Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Research Assistant, Neuroscience

The closing date is 26 May 2025

Job summary

The post holder will have a vital role in the delivery Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre M-RIC as part of research team, the post-holder will join a newly formed multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals and researchers committed to launching and developing the neuromodulation research for mood disorders as part of M-RIC research programme.

The post holder be responsible for delivering TMS, EEG research protocols, evidence-based standardised outcome measures. Maintaining good working relationships with service users, carers, clinic staff and other stakeholders will be key to the success of the role.

The successful candidate should have neuroscience background, well organised, capable of independent work, with strong interpersonal skills and a good awareness of the spectrum of mental illness.

Main duties of the job

Key responsibilities will include:

The post-holder will join a newly formed multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals and researchers committed to launching and developing the neuromodulation research for mood disorders as part of M-RIC research programme.

The post holder will recruit research participants and collect data for research studies and trials in the clinic, including TMS and EEG, evidence-based standardised outcome measures e.g., PHQ-9, GAD-7 and a range of other measures.

The post holder will deliver TMS and EEG research protocols and perform analysis of EEG data.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Details

Date posted

09 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year Per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

29 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

350-TWS7168705

Job locations

Hollins Park Hospital

Hollins Park Hollins Lane,

Winwick, Liverpool

WA2 8WA


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further details of this role or contact the recruiting manager for more information.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further details of this role or contact the recruiting manager for more information.

Person Specification

Skills

Essential

  • Ability to interview and perform assessments with service users in a safe, sympathetic and courteous manner.
  • Able to respond sensitively to emotional distress.
  • Be aware of stigma & discrimination of persons with mental health difficulties.
  • Demonstrable knowledge of confidentiality issues.
  • Demonstrable knowledge of patient and staff safety issues.
  • Ability to converse with internal & external services & able to accept & convey telephone messages in a precise & courteous manner.
  • Clear & unambiguous written communication skills.
  • Organisational & prioritisation skills.
  • Excellent data entry skills.
  • Ability to use Microsoft Word to produce reports.
  • Ability to file effectively.
  • Sufficiently adaptable to learn and use new technology.
  • Ability to travel across Trusts sites.
  • Willingness to adapt working hours to match the needs of the project.
  • Requirement to travel to various sites/ locations across the NW region, therefore you must have the means to travel to these sites in a timely manner.

Qualifications

Essential

  • A degree (2:1 or above) in Neuroscience/ Clinical Neuroscience or related discipline.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Experience with Neuromodulation e.g. TMS or Neuroimaging techniques e.g. EEG or fMRI.
  • Good awareness of a range of different mental illnesses.
  • Familiarity with undertaking structured and semi- structured interviewing.
  • Understanding of research governance and ethics.

Desirable

  • Familiarity with a range of research methods.
  • Experience of engaging different demographic groups in research.
  • Experience of working with people with mental health difficulties

Values

Essential

  • Continuous Improvement
  • Accountability
  • Respectfulness
  • Enthusiasm
  • Support
  • High professional standards
  • Responsive to service users
  • Engaging leadership style
  • Strong customer service belief
  • Transparency and honesty
  • Discreet
  • Change oriented
Person Specification

Skills

Essential

  • Ability to interview and perform assessments with service users in a safe, sympathetic and courteous manner.
  • Able to respond sensitively to emotional distress.
  • Be aware of stigma & discrimination of persons with mental health difficulties.
  • Demonstrable knowledge of confidentiality issues.
  • Demonstrable knowledge of patient and staff safety issues.
  • Ability to converse with internal & external services & able to accept & convey telephone messages in a precise & courteous manner.
  • Clear & unambiguous written communication skills.
  • Organisational & prioritisation skills.
  • Excellent data entry skills.
  • Ability to use Microsoft Word to produce reports.
  • Ability to file effectively.
  • Sufficiently adaptable to learn and use new technology.
  • Ability to travel across Trusts sites.
  • Willingness to adapt working hours to match the needs of the project.
  • Requirement to travel to various sites/ locations across the NW region, therefore you must have the means to travel to these sites in a timely manner.

Qualifications

Essential

  • A degree (2:1 or above) in Neuroscience/ Clinical Neuroscience or related discipline.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Experience with Neuromodulation e.g. TMS or Neuroimaging techniques e.g. EEG or fMRI.
  • Good awareness of a range of different mental illnesses.
  • Familiarity with undertaking structured and semi- structured interviewing.
  • Understanding of research governance and ethics.

Desirable

  • Familiarity with a range of research methods.
  • Experience of engaging different demographic groups in research.
  • Experience of working with people with mental health difficulties

Values

Essential

  • Continuous Improvement
  • Accountability
  • Respectfulness
  • Enthusiasm
  • Support
  • High professional standards
  • Responsive to service users
  • Engaging leadership style
  • Strong customer service belief
  • Transparency and honesty
  • Discreet
  • Change oriented

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Hollins Park Hospital

Hollins Park Hollins Lane,

Winwick, Liverpool

WA2 8WA


Employer's website

https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Hollins Park Hospital

Hollins Park Hollins Lane,

Winwick, Liverpool

WA2 8WA


Employer's website

https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Senior Research Lead

Dr Jade Thai

jade.thai@merseycare.nhs.uk

01925664000

Details

Date posted

09 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year Per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

29 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

350-TWS7168705

Job locations

Hollins Park Hospital

Hollins Park Hollins Lane,

Winwick, Liverpool

WA2 8WA


Supporting documents

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