Research Associate - School of Psychology

Job details

• School of Psychology
• Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
• As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 6.23, salary £27,511
• Grade 6
• Part Time 0.6 FTE/22.5 hours per week
• FTC for 2 years
• Interviews are scheduled for 2nd July 2021

Applications are invited from graduates with a good first degree in Psychology or another related discipline for a two-year appointment. The appointee will work on a new research project funded by the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund, investigating the feasibility of a parenting intervention to reduce or prevent behaviours that challenge in young children with neurodevelopmental conditions and/or intellectual disability. This project will be conducted in close collaboration with NHS colleagues and services in Birmingham Community Foundation Healthcare Trust.

The research assistant will engage in tasks related to project initiation, collaboration with NHS services, participant recruitment, intervention delivery, data collection, data management and analysis, report writing, preparation of manuscripts and materials for publication and dissemination, and related project administration. The post will suit candidates with an interest in clinical psychology and developmental psychology. The candidate will have the opportunity to benefit from a range of training and supervision opportunities while in post.

The successful applicant will be based in the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. The appointee will work under the direction of Dr Caroline Richards (Birmingham), and Dr Laura Groves (University of Leicester) alongside a large team of academic and clinical collaborators. The successful applicant will join Dr. Richards' research team (https://carolinerichards.net/) and the broader Cerebra Network for Neurodevelopmental Disorders . The work of the team focuses on sleep and behavioural difficulties experienced by people who have neurodevelopmental conditions, particularly those who have severe intellectual disability, genetic syndromes and autism. The team combines methods of behavioural, clinical and developmental psychology.

Main duties

• Liaise with NHS Trust, third sector organisations, education organisations to facilitate recruitment
• Assess eligibility for participation in the study and co-deliver a psychoeducational intervention to parents of children with neurodevelopmental conditions
• Collect research data; this will be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific questionnaires, observations, literature reviews, focus groups and research interviews.
• Analyse research data as directed
• Present research outputs, including drafting parts of academic publications, for example at seminars and as posters
• Develop or adapt techniques, models and methods to address the study questions
• Deal with challenges that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines, such as recruitment
• Carry out administrative tasks related directly to the delivery of the research such as organising group meetings and managing the research group calendar
• Adhere to, and support amendments to, NHS ethical approvals.
• The post-holder will be expected to carry out any additional duties as may reasonably be required within the general scope and level of the post.

Person Specification

In your application please include a cover letter stating how you match the person specification.

Essential

• A degree in Psychology or closely-related discipline.
• Knowledge and understanding of psychological theory relevant to behaviours that challenge in children with neurodevelopmental conditions and/or intellectual disability.
• Experience of delivering psychological interventions.
• Ability to work effectively in a team.
• Competent in Microsoft Office programs and SPSS/R or similar.
• Competent in statistical analyses, including regression and modelling based approaches.
• Ability to analyse information and communicate effectively (in person, on the telephone and in written form).
• Ability to access and organise resources successfully.

Desirable

• Postgraduate degree in Psychology or closely-related discipline.
• Experience of managing NHS ethical approvals and amendments.
• Experience in advanced analyses techniques including machine learning.

Informal enquires to Dr Caroline Richards, c.r.richards@bham.ac.uk

The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Occupational Health and DBS clearance prior to appointment.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working