Research Assistant Hill, England
Job description
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Job id: 072765. Salary: £36,532 to £41,299 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.
Posted: 04 August 2023. Closing date: 14 September 2023.
Business unit: IoPPN. Department: Social, Genetic & Dev Psychiatry MRC.
Contact details: Professor Sylvane Desrivières. [email protected]
Location: Denmark Hill. Category: Research.
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Job description
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic Research Assistant to work on a new project on citizens and patients. The European Commission-funded project “environMENTAL: Reducing the impact of major environmental challenges on mental health” is a 5-year collaborative and multidisciplinary research programme with 22 partner institutions across Europe and the world, including academia and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The post-holder will work as a Research Assistant with Professor Sylvane Desrivières in the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
The post-holder will be part of a team that implements StreetMind, a recently developed digital health assessment, which incorporates questionnaires and a digital health app for cohort re-assessments of mental health and psychosocial factors.
Our team uses the StreetMind technology to better understand how environmental factors like urbanicity or climate change influence how individuals across Europe and the world feel, act and behave. Through StreetMind, an App based on citizen science principles (research for the people, with the people, or by the people), our study participants can also share their experiences in daily life with us and the community.
The post-holder will be involved in the recruitment and data collection via StreetMind. This will involve writing and submitting ethics applications, inviting participants from existing cohorts of young adults with and without mental health diagnoses to be re-assess through StreetMind. Baseline assessments involve taking consent and inviting participants engage with the App and complete their psychiatric assessments. The post-holder will be required to manage and support participants throughout the participants’ 12-month study period and liaise with an international team of researchers performing similar recruitment activities in other countries. The post-holder will also support other aspects of the day-to-day running of the study, including database management, writing newsletters and attending meetings.
The position provides excellent opportunities for an ambitious individual to develop unique skills and expertise in clinical neuroscience. This post is also a unique opportunity to work with a worldwide network of collaborators and develop innovative research using cutting-edge approaches.
Study website: https://www.environmental-project.org/
The post-holder will report to Professor Desrivières, but will also work with other research staff and students. They will have a degree in psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience or equivalent. Willingness to engage with patients and other service users in research and strong interpersonal skills are expected. Good time management, attention to detail, communication skills and organisation will be essential. The successful applicant will have good quantitative skills. Enthusiasm for science, and for psychology/mental health in particular, is essential.
Candidates should submit with their application a CV and cover letter with concise description of their research interests, experience, and career goals.
Our team strives to be a diverse research environment that is open and welcoming to all.
The post-holder may potentially apply, later, for a PhD studentship, supervised by Professor Desrivières, starting in 2024 or 2025.
This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 12 months
This is a full-time post (35 hours per week)
Key responsibilities
Drafting ethics applications
Engaging service users in research. The post-holder will be expected to recruit and assess participants.
Assisting clinical staff in providing information so that the service users may make an informed decision about their participation.
Assisting participants with the completion of questionnaires as necessary. Coordinate assessments, investigations, follow-up as necessary in accordance with the research protocol.
Attending research consortium meetings and liaise between international research teams.
Identifying and communicate areas of difficulties and help develop mechanisms of improvement in collaboration with the research team.
Working according to Good Clinical Practice, Research Governance and Trust guidelines at all times.
Work as a conscientious and committed member of the team in order to achieve the aims of the project.
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.
Skills, knowledge, and experience
Essential criteria
1. Minimum 2:1 degree in Psychology, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, or a related discipline.
2. Proven experience in recruiting research participants and administering psychological/cognitive assessments in a research setting.
3. Relevant research experience, e.g., conducting quantitative and qualitative research.
4. Enthusiasm for science, and for psychology/mental health in particular
5. Very strong oral and written communication skills and the ability to convey the details of the project to participants.
6. Excellent organizational skills and good time management
7. Good quantitative skills
8. Attention to detail and high standards of accuracy in all aspects of work.
9. Ability to take initiative
10. Excellent relationship skills and ability to work effectively with a wide range of colleagues.
Desirable criteria
1. Experience of working with people with mental illness.
2. Experience working with neuroimaging.
3. Experience of using databases (Excel, SPSS, etc.)
