Research Associate in Paediatric Pain

Job summary

Are you passionate about research, and using research to improve the treatment available to children and young people with chronic pain cared for at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children?

We have an exciting opportunity for a skilled and experienced post-doctoral researcher to contribute to the development and evaluation of a new programme for delivery of care within the context of a well-established leading national paediatric pain centre.

The PPRP (Paediatric Pain Rehabilitation Programme) is a patient- and family-focussed, 3-week intensive interdisciplinary programme that aims to improve the health, well-being and quality of life of children and young people with chronic pain and significant pain-related disability. The PPRP encompasses patient, parent/family, and group interventions delivered by an interdisciplinary team (pain physician, advanced nurse practitioner, psychologist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist). Collection of patient and family data at assessment and regular long-term follow-up is aimed to assess the impact of PPRP on functional, educational and health economic outcomes.

The Pain Management Service at Great Ormond Street Hospital provides an integrated service for acute, post-operative, and persistent pain in both inpatient and outpatient settings for infants, children, and adolescents. The PPRP will provide an expansion of currently available interventions offered by the Pain Management Service at GOSH.

Main duties of the job

You will be responsible for helping to set-up and be involved in ongoing conduct of the PIIPeR (Paediatric Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Rehabilitation) study, alongside a longitudinal cohort study enrolling additional patients attending GOSH chronic pain clinic.

This will require contributions to NHS Research Ethics, local Research and Development, and HRA approvals. Liaison will be required with the interdisciplinary clinical team at GOSH, researchers within the UCL GOS Institute of Child Health Paediatric Pain Research Group, and the UCL Priment Clinical Trials Unit. You will make leading contributions to data collection, analysis and publications.

You will prepare reports for supervisors, Steering and Executive committees. Dissemination - local, national and international - is essential; you will be involved in sharing learning through the life of this study with professional and lay audiences and continuing education will be supported.

You will be expected to have a strong research background in psychology, health sciences, or a related discipline relevant to pain research with demonstrable outputs. Prior experience in clinical pain research (in adults or children), or clinical paediatric research in other disciplines at doctoral and/or early post-doctoral stages is highly desirable. Salary banding will be commensurate with experience.

Interview dates: Week commencing 30th October

About us

GOSH is committed to recruiting the best person for the job, based solely on their ability and individual merit as measured against the criteria for the role; through a process that is fair, open, consistent and free from bias and discrimination.

We are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer and foster a culture where all staff are valued, respected and acknowledged. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, disability status or length of time spent unemployed.We particularly welcome applications from BAME communities, people with disabilities and/or long-term health conditions and LGBT+ community members.

We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all applicants and employees are treated fairly and consistently. We are proud to be accredited as a Disability Confident Employer, a member of Business Disability Forum and a Stonewall Diversity Champion.

We have active and Executive supported BAME, LGBT+ and Allies, Disability and Long-Term Health Conditions and Women's staff networks.

Staff networks are employee-led groups formed around interests, issues and a common bond or background. Staff network members create a positive and inclusive work environment at Great Ormond Street Hospital by actively contributing to the Trust's mission, values and efforts specific to inclusion. All of our staff networks are open to any employee