Social Sciences
Health Services Management Centre Grade & Salary Grade 7 Full time starting salary is normally in the range £30,395 to £39,609. With potential progression once in post to £42,036 a year.
Duration of Post FTC up to 24 months
Full time/Part time Full Time
Summary of Role
This is an exciting opportunity to join a nationally funded team of researchers who will be evaluating a high profile government programme which aims to improve access, early intervention and outcomes for children and young people with mental health problems. The programme is jointly led by the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Education and NHS England, and the evaluation will involve research in both NHS and educational settings.
The evaluation is being led by the BRACE Rapid Evaluation Centre (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/brace), which is funded for five years by the National Institute for Health Research. It will be carried out in collaboration with the Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit, based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The post-holder will be based at the Health Services Management Centre on the University of Birmingham’s Edgbaston campus.
The post-holder will work under the supervision of Dr Jo Ellins, the project principal investigator and deputy director of the BRACE Centre, to support the coordination of the project and evaluation team. They will also lead qualitative research in two case study sites, undertake literature and evidence reviews, design and administer surveys, and contribute to the analysis, write-up and dissemination of the findings.
You will have a PhD or equivalent in a relevant research area, and experience of conducting qualitative research in healthcare and/or educational settings. You will also have experience of
working in collaboration with a range of research participants and partners, and strong oral and written communication skills. The post will involve some travel to different locations in England.
Informal enquiries: Dr Jo Ellins, Senior Fellow, Health Services Management Centre [email protected]. Main Duties / Responsibilities Negotiating access to case study sites, including building and maintaining productive relationships with local participants across the NHS and education sector Assisting with the preparation of applications for relevant research ethics approvals Helping to design research tools for use in the study Carrying out research activities including undertaking qualitative research with a range of groups including children and young people, and designing and administering questionnaire surveys Coding and analysing data qualitative data using NVivo (or a similar data analysis package); descriptive analysis of survey data Conducting thematic searches of relevant literature and evidence, and analysis of national programme and local site documentation Assisting with the drafting and finalisation of project outputs Assisting with the dissemination of research findings to local and national audiences, including at conferences and seminars Co-authoring papers in high quality peer reviewed journals Writing other outputs such as blogs, website copy, slide sets, and briefing papers Supporting the principal investigator to coordinate and manage the research activities and team, including participating in regular team meetings for the project and BRACE centre as appropriate Dealing effectively with problems that may affect achievement of the project objectives and deadlines Keeping data secure where appropriate, and complying with relevant University policies and obligations, including GDPR Contributing to the intellectual, social and organisational life of the Health Services Management Centre by active participation in regular faculty meetings and staff development activities.
Person Specification
Essential
A PhD relevant to the research area or equivalent qualifications Experience of setting up, conducting and managing case study research Experience of undertaking qualitative research in healthcare and/or educational settings involving diverse participants Experience of analysing qualitative data using a computer qualitative software package
Ability to communicate complex information clearly to a range of audiences and in different media, both orally and in writing Good interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively with managers, professionals and other staff within health and educational settings, and with service users and family members Ability to work effectively in a team Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management and administration processes Positive, flexible and enthusiastic approach, and ability to act on own initiative Strong organisational skills An awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses, an ability to work reflexively and a willingness to seek out personal development opportunities within the role
Desirable
Experience of research within the field of mental health Experience of conducting research with service users and/or children and young people Experience of designing, administering and analysing questionnaire surveys and/or straightforward descriptive analysis of administrative datasets Experience of working in a collaborative research environment