Recruitment

Applications for the MRC Medicines Development Fellowship scheme will open shortly. You can find details on this page on the recruitment and interview process.

The schemes recruitment process has multiple phases designed to find those Fellows who will benefit most from what the scheme offers and who demonstrate potential to become future research leaders in the NHS, industry and academia.

Recruitment process

The recruitment process will be mediated through the University of Liverpool, final appointment and employment will be with the Higher Education Institution (HEI) determined the most appropriate through the application process.

For both our Clinician Scientist (CS) roles and our Clinical Research Training Fellowship (CRTF) roles our recruitment process has three stages.

Written application

Candidates must complete the standard University of Liverpool application form and submit this via the recruitment portal. As well as addressing the essential and desirable criteria outlined in the job description Clinician Scientist applicants should include an initial two-page outline of their research area to include details of their preferred university and industry combination. Those shortlisted after the written application will be invited to attend a stage one interview.  

Stage one interview

The first stage interview will take place online and panel members will include the four HEI leads and four representatives from our industry partners. This will be an opportunity for the panel to learn more about candidates, their careers to date, their research interests and their career aspirations.

A fully developed project plan is not expected at this stage however the panel will explore project ideas with candidates. The panel will take forward candidates who can demonstrate that their career aspirations and project ideas align with the aims of the programme. The panel will also provide feedback on project ideas as a starting point for the more complete development of candidate project plans.

Stage two interview

Candidates who are successful at the stage one interview will have four months (three months for CRTF candidates) to develop a full project proposal in collaboration with their selected industry partner and HEI sponsor/supervisor. This project proposal will then be reviewed by an interview panel comprising HEI representatives, industry representatives and Medical Research Council (MRC) representatives.

At interview, candidates will be required to defend their project plan. The second stage interview panel will be chaired by a representative from the MRC with a second representative on the deciding panel. This ensures panel impartiality and that the successful projects meet the national standard and MRC criteria for funding. 

Please note that only one Clinician Scientist and one Clinical Research Training Fellow can be matched with each HEI and with each industry partner. If more than one candidate requests to work with a particular HEI or industry partner the candidate with the strongest project will be selected. Therfore, in order to be successful candidates must must meet the MRC criteria and also present the strongest project for the chosen HEI and/or industry partner.