King's College London

About Us

 King’s College London is a leading University with nine Faculties. As part of  King’s Health Partners, we have an excellent environment for health care interaction and a strong focus on mentoring and career development.

The 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) placed King’s applied and allied health research 1st for: overall proportion of research rated 4* (world-leading, the best mark possible), research papers rated 4*, impact rated 4*, environment rated 4*(joint), Grade Point Average and Power.  REF2021 rated as world-leading: 100% of our environment, 86% of our impact and 70% of our research overall. Over 95% of our research overall was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

For the last six years, King’s has been number 2 in the world and number 1 in Europe for Nursing (QS world rankings). King’s produces more highly cited research outputs (top 1% citations) on palliative care than any other centre internationally (SciVal), and is second in the world on the same metric for nursing and midwifery. King’s is the largest provider of health care education in Europe.

The  Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care (NMPC) is based in the heart of central and south London. It includes the  Cicely Saunders Institute for Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation, the premier Institute for Palliative Care, bringing together clinical, research and education teams.

Our applied clinical and health multidisciplinary research transforms therapies, the healthcare experience and outcomes for patients and those important to them, wherever they are cared for. Our award-winning NMPC education programmes span pre-registration nursing and midwifery, and multidisciplinary post-graduate taught and research programmes.

We are committed to staff development, and offer opportunities to identify and access appropriate training and professional growth.

About the role

This is an exciting new post for a Research Associate (RA) to work on a study funded by the NIHR Programme Development Grants. The study’s focus is to enable delivery of high-quality child-centred care through assessment of complexity and outcomes by health, social care and education providers care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions.

The post holder will be responsible for setting up the study (i.e. obtaining ethical approval) and conducting data review, collection, and evaluation. They will conduct the following tasks:  lead a realist review; recruit for and conduct semi-structured qualitative interviews with children with life-limiting conditions and their parents and health, social care and education professionals; undertake qualitative data analysis; facilitate consensus workshops; support the development of the NIHR Programme Grant application.

Expertise, knowledge, and experience of the health and social care sector, or palliative care services more broadly, are necessary, and qualitative research experience is essential. Enthusiasm in developing a career in palliative  care  or child health research will be beneficial and we are a supportive team that can assist with developing future grants and taking ideas forward.

This is a full-time post and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31/3/26 but we will consider part-time applicants.

About You

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

Essential criteria

1. First Degree in relevant health related discipline 
2. PhD qualified in relevant subject area i.e. including but not restricted to health services research, palliative care, child health psychology *
3. Qualitative research experience, including skills to undertake evidence synthesis, qualitative interviews and data analysis.
4. Ability to use initiative and work independently, with support from the wider team, and willingness to travel, if necessary, for interviews, conferences, and so on.
5. Experience of contributing to formal processes of study development, such as writing the protocol, developing interview materials, applying for ethical approval (or amendments) and writing up reports and academic papers.
6. Excellent presentation and written and verbal communication skills
7. Being self-motivated and willing to work independently, as well as part of a larger interdisciplinary team
8. Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias

 * 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. 

Desirable criteria

1. Previous experience of working with parents and young people with life-limiting conditions
2. Engaging in multidisciplinary research projects 
3. Strong publication record
4. Previous experience of realistic review 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.

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.

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 clearance.