Data Quality Officer

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Closing date is 05 February 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, well‑organised and motivated individual to work within our Cancer Services Department in County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. The position will be based at our office in Darlington Memorial Hospital but staff work on an agile basis, so the opportunity to work two to three days from home may be available.

The Data Quality Officer is an integral part of the cancer services team and will work closely with the cancer site specific multidisciplinary teams to collate and validate patient data on the Somerset Cancer Registry (SCR) system and/or associated interfaces to ensure the system holds correct and up to date patient data.

You will play a pivotal role in supporting the department to meet its objectives in relation to the collection of data for reporting to the national cancer audits and Cancer Services Outcomes Dataset (COSD). The post holder will be responsible for the data collection of the key performance indicators associated with these mandated datasets.

Working alongside the Cancer Services Data Quality Co‑ordinator you will help raise awareness of the importance of accurate and up to date information and undertake data audits to assess the quality of the information. You will ensure data is collected on patients with a suspected or diagnosed cancer, ensuring information is recorded accurately.

You will collate clinical data using multiple information sources ranging from existing hospital systems, multi-disciplinary discussion documentation and external hospital notifications. This will involve acknowledging and adhering to set deadlines and validation methods to ensure accurate reporting.

To assist in the process of routinely validating the data held within the SCR system, working pro‑actively with the Data Quality Co‑ordinator, healthcare professionals and Cancer Pathway Co‑ordinators to address and resolve data quality issues, you must have a sound understanding of patient‑related activity data. Data must be accurately and consistently recorded to well‑defined standards to enable it to be used for statistical analysis, both locally and nationally.

The post holder will explore unusual or missing data items and liaise with Cancer Services Quality Co‑ordinator over a variety of data‑quality issues, and under guidance, ensure corrections are made as instructed.

You will have very good communication and people skills, as you will be required to liaise with multiple departments and multiple levels of staff in order to ensure that relevant cooperation is achieved in the provision of information and data distribution. Excellent organisational skills are essential, as the post holder would be required to work mainly under their own supervision and manage their own workload in such a way that reflects the Trust’s operational and reporting deadlines. The nature of the post demands that the post holder multi‑task and maintain concentration levels, despite the work‑pattern occasionally being interrupted.

Accuracy and attention to detail are vital in this role; the post holder must ensure that the information collated and recorded accurately reflects the patient pathway, which in turn determines Trust compliance to various nationally published annual reports.

You will need good IT skills, with experience of using Outlook, Word and Excel and some experience of using hospital administration systems would be an advantage.

The post holder will have day‑to‑day responsibility for the collation, entry, validation and extraction of data supported in the operational use of SCR, collecting cancer data to ensure the national cancer audits, NHS England SSQD frameworks and COSD reporting requirements are completed.

Monitoring and updating data set items and inputting missing information into the SCR patient records forms a large part of the job role responsibilities.

Prior experience of working in the NHS in an administrative role, particularly in an audit related area is desirable.

This is a non‑patient facing role. Please ensure you tailor your application to this post. The post will be based at Darlington Memorial Hospital but you may be required to travel to University Hospital of North Durham as and when required.

Please note that all interviews will be held in person at one of our sites.

We provide hospital services from two acute sites – Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester‑le‑Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients’ homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under‑represented.

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• Experience of working with and analysing data.
  
• Computer literate with the ability to use a wide variety of systems including Microsoft office software.
  
• Ability to work independently but also be a good team worker.
  
• Able to demonstrate a responsible and mature approach to work and colleagues.
  
• Demonstrate ability to work to specific deadlines.
  
• Demonstrate the ability to identify problems and work with team to solve and take appropriate action.
  
• Ability to organise and prioritise own workload.
  
• Ability to communicate and work wide range of professional and administrative staff.
  
• Ability to follow policy and procedure guidance and able to identify where change may be required.
  
• Knowledge of appropriate legislation with regards to sharing patient and staff data and protecting confidentiality.
  
• Understanding of NHS Data standards and their application to the management of patient data collection.
  
• Knowledge of medical terminology.
  
• Working knowledge and understanding of the Healthcare IT systems.
  

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• GCSE English and Mathematics grades A‑C or equivalent.
  
• Secretarial / Administrative training and / or experience.
  
• NVQ 3 in Business Administration or Healthcare.
  
• Ability to input data for significant periods of time using a VDU.
  
• Ability to carry files and laptops using appropriate equipment.
  
• Ability to concentrate on tasks whilst managing frequent interruptions.
  
• Ability to cope with exposure to details regarding patients that may be distressing.
  
• Ability and willingness to travel across trust sites as required.
  
• Professional appearance and demeanour.
  
• Positive attitude towards change.
  
• Flexible and adaptable.
  
• Able to accommodate working from home.
  

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• Experience in an administrative/secretarial role.
  
• Experience of using MS Office Software.
  
• Previous experience of working in the NHS.
  
• Possess a sound working knowledge of data collection, validation and reporting.
  

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust