Research Quality and Governance Advisor

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is looking for a Research Quality & Governance Advisor to join the Manson Unit in London. This is a new permanent full-time specialist role: you'll design and lead a risk-based research governance and quality-assurance framework across a growing portfolio of clinical trials and operational research in humanitarian settings, and help build a function that will advise research teams across the MSF movement. We're looking for an experienced clinical research professional with strong ICH-GCP expertise, a track record of shaping governance frameworks or SOPs, and the judgement to apply high standards pragmatically in complex, resource-limited environments. You'll lead through technical credibility and influence, working with investigators, field teams, ethics committees and regulators worldwide. If you want your expertise to make sure the evidence behind lifesaving medical care is robust, ethical and trusted, we'd love to hear from you.

Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Mon-Fri

Duration: Permanent

Location: London - hybrid, 2 days per week in office (including Wednesdays)

Salary: £54,452.47 per annum - £66,553.01 per annum | Salary is offered in line with our pay framework and typically starts at the entry point of the band. Salary increases are considered annually and are subject to our appraisal and performance review process.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) provides life-saving emergency relief and longer-term medical care to some of the most vulnerable and excluded communities around the world. As an independent medical humanitarian organisation, we deliver care based only on need, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, religion or political affiliation.MSF relies on donations from private individuals and organisations for the majority of its income. This private funding gives MSF the freedom to respond where needs are greatest and to speak out publicly, free from any political interference.

MSF has around 67,000 local and international staff working in over 70 countries, in some of the most challenging places in the world. Our medical humanitarian projects are supported by offices in 44 countries, including the UK and Ireland. These teams recruit staff, organise fundraising, and raise awareness on the humanitarian crises our colleagues are witnessing, as well as running different and diverse support activities. MSF offices are spread across Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia.

At MSF UK/IE, we support MSF's operations by building relationships with our supporters, increasing awareness of our work, raising funds, providing specialist medical expertise, ensuring MSF staff have access to relevant higher education programmes, catalysing change on medical humanitarian issues, and recruiting field staff.

MSF UK/IE personnel are dynamic, hard-working, enthusiastic and committed to MSF's values and aims. In addition MSF continues to build upon its presence in Ireland to become a widely recognised, accepted and respected humanitarian organisation among Irish audiences, and within the Irish humanitarian and political sector.

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The Research Quality & Governance Advisor is responsible for research governance and quality assurance across the Manson Unit's growing portfolio of operational research studies and clinical trials, and is the senior technical authority building the Unit's emerging role as a movement-wide resource on research quality, impact and dissemination. Rather than monitoring a single study, this role establishes and oversees a risk-based research governance and quality-assurance framework across a diverse and growing portfolio, setting the standards against which studies are designed, delivered and closed out in compliance with approved protocols, Good Clinical Practice (GCP/ICH) guidelines, applicable regulatory requirements, relevant ethical frameworks, and MSF's own standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The postholder is the senior technical authority and a key point of escalation on research governance and quality for study sponsors, principal investigators, field medical teams, ethics and regulatory bodies, and is accountable to the relevant Medical Directors for the scientific integrity of data and the safety and rights of research participants across the portfolio. The role combines deep technical GCP/monitoring expertise with the judgement, seniority and independence to set direction, mentor, identify and escalate risk, and advise and influence colleagues on research quality and governance standards in other parts of the MSF movement. This is a senior specialist role rather than a line-management position: it suits an experienced research professional who can operate with autonomy and authority in complex, resource-limited and rapidly evolving humanitarian contexts, shaping standards and practice through technical credibility and influence.

Please download the full job and person specification below for further details.

Bachelor's degree or higher. Medical specialism not essential, degree could be medicine, nursing, pharmacy, biomedical sciences, public health or a related life-sciences discipline.

Extensive, senior-level experience in clinical research, clinical trial monitoring, or research quality/governance, including experience acting as the senior technical authority on quality and compliance across a study portfolio.

Strong working knowledge of ICH-GCP guidelines and applicable regulatory requirements, ideally including experience applying these in resource-limited or humanitarian settings.

Demonstrated experience establishing or substantially shaping a research governance or quality-assurance framework, policy or standard operating procedure, rather than solely applying one set by others.

Experience with ethics submissions and regulatory documentation processes.

Strong written and verbal English communication skills, with demonstrated ability to influence and negotiate with senior stakeholders - sponsors, ethics and regulatory bodies, and colleagues in other MSF sections - without formal authority over them; strong organisational, analytical, problem-solving and documentation skills; proficiency in Microsoft Office and digital collaboration tools.

Demonstrated ability to work autonomously and within multicultural, multidisciplinary field teams; adapt to dynamic, austere or insecure environments with limited infrastructure.

Commitment to research ethics, participant protection and data integrity; willingness to travel at short notice, including to remote and conflict-affected settings.

Experience in the practical use of personal IT equipment and Microsoft Office 365 suite. The ability to effectively collaborate and communicate within a hybrid working environment utilising Teams, SharePoint, One Drive and Yammer.

HOW TO APPLY

Please apply on our website by submitting a copy of your CV together with a letter of motivation by the closing date (please do not send applications via email as they will not be considered).

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

We encourage early applications as we reserve the right to close applications before the advertised closing date, or if a suitable candidate is found.

• Closing date for applications: 11 November 2026, 12:00pm
• First round interviews: Week of 23 November 2026 (via teams)
• Second round interviews: Week of 30 November 2026 (in person)
• Projected Start Date: January 2027

We are committed to removing barriers for people with specific accessibility needs. If you need an adjustment to the recruitment process to be considered for the role, please let us know by contacting [email protected].

Examples of adjustments we can make:

• offering you an alternative if you are unable to use our online application system
• providing necessary information, such as the job description or assessment materials, in an alternate format
• allowing you to have someone with you during an interview for example, a Sign Language interpreter.

MSF UK/IE is dedicated to safeguarding everyone who comes into contact with the organisation, for whatever reason and however brief. All posts are subject to safer recruitment process which include robust reference requests, scrutiny of employment history and where applicable criminal record and barring checks.

Our safeguarding commitment is underpinned by policies and procedures which encourage and promote safe working practice across the organisation. On joining MSF UK/IE you will be required to attend safeguarding training to ensure responsibility for and maintaining safe working practice and to safeguard our teams, beneficiaries, and communities.