Vacancy: Project Assistant

Close date: Monday, 26 June 2023. Shortlisting and interviews will happen on a rolling basis so early application is encouraged. We may close this vacancy early if a suitable candidate is found.

Who we are, who we are looking for and what we offer

Symmetron has over 14 years of business activity in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), providing solutions for major pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers worldwide. We promote a culture of creativity, independent thinking, teamwork and scientific excellence.

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with a keen interest in gaining skills and understanding of HEOR consultancy, project management and producing deliverables for health technology assessment. This is a great entry-level opportunity for an organised person who would like to be involved on a wide array of tasks and projects to gain insight into working within a health research consultancy. The successful candidate will receive on-the-job training from our senior researchers and managers whilst working on various projects. There is potential to develop a specialism as your career and interests develop with us, with opportunity to progress to our Health Outcomes, Health Economics, or Operations and Communications teams from the project assistant post. Candidates with some prior experience in systematic reviews, health economic modelling or project management, and those wanting to start a career in this area will be considered for the post.

We are committed to the personal development of our employees and offer excellent training and career development opportunities. Symmetron was awarded the Investors In People accreditation in 2021, with 100% of our team agreeing Symmetron was a great place to work.

Our company offers excellent benefits, including but not limited to:

• A very competitive base salary, pension scheme and annual performance-related discretionary bonus.
• Professional development opportunities, within a friendly and supportive team, with access to our tailored training programme and external training as needed.
• A hybrid and flexible mix of home and in-office working.
• Life and private health insurance.
  
• Access to free confidential well-being advice via our employee assistance programme.
• A cycle to work scheme.
• Eye care contribution.
• A wealth of policies that cover enhanced parental leave, compassionate bereavement leave, and temporary remote working for an extended time.

Key responsibilities

• Help with some of the duties associated with literature reviews, such as screening abstracts, data extraction and procurement of publications.
• Help with some of the duties associated with cost-effectiveness analyses, such as targeted reviews to identify model inputs and requirements of reimbursement bodies.
• Help with administrative activities related to client projects, inclusive of client meeting administration and minute taking.
• Assist in the preparation and coordination of draft manuscripts, posters and other publications.
• Undertake activities related to quality assurance of internal and external documents (i.e. using quality assurance checklists, proofing), ensuring consistency and correctness in terms of formatting and grammar.
• Help organise internal activities such as team training and social activities.
• Assist in business and organisation development initiatives; for example, assisting in pipeline research, contact outreach and management, development of marketing materials.
• Undertake activities of continuous professional development and learning.

The above is not an exhaustive list of duties, and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by the organisation's overall business objectives.

Essential requirements and qualifications

• An undergraduate degree that involved data analysis and synthesis alongside technical writing.
• A genuine interest in health economics and health outcomes research, with a passion for critical thinking and use of analytical skills.
• Good presentation, oral and written communication skills to effectively engage with a wide-ranging audience.
• Ability to research, organise, and summarise information from a variety of sources.
• Good literacy and numeracy skills, along with an excellent and consistent level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• An organized and methodological approach to planning and delivering high quality materials, with the ability to manage competing demands and changing deadlines.
• Ability to work effectively independently and in a team-oriented environment, taking responsibility for specific tasks with support from more experienced team members.
• High self-motivation, can-do attitude, optimistic outlook.
• Willingness to learn new skills and assist in a range of activities.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office tools, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Desirable skills and experience

These are nice-to-have skills. Candidates that do not fulfil these requirements but have an interest in this role are encouraged to apply.

• Experience in project management and/or office management.
• Understanding of systematic reviews, medical writing and/or health economics.
• Experience in data cleaning and managing large databases.
• Experience using EndNote or another reference management software.
• Experience in life science research or health technology assessment.

Application process

• After the upload of your CV, we ask you to fill in a brief questionnaire.
• Candidates successful in this first round will be contacted to undertake an exercise (remotely) to demonstrate the knowledge and skills required for the role.
  
• Shortlisted applicants may also be invited for an initial phone call either before the exercise or before the final interview stage.

Please Note:

• This job is a full-time position based in our offices in Central London. Working from home is supported and organised around staff roles and responsibilities.
• The successful candidate must have permission to work in the UK by the start of their employment.
• No agencies, please.