Research Fellow (Quantitative) INTERNAL ONLY

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

The post-holder will join the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, to work within the Health and Social Equity Collective (HSEC) led by Professor Stephani Hatch, Dr Charlotte Woodhead and Dr Ali Hossaini. The HSEC consists of researchers, community leaders, policy makers, and health professionals responding to persistent social and health inequities. The aim of the HSEC is to address inequity by building an inclusive knowledge base through research and empowering marginalised communities through engagement, advocacy and capacity-building. 

HSEC is launching a new initiative, funded by Impact on Urban Health (IUH), with a specific focus on population mental health e.g. multimorbidity and related social determinants). This involves bringing together new and existing partnerships across sectors focused on research, services and advocacy. The goal is to complete projects that have potential to improve research-practice links across communities, King’s Health Partners, Impact on Urban Health and their links to the South East London ICS planning. 

The post holder will work as part of the HSEC core team. They will liaise and collaborate with partners in health, social care, voluntary and community sectors along with supporting our non-academic partners by:

•        Helping to identify and examine partner-led research questions 

•        Sharing quantitative research resources and supporting skill development 

•        Feeding back on data collection processes etc.   

•        Optimising partner data (e.g., in terms of completeness, accuracy, standardisation)  

•        Supporting robust local research by making use of routine/administrative data, local health datasets and linkages (e.g., CRIS, Lambeth DataNet, IAPT).  

The post holder will develop and maintain strong relationships with community partners, and lead on community engagement activities. They will plan, organise and facilitate meetings, workshops and other events. 

They will provide regular updates to the HSEC and Impact on Urban Health (IUH) and will be the liaison between project leads and the HSEC, IUH and King’s.

The post holder will have experience conducting related quantitative research with key data sources (e.g., electronic health records, survey data), have a good working knowledge of multiple statistical software programmes (such as Stata, R and MPLUS) and a track record of academic publications using quantitative research methods to understand multimorbidity and health inequalities (particularly in relation to racially and ethnically minoritized people). Ideally, they would also have experience of working with non-academic bodies to inform/conduct analyse.

In addition to analysis and supporting non-academic partners, the post holder will also be expected to manage other members of the team, co-ordinate some aspects of the project and be involved in grant writing for the HSEC along with applying for additional funding to continue their research. 

This post will be offered on an a fixed-term contract until 18th May 2023 in the first instance with the possibility of extending further.

•        To develop strong relationships and collaborations with academic and non-academic colleagues 

•        Co-develop, co-produce and help coordinate research projects that address areas/issues prioritised with communities, with local policy makers (public health and local councils) which align with HSEC principles 

•        To manage, clean and conduct statistical analyses using multiple and where possible linked datasets, using a variety of statistical software packages to support partner-led projects  

•        To support capacity development across the HSEC and partners e.g. advising on partner data collection, training on analysis methods, refining research questions, raising awareness of available relevant data 

•        To lead on papers for publication, reports, lay summaries and social media content to share research findings 

•        Support those who work within the HSEC and manage members of the core team 

•        Plan, organise and facilitate meetings, workshops and other events. 

•        Provide regular updates to the HSEC and Impact on Urban Health (IUH), and act as the liaison between project leads and the HSEC, IUH and King’s

•        To be involved in grant writing for the HSEC 

The post-holder will also: 

•        Act in a manner that will promote a positive image of the HSE Collective and King’s 

•        Observe King’s Equal Opportunities Policy 

•        Be required to work irregular hours in accordance with the needs of the role. 

•        Keep information of a confidential nature strictly confidential and never disclose it either inside or outside work 

•        Promote an inclusive environment for staff and students 

•        Sensitivity is expected towards people with differing levels of technical skills, abilities and understanding  

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

1.      Proven commitment to on-going skills development 

2.      An interest in developing a research career in a health-related area