Data Specialist

The NCRI National Cancer Registry Ireland (NCRI) is undertaking a competition to identify suitable candidates for appointment to the position of:

Role Title: Data Integration Specialist

Grade: Clerical Grade V

Tenure: Contract of Indefinite Duration

Location: Head Office, Airport Business Park, Cork.

Blended Working: Minimum 2 day a week in Head Office Cork and the remainder of the week spent working from home or as business need dictate.

Salary Scale: €51,206 €52,738 €54,300 €55,897 €57,503 €59,3751. €61,2532.

Please note that all new entrants to the public service will start at point 1 of the Salary Scale.

Closing date: 5pm Monday August 11th, 2025

About the National Cancer Registry of Ireland

The NCRI is a publicly appointed body established in 1991 to collect and classify information on all cancer cases which occur in Ireland. (www.ncri.ie).

Our activities include:

· Collecting information on all new cases in Ireland

· Monitoring trends and outcomes in different cancer types

· Promoting the use of information, we collect in research and in the planning and management of services.

The NCRI’s mission is to capture data and communicate information on cancer patients to support the improvement of cancer outcomes in Ireland. An overview of the NCRI’s objectives and activities may be found in NCRI Strategic Plan 2024 – 2026 (https://www.ncri.ie/publications/strategic-plans).

Key Responsibilities:

Data Management

· Collaborate with external providers and other departments within the NCRI to determine and request the electronic extracts required for cancer registration purposes.

· Be a point of contact between IT and the Data Integration Team for the development, testing and the processing of linked data.

· Ensure all processes and procedures are documented comprehensively and are updated for each process.

· Manage data matching projects as required.

o Requesting electronic datasets from external agencies

o Developing routines for de-duplication, matching and linkage

o Integrate matched datasets within the Cancer Registration System (CRS).

· Assist with the ongoing cleaning and standardisation of datasets to enhance data quality and consistency.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

· Collaborate with NCRI departments to drive quality improvement initiatives from data quality measurement outputs and/or data quality audits.

· Stay informed of current HIQA national standards for data collection.

· Keep up to date with cancer registration coding.

· Conduct regular reviews of agreed datasets and processes to enhance performance and delivery of outputs.

· Assist in running and coordinating the results of quality checklists.

· Perform quality assurance checks on system tables relevant to routine work.

· Review and validate patient demographic data from external sources, updating patient registrations as appropriate.

Communications

• Maintain communication with internal and external stakeholders to stay informed of developments or projects that may affect electronic data sources and cancer registration data.
• Works to establish mutual understanding to allow for collaborative working with all stakeholders

System Development

· Conduct any relevant testing on new CRS releases as required.

· Analyse existing electronic data sources to optimize use in cancer registration

· Evaluate new electronic data sources for potential use in cancer registration.

Other

· Stay informed of relevant legislation/regulations and, in conjunction with the Data Protection Officer (DPO), ensure that the data provided is in line with data protection principles.

· Assist in the coordination and review of Subject Access Requests.

· Mentor junior staff members where appropriate.

· Collaborate with teams across NCRI to contribute to the organisation’s strategic goals.

· Awareness of data confidentiality and sensitivity and be cognizant of this in all aspects of the role.

· Engage in ongoing training and development.

This list is not an exhaustive list, and you may be required to take on other tasks and duties for the proper and effective performance of your role.

Essential criteria for this Role

· Candidates must have a minimum of an NFQ level 8 qualification (Honours degree) or a suitable professional qualification in a relevant field.

· Must have a minimum of 3 years’ appropriate professional experience.

· Proficient in MS Office, Outlook and Sharepoint.

Desirable criteria for this Role

· Minimum of 3 years’ experience using IT tools to support data management, data quality, and data sharing.

· Knowledge of SQL, Tableau or Power BI, or similar packages and an understanding of database management.

· Proven experience working with large datasets in either the health sector or research environment.

· Familiar with data protection regulations, including GDPR, and an understanding of how they apply to data handling and processing in healthcare or research setting.

· Experience of record linkage.

· Previous experience and knowledge of medical coding systems such as ICD10, ICDO, or Snomed.

Personal Qualities

The post holder must be able to demonstrate the following personal qualities:

Analytical and Administrative Skills

· Excellent analytical, decision making and administrative skills.

· An ability to demonstrate compliance with the required standards and ensure sufficient controls and checks are in place.

· Quickly adapts to complex situations, rapidly absorbing all relevant information/data (written and oral)

Decision Making

· Exercises good judgement, makes timely, well-informed decisions; consults with others as appropriate before implementing decisions.

Planning and Organising

· Assumes personal responsibility for and delivers on agreed objectives/ goals

· Effectively estimates timelines for projects and manages own time efficiently, anticipating potential obstacles and planning contingencies to address these.

· Ensure all outputs are delivered to a high standard and in an efficient manner.

· Use resources effectively, always challenging processes to improve efficiency.

· Excellent attention to detail.

Teamwork, Communication and interpersonal skills

· Promotes co-operation and commitment within a team to achieve goals and deliverables.

· Professional when dealing with challenging issues.

• Collaborate with internal NCRI teams and external stakeholders to optimise the quality, completeness, and utility of cancer registration data.

Specialist Knowledge, Expertise and Self Development

· Clearly understands the role, objectives and targets and how they fit into the work of the team and Organisation.

· Develops the expertise necessary to carry out the role to a high standard and shares this with others.

Behavioural Expectations

The incumbent of this role is expected to demonstrate NCRI’s values and behaviours in in the delivery of everyday work and interactions with stakeholders and colleagues.

· Respect – We treat everyone with dignity of respect.

· Trust – We honour our commitments.

· Collaboration – We work collaboratively with all our stakeholders.

· Quality – We are committed to continuous quality improvement.

· Enthusiasm – We are passionate about and take great pride in our work.

· Confidentiality – We treat all our patient information with the highest level of data security.