The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

Data Connect and the Secure Data Services are joint services within the Research and Innovation IT team. Together they support and enable researchers in getting access to NHS and social care data safely and securely for academic research projects. They are strategically important services in the University that enable research that will directly impact on the quality and length of people's lives.

The University and its partners have been awarded funding by DARE UK to develop and deliver the mechanisms for federated governance for using NHS data in research across the Yorkshire and Humber region. The PANORAMA project will involve the adoption of the SATRE framework, creating and maintaining a shared repository of governance standards, documents and best practice.

The Technical Delivery Officer (for the PANORAMA project) will support the delivery of two technical tools to enable federation: TRE-FX, which supports federated querying via RO-Crates technology, and SACRO, which supports the semi-automated checking of research outputs, including machine learning and Artificial Intelligence models. Working closely with the Research and Innovation Platforms Team, you will oversee the technical delivery of and participate in the testing of these tools, and create standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guides with both the partners within the PANORAMA project, and across the TRE Early Adopter programmes, where appropriate.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated graduate in (health) Data Science, Computer Science or related field who is interested in the deployment, user acceptance testing and user-friendliness of documentation. This role is an exciting opportunity for someone who is interested in supporting health and social science research in secure computing environments, and will make a significant contribution in advancing secure data infrastructure and federation across the UK.

Main duties and responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of this role are delivering the two technical components of the TREvolution capabilities (TRE-FX and SACRO), including feasibility and deployment. You will receive support from peers, the Yorkshire & Humber SDE Information Governance Manager (based at Sheffield), the Secure Data Services Research Data Manager, and the core TREvolution team to ensure project success. The duties of the role are:

• Completing Information Security assessments of the tools for submission to Information Security team for approval of the software install in the Secure Data Services.
• Coordination and reporting on the progress of the installation of the technology components by the R&I platforms team.
• User acceptance testing of TRE-FX components (Bunny, Hutch and the federated querying layer).
• Working with other teams in IT Services to ensure that the technical components are delivered to the organisation’s standards.
• Liaising with counterparts across the PANORAMA project (colleagues at the two other Secure Data Environments in the north of England), and TREvolution teams, feeding back on any UAT or bugs for the external technical teams to investigate and fix.
• Participate in Communities of Practice across the DARE UK TREvolution and Early Adopter programme, sharing experiences and good practices, and reporting back on wider conversations to the Principal Investigator.
• Completing tasks according to the agreed project plans and project milestones, and helping, as needed, to provide details for project reports to the funder (prepared by the project manager and Work Package leads).
• Summarising documentation provided by the TREvolution teams, making them accessible and easy to understand that can be used across the project partners (and, where appropriate, wider Early Adopter teams).
• Liaising with pre- and post-award teams within Faculty Research Hubs, to monitor project income is appropriately received into Data Connect.
• Providing, with support from others, communications on the project  via the website, social media and other channels.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable experience with R and Python (assessed at application / interview / test)
• Knowledge of User Acceptance Testing Principles, experience with UAT (as a tester) desirable (assessed at application / interview)
• Understanding of techniques and tools for collaborative team working and version control (e.g. project management approaches, Jira, Github, etc.) (assessed at application / interview)
• Proven experience in creating and maintaining documentation, particularly documentation for non-technical users (e.g. creating ‘how-tos’ and ‘user guides’) (assessed at application / interview)
• An enabling, supportive and collaborative approach to team working (assessed at application / interview)
• Experience of responding efficiently and effectively to email enquiries (assessed at application / interview)
• Ability to work to clear timescales, progressing several tasks at one time whilst maintaining accuracy (assessed at application / interview)
• Comfortable working independently and as part of a collaborative team (assessed at application / interview)

Desirable criteria

• Experience of providing advice and guidance in line with an external framework or standard (assessed at application stage)
  
  

Further Information

Grade: 6

Salary: £31,637-£36,130 per annum

Work arrangement: Full-time

Duration: An immediate start date with an end date of 31/03/2026

Line manager: Head of Secure Data Services

Direct reports: None

Our website: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/it-services/about (opens in new window)

For informal enquiries about this job contact
Katherine O’Sullivan, Head of Secure Data Services at k.k.osullivan@sheffield.ac.uk

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will consist of an interview (including the presentation of a skills-based test). We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage within two weeks of the closing date. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact it-services-recruitment@sheffield.ac.uk

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).
 

What we offer

• A minimum of 38 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes;
• A range of generous family-friendly policies
  • paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
  • support for those going through the menopause
  • paid time off and support for fertility treatment
  • and more

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

Criminal record

A basic DBS check will be needed for this role. More details on the checks can be found on the Government website: gov.uk/criminal-record-checks-apply-role (opens in a new window).

Possession of a criminal record is not an automatic bar to employment at the University of Sheffield. We recognise the value of steady employment in the rehabilitation process and examine each case in its own right. More information can be found on our Information for candidates page:- sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/candidates (opens in a new window).

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision (www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.