Executives Support Officer for The Cochrane Collaboration
(fixed-term internship)
The organisation: The Cochrane Collaboration is an internationally respected healthcare research
organisation. It is a not-for-profit company, registered in the UK as a charity (no. 1045921), and its
mission is to improve healthcare decision-making globally by collating, assessing and synthesising
the results of relevant research (usually, randomised trials comparing different interventions) in all
areas of health care. The results of this work are Cochrane Systematic Reviews, recognised by
healthcare professionals, policy makers and patients as the benchmark for high quality information
about the effectiveness of health care. These Cochrane Reviews are published on the internet
by the Collaboration’s publishing partner, Wiley-Blackwell, as part of The Cochrane Library
(www. thecochranelibrary. com) in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. There are now
more than 4600 full Cochrane Reviews, with published protocols for a further 2000.
The Cochrane Collaboration relies on the contributions of over 28,000 people, who come from more
than 100 countries. Governance is provided by an elected board of directors (the ‘Steering Group’)
working through a devolved structure of around 95 collaborating groups scattered around the world
that co-ordinate its day-to-day activities. Recognising that the increasing size and complexity of the
organisation imposes increasing strains on its internal working, in 2010 the Steering Group
formalised the creation of “Entity Executives” to assist it in its internal communications and policy
dissemination role. The Executives provide a communication channel and a discussion and decision
making hub for groups within the Collaboration.
The task: The Cochrane Collaboration needs an appropriate governance structure (groups,
committees, processes and policies) so that it can perform effectively in an increasingly complex
world. In order to ensure the effective performance of the governance structure, it needs to supply
co-ordination and administration. A new Cochrane Executives Support Officer post has therefore
been created to support the Executives in their day-to-day functions and provide much needed
communication and co-ordination. Specifically, this new role will support the Executives working
most closely with the Cochrane Review Groups (CRGs), namely the Co-ordinating Editors’ Executive,
the Managing Editors’ Executive, and the Trials Search Co-ordinators’ Executive, to ensure a joinedup approach and to make the most of available synergies.
The role: The Cochrane Executives Support Officer role will be a fixed-term internship of one year’s
duration. The role will be in two parts: the core administrative component will involve working
closely with the convenors and members of the three CRG Executives, and the Methods’ Coordinator, as well as with the staff of the Cochrane Editorial Unit and the Cochrane Secretariat. The
second part of the role will be to provide editorial and project-specific support to the Cochrane
Editorial Unit. It is expected that these two parts of the role will be split 50:50.
The Cochrane Executives Support Officer will accomplish the following tasks:
Organisation and administrative functions
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Organise international telephone conferences (perhaps 4 per year for each Executive)
Organise face-to-face meetings at the organisation’s annual conference, and at the annual midyear meeting, and at other times as required
Take action item minutes of Executive meetings, and manage the dissemination and follow-up of
action items
Co-ordinate communication between the three Executives, and with other stakeholders
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Administer information management tasks on the Collaboration’s online systems, such as
keeping the contacts database up to date and online document management on behalf of the
Executives
Administer the Executives’ and Methods’ Co-ordinator budgets, including agreeing budget
allocation with convenors, monitoring expenditure, and processing expense claims ready for
payment
Provide administrative support to the Methods’ Co-ordinator, as required
Other relevant tasks, as required
Support functions
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Assist with the drafting of documents, including collating background information
Seek, collect and collate comments on documents
Ensure that the Cochrane Policy Manual is up to date and reflects current policies relating to
CRGs
Develop standardised templates, such as work plans, for comment and use by all three Execs
Develop standardised processes across all three Execs, including ensuring that the organisation
of the three Exec folders and the joint Exec folder in Archie are consistent
Project-specific tasks as required
Other relevant tasks as required
Editorial support functions
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Liaise with senior editorial, research and administrative staff and external agencies, acting as first
point of contact in handling enquiries and queries
Contribute to general CEU workload, including commissioning and editing Editorials and Special
Collections
Support project tasks (e.g. Cochrane Response, Cochrane Clinical Answers, MATRIX project)
Ensure excellent communications within CEU, Cochrane Collaboration and with external
stakeholders
The person: The post would be suitable for an individual with an administrative background. You
may have gained this in a healthcare or research environment, but appropriate transferable skills are
equally valuable.
In addition, the Cochrane Executives Support Officer will be expected to demonstrate successful
performance relating to the following:
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The ability to co-ordinate distance, virtual, face-to-face and team working, with an international
team
Problem-solving skills, including the ability to work independently under general direction
Excellent organisational, interpersonal and communication (written and verbal) skills
Advanced IT skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
The Collaboration’s working language is English and written and verbal fluency is essential
Time management skills and ability to work to agreed deadlines
Experience related to all aspects of the planning and organising of meetings
Project management skills.
You will be expected to attend the Executives’ telephone conferences and face-to-face meetings,
where possible. This will involve working outside of normal working hours, and time off in lieu will be
given. The post will require international travel.
Governance, oversight and place of work: The post will be based at the Cochrane Collaboration’s
Cochrane Editorial Unit in Cavendish Square, London. Distance working would be possible for an
exceptional candidate. Role-related expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with the relevant
policies of The Cochrane Collaboration. No relocation expenses will be paid.
The post-holder will be supervised by Dr David Tovey.
Salary: The post will be placed on the equivalent of NHS Pay Band 3 [pay range £15,860–£18,827]
(plus high cost area supplement, if appropriate). The Collaboration has a money purchase pension
scheme to which it makes an employer’s contribution of 6% of salary. Staff are encouraged to make
their own contributions to this scheme.
Duration of contract: A contract or secondment opportunity is offered for a fixed term of one year.
There will be a probationary period of three months.
Application process
Further information: For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Giovanna Ceroni,
[email protected].
To apply: Please e-mail a CV and covering material to Giovanna Ceroni, [email protected] with
‘Cochrane Executives Support Officer’ in the subject heading, setting out in detail, and where
appropriate with examples, why and how you believe that you can perform this role.
Closing date: Applications should be received by [email protected] by noon BST (GMT+1) on
Wednesday 20 July 2011.
Interviews: Interviews will be held on 8, 9 and 10 August 2011, and will involve a panel interview and
a practical test to be undertaken by the applicant. Video conferencing or webinar facilities may be
used for some interviews, if necessary.
The Cochrane Collaboration is an equal opportunities employer
and supports initiatives to improve environmental sustainability.