

Freedom from Torture is an established charity that has been supporting survivors of torture for over 35 years and has a dedicated donor base. We are committed to providing high-quality, evidence-based interventions for people who have survived torture. We provide therapies to improve physical and mental health, medically document torture, and offer legal and welfare support. Our clinical model has been co-designed with survivors of torture and includes a range of interventions, including trauma-focused therapy, psychotherapy, family and couple systemic psychotherapy, group work, pain management and health assessment.

About the role

This is a senior research programme management role supporting the delivery of a major externally funded health research programme involving multiple organisations, international collaborators and diverse stakeholder groups. The programme includes research involving human participants and brings together expertise from universities, charities, clinicians, researchers, technologists and people with lived experience.

A defining feature of this programme is its commitment to survivor leadership and co-design. Survivors of torture will play an active role in shaping, informing and governing the research throughout its lifecycle. The successful candidate will therefore work closely with survivor advisors, co-design groups and governance structures to support meaningful participation and ensure that lived experience perspectives are incorporated into programme decision-making, research development and delivery. This commitment to participation is central to the ethos, methodology and success of the programme.

Reporting to the Principal Investigator, the Research Programme Manager will act as the central coordination point across the consortium and will be responsible for leading programme planning, coordinating international partners, supporting governance structures, managing funder reporting and compliance, coordinating financial oversight, supporting research governance and ethics, monitoring programme risks and preparing high-quality reports and briefings for funders, governance bodies and senior stakeholders.

About you

You will be an experienced programme or project management professional with a track record of delivering complex health research programmes. You will have experience of managing externally funded research programmes, working with major research funders, coordinating activity across multiple organisations, supporting governance structures, managing risk and assurance processes, and contributing to financial monitoring and reporting.

You will understand the importance of meaningful involvement of people with lived experience in research and service development.

This role would particularly suit candidates from university or health providers research management, major health research funders, and mental or physical health clinicians with substantial research management experience.

In Return

In return, we offer a competitive package, with a generous 30-day annual leave entitlement, and 6% employer pension contribution (minimum 1% employee contribution).

Full Job Description & Person Specification, please click here 

To apply, please click the 'Apply' button above.

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