Job summary
We are seeking a research assistant to work on the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded 'Personalised Programmes for Children Study (PPC)' based at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with King's College London.
The successful applicants will be part of a large interdisciplinary team including Dr Rob Senior, Dr Eilis Kennedy (the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust), Professor Stephen Scott (Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience) and Professor Jonathan Hill (University of Reading).
The post holders will be jointly responsible for participant recruitment and data collection for this project in close collaboration with the Trial Coordinator, Jackie Briskman, Clinical Trials Unit at KCL (CTU) and the Research Team.
Main duties of the job
The PPC study
Children with conduct problems are a poorly served group who do particularly badly in terms of current functioning and longer term outlook for mental health and well-being. Our systematic review of personalised treatments confirmed that there is currently no existing personalised programme for children with conduct disorders that could be used to work with this group of children. The first phase of our longitudinal study confirmed the need for a personalised programme for children with conduct problems.
This role will support the completion of the second phase of this NIHR-funded study to test the effectiveness of a newly developed personalised home-based treatment programme for children with conduct disorder in a randomised controlled trial. The successful applicants will be responsible for recruiting families to the study; supporting families in completing baseline and follow up questionnaires; completing interviews and assessments with parents and children; entering data into study databases, liaising with the CTU to randomise participants and contributing to the analysis and dissemination of the findings.
The post holder will based in the Tavistock Centre.
About us
THE TRUST:
The Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist and community based Mental Health Trust with a national remit for Training and Education of the Mental Health workforce. The Trust is committed to improving mental health and emotional wellbeing, believing that high quality mental health services should be available for all who need them.
The Trust makes its contribution through:
- Providing relevant and effective clinical services for children and families, young people and adults, ensuring that those who need our services can access them easily;
- Providing training and education aimed at building an effective and sustainable NHS and Social Care workforce and at improving public understanding of mental health;
- Undertaking research and consultancy aimed at improving knowledge and practice and supporting innovation;
- Working actively with stakeholders to advance the quality of mental health care.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Duties and responsibilities of the role include:
The research assistant will be familiar with participant recruitment and the collection, management and analysis of data. They may also be involved where possible in writing up the results for reports and publications.
The post holder will liaise with healthcare professionals to acquire referrals, obtain informed consent from staff and service user participants, conduct research interviews, access information about service users from records, update study documentation, enter participant data onto databases and undertake quantitative and qualitative analyses under supervision. They may also be called upon to undertake other activities aimed at making sure the study runs smoothly.
The key responsibilities of the post will be shared between the researchers employed on the project. These are:
- To work closely with the study coordinator on any matter related to the smooth running of the project;
- To prepare all assessment materials and ensure their availability throughout the study;
- To support the recruitment of families to the study, including screening for eligibility
- To be willing to travel as this is a sample recruited across a number of sites in London and the Home Counties;
- To carry out research assessments with those recruited into the study
- To collect data from both child and adult participants as per study protocols;
- To manage data for statistical analysis including data entry and data cleaning;
- To ensure the secure and proper maintenance of relevant case files, research materials and data;
- To assist in the preparation of interim and final reports for the research team and NIHR and research papers for publication;
- To assist the research team to ensure that all deadlines are met and that the study progresses according to the agreed timetable;
- To be involved in the discussion of any queries associated with the project with the participants and professionals involved, in consultation with the project team;
- To carry out administrative duties required for co-ordination of the study
- To attend such meetings as necessary for satisfactory completion of the duties of the post;
- To conduct all other duties as agreed by the lead investigator and research team.
These key responsibilities are not intended to be exhaustive but simply highlight a number of tasks which the post holder may be reasonably expected to undertake. The post holder may also be called upon to assist with other projects with Research and Development.
Applications for this position are invited from candidates who ideally will have experience of working within team research projects in psychology or mental health as well as excellent communication skills. Candidates should be familiar with research and academic environments, and have exceptional organisational and interpersonal skills.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Duties and responsibilities of the role include:
The research assistant will be familiar with participant recruitment and the collection, management and analysis of data. They may also be involved where possible in writing up the results for reports and publications.
The post holder will liaise with healthcare professionals to acquire referrals, obtain informed consent from staff and service user participants, conduct research interviews, access information about service users from records, update study documentation, enter participant data onto databases and undertake quantitative and qualitative analyses under supervision. They may also be called upon to undertake other activities aimed at making sure the study runs smoothly.
The key responsibilities of the post will be shared between the researchers employed on the project. These are:
- To work closely with the study coordinator on any matter related to the smooth running of the project;
- To prepare all assessment materials and ensure their availability throughout the study;
- To support the recruitment of families to the study, including screening for eligibility
- To be willing to travel as this is a sample recruited across a number of sites in London and the Home Counties;
- To carry out research assessments with those recruited into the study
- To collect data from both child and adult participants as per study protocols;
- To manage data for statistical analysis including data entry and data cleaning;
- To ensure the secure and proper maintenance of relevant case files, research materials and data;
- To assist in the preparation of interim and final reports for the research team and NIHR and research papers for publication;
- To assist the research team to ensure that all deadlines are met and that the study progresses according to the agreed timetable;
- To be involved in the discussion of any queries associated with the project with the participants and professionals involved, in consultation with the project team;
- To carry out administrative duties required for co-ordination of the study
- To attend such meetings as necessary for satisfactory completion of the duties of the post;
- To conduct all other duties as agreed by the lead investigator and research team.
These key responsibilities are not intended to be exhaustive but simply highlight a number of tasks which the post holder may be reasonably expected to undertake. The post holder may also be called upon to assist with other projects with Research and Development.
Applications for this position are invited from candidates who ideally will have experience of working within team research projects in psychology or mental health as well as excellent communication skills. Candidates should be familiar with research and academic environments, and have exceptional organisational and interpersonal skills.
Person Specification
Qualification/Training/Education
Essential
- Psychology graduate or equivalent degree, with eligibility for GBR (refer to BPS website)
- Computer literacy (Word, SPSS, Powerpoint, Excel or equivalents)
Desirable
- MSc in psychology, child and adolescent development, or similar
Previous Experience
Essential
- Research experience (beyond undergraduate project)
- Experience of setting up and managing databases
- Experience in quantitative research methodology
- Experience of working in teams
- Experience of working with children and families
- Experience of conducting assessments
Desirable
- Previous experience of RCTs or clinical trials
- Previous experience of mental health services
- Previous experience of research in a health care setting
- Previous experience of outcome monitoring
Skills & Knowledge
Essential
- Reasonable understanding of basic principles of data analysis
- Reasonable understanding of the fundamentals of psychometric assessment
- Systematic methodical approach to work
- Excellent communication skills with other professionals
- Excellent presentation skills
- Ability to work effectively in a team
- Capacity to engage with professionals in an appropriate way in the collection of data
Desirable
- A good understanding of the role of outcome monitoring in specialised assessment and mental health services
Personal Attributes
Essential
- High level of ability to engage and communicate sensitively with participants
- Ability to understand and respect the sensitivity and complexity of the subject area
- Ability to liaise with clinicians and other professionals involved in either clinical or research activities
- Sensitivity to emotional distress.
- Excellent communication skills
Other Requirements
Essential
Person Specification
Qualification/Training/Education
Essential
- Psychology graduate or equivalent degree, with eligibility for GBR (refer to BPS website)
- Computer literacy (Word, SPSS, Powerpoint, Excel or equivalents)
Desirable
- MSc in psychology, child and adolescent development, or similar
Previous Experience
Essential
- Research experience (beyond undergraduate project)
- Experience of setting up and managing databases
- Experience in quantitative research methodology
- Experience of working in teams
- Experience of working with children and families
- Experience of conducting assessments
Desirable
- Previous experience of RCTs or clinical trials
- Previous experience of mental health services
- Previous experience of research in a health care setting
- Previous experience of outcome monitoring
Skills & Knowledge
Essential
- Reasonable understanding of basic principles of data analysis
- Reasonable understanding of the fundamentals of psychometric assessment
- Systematic methodical approach to work
- Excellent communication skills with other professionals
- Excellent presentation skills
- Ability to work effectively in a team
- Capacity to engage with professionals in an appropriate way in the collection of data
Desirable
- A good understanding of the role of outcome monitoring in specialised assessment and mental health services
Personal Attributes
Essential
- High level of ability to engage and communicate sensitively with participants
- Ability to understand and respect the sensitivity and complexity of the subject area
- Ability to liaise with clinicians and other professionals involved in either clinical or research activities
- Sensitivity to emotional distress.
- Excellent communication skills
Other Requirements
Essential
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
