King's College London

About us

Working as part of a world-class academic team based in the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), the successful candidate will play a central role in the delivery of a high-profile research project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). 

About the role

Applications are invited from highly motivated and enthusiastic candidates for a position of Post-Doctoral Research Associate to work on an NIHR-funded project evaluating Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews (C(E)TRs) for people with a learning disability and autistic people. C(E)TRs were introduced in 2015 as a key intervention in ensuring that people with a learning disability or who are autistic receive the right support in the community and do not spend too long in hospital, if they are admitted. The impact of C(E)TRs on clinical and other outcomes has not been extensively studied.

The research programme takes a mixed methods approach and will include, i) a study using electronic health record (EHR) data to identify C(E)TRs that have been undertaken within the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust and investigate the context and associations with the C(E)TR, ii) a 12-month national prospective study to investigate the current use and impact of C(E)TRs amongst children and adults with a learning disability or who are autistic, and iii) qualitative work to understand multi-stakeholder perspectives of the C(E)TR process and how this may be improved.

A major part of this role is the use of large-scale EHR data acquired using the Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) tool developed by the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). Thus, the applicant must be confident in using EHRs extracted from large clinical datasets, experience in methods of data extraction and statistical analysis, and have an enthusiasm to apply such techniques to answer real-world clinical questions.

The post-holder will contribute to other elements of the research project as outlined above, including drafting study materials and documents for ethical approval/sponsorship, liaison with research sites, and recruitment of participants, including people with a learning disability or who are autistic and their carers. The post-holder will be supported in these tasks by the wider research team, Clinical Studies Officers, and joined by a second Research Associate in year 2 of the project.

We will support academic career development, for example, in exploring collaborations with others, and research and wider professional skills development through local Early Career Researcher Networks and the College’s wider training programme.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered  a fixed term contract until February 2028. The role will be based at the main IoPPN building in the Denmark Hill campus of KCL.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1.      PhD in relevant area with substantial statistics, epidemiology, or data science component (awarded or thesis submitted and awaiting award).  

2.      Experience in extracting and analysing data from large electronic healthcare datasets

3.      Competence in standard medical statistics

4.      Familiarity with statistical software packages such as STATA, R, or Python

5.      Experience of mental health research and awareness of practical and ethical issues involved in mental health research studies

6.      Excellent written and verbal communication skills

7.      Ability to work effectively and collaboratively within research team

8.      Motivated and self-disciplined and with excellent time-management and organizational skills

Desirable criteria

1.      Experience working with children or adults with a learning disability or who are autistic

2.      Experience of applied clinical research with people with a learning disability or who are autistic or in community mental healthcare settings, including receiving consent and undertaking assessments

3.      Experience of co-ordinating large, multi-stranded research projects including Patient and Public Involvement activities

4.      Scientific publications (journal publications or conference abstracts)

5.      Willingness to adapt and learn new research methods

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Further information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held on Friday 2nd August 2024.

We are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and Occupational Health clearances.