Part-Time Research Officers (2 posts at 20% or 30% FTE)

Applications are invited for the above temporary part-time post working in School of Medical and Health Sciences.

The role will involve interviewing members of the public using a script and online software. Successful candidates will work as interviewers on an applied research project relating to health utilities and well-being. Some interviews will be conducted in-person in North Wales and others will be conducted online via Zoom.

Candidates should possess a Postgraduate (MSc or equivalent) degree in a relevant subject area such as public health, psychology, economics or social sciences and have previous research experience in a relevant subject area, such as public health, health economics, psychology or social sciences. 

The successful candidates will be expected to commence as soon as possible and the posts are available until 30th June 2023.   Hours to be negotiated at either 20% or 30% FTE.

The ability to communicate in Welsh is desirable for this post.

This post is subject to a satisfactory standard Disclosure & Barring Service check.

This role will be located on campus at Bangor. Through our Dynamic Working framework, there will also be the option to spend some time working remotely (although remaining in the UK) to support work life balance, which will be discussed further with candidates at interview.

Committed To Equal Opportunities

Purpose of the Job

Bangor University’s ALPHAcademy and the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) are seeking to appoint at least two Research Officers (at either 20% or 30% FTE, to be negotiated).  The successful candidates will work as interviewers on the an applied research project relating to health utilities and well-being.

Candidates will be involved in the valuation of EQ-5D-5L, a preference-based (or utility) measure that is used in economic evaluations across health and social care. More generally, the role will involve primary data-collection of preferences/utility and health data. The study is of high policy relevance, as it producing a new UK valuation of the EQ-5D-5L, the measure recommended for use by the government body NICE.

Interviewers will conduct between 70 and 110 interviews, some of which will be online and some will be in-person, at a pace of 5-10 interviews per week over the course of 8 months. Each interview takes approximately 40 minutes.

Candidates will be working as part of a team of 13 interviewers across the four nations of the UK based across six institutions, with Sheffield being the lead institution. The role will involve full training by colleagues at University of Sheffield at the start of the post.. Successful candidates will work with Dr Nathan Bray, Professor Rhiannon Tudor Edwards and Professor Dyfrig Hughes. 

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Undertake up to 110 interviews of members of the public, each lasting approximately 40 minutes, using a script and online software. Some interviews will be conducted in-person in North Wales, some will be conducted online via Zoom. Some interviews may be conducted outside of core working hours, but these hours will be based on your availability.
• Actively contribute to quality control of interviews and undertake training and retraining as required.
• Contribute to primary data collection of preference data and health utility data, including checking consent of participants prior to commencing the interview.
• Advertise the study to encourage participation in the study by members of the study, for example distributing flyers in locations with heavy footfall.
• Plan and schedule, in conjunction with project colleagues, your interview availability in advance to enable interview scheduling by a market research agency.
• Complete schedules of your availability, organise meetings, including setting up doodle polls.
• Prioritise own workload across activities.
• Plan several months in advance to meet deadline requirements to ensure data collection is completed by the end of the contract.
• Manage external relationships with research partners, other interviewers and the market research agency outside the university. Any other duties, commensurate with the grade of the post.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• The post holder will be expected to participate in performance review and developmental activities.

• The post holder will be expected to comply with the University’s equality policies and statements, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the University’s Welsh Language Scheme.

• The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for him/her self and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by his/her actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.

• The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their posts.

Person Specification

Qualifications/Training

Essential:

• Postgraduate (MSc or equivalent) degree in a relevant subject area such as public health, psychology, economics or social sciences.

Desirable:

• Postgraduate (PhD or equivalent) degree in a relevant subject area such as public health, psychology, economics or social sciences

Experience/Knowledge

Essential:

• Knowledge of research methods suitable for research in health, economics and/or social sciences.
• Demonstrable evidence of working as part of a multidisciplinary team and ability to work independently without close supervision.

Desirable:

• Evidence of research experience in a relevant field.
• Experience of undertaking qualitative research and/or research interviews.
• Experience of public engagement.
• Experience of developing documents such as research reports and research ethics documents.
• Evidence of ability to work effectively with external academic or industrial partners.

Skills/Abilities

Essential:

• Demonstrate excellent verbal and written skills.
• Demonstrate excellent computer skills, including MS Office, Powerpoint, Excel.
• Demonstrate the ability to prioritise workload and work to deadlines.
• Demonstrate ability to work as part of a team.

Desirable:

• Demonstrate proven project management skills.
• Any other skills / abilities relevant to the duties and responsibilities.

Other

Essential :

• This post is subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check.

Desirable:

• The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable for this role.
• Driving license or alternative ability to demonstrate you can fulfil the travel requirements of the role to successfully perform the duties.

General

The University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds.  We strive to develop a workforce from all sections of the community regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language through our progressive Welsh Language Policy. We comply with the Welsh Language Standards and are committed to equality of opportunity. You are welcome to apply for any job in English or Welsh and all applications submitted will be treated equally.

We are a member of Advance HE’s Athena SWAN Gender Equality charter and hold a Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to and progress towards gender equality within the University’s policies, practices, and culture. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

All members of staff have a duty to ensure their actions are in line with the overall environmental aims of the University and minimise their environmental impact.

All offers are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK and receipt of satisfactory references. 

All candidates must meet the requirements of UK ‘right to work’ requirements *** If you require Home Office permission to work in the UK, or need to switch your visa status in order to take this job  we recommend you use the following link to information about the routes into employment and to check eligibility requirements:  https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Please note that we are unable to employ anyone who does not have the right to live and work in the UK legally.   When applying for this post you will be required to explain the basis upon which you believe you will be able to live and work in the UK legally on the commencement date of the role should your application be successful.

Candidates should also note that they may be required to apply for an ATAS certificate (Academic Approval Technology Scheme)  from the Counter-Proliferation and Arms Control Centre of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office before being able to apply for a visa – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academic-technology-approval-scheme

Please note that, in the event of applications being received from candidates on the University’s Redeployment Register with a reasonable skills match to the post specification, these applicants will be given prior consideration.

Disclosure & Barring Service

This post is subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check.

As Bangor University meets the requirements in respect of exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, all applicants who are offered employment will be subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) before the appointment is confirmed. This will include details of cautions, reprimands or final warnings as well as convictions. DBS checks will be updated every 3 years.

Candidates should note that the University uses an external Umbrella body to process  DBS checks.   As such you should be aware that, if successful in your application, your name and e-mail contact details will be shared with the Umbrella body in order that they may contact you to start the application process.