King's College London

About Us

The School of Life Course & Population Sciences is one of six Schools that make up the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine at King’s College London. The School unites over 400 experts in women and children’s health, nutritional sciences, population health and the molecular genetics of human disease. Our research links the causes of common health problems to life’s landmark stages, treating life, disease and healthcare as a continuum. 

We are interdisciplinary by nature and this innovative approach works: 91 per cent of our research submitted to the Subjects Allied to Medicine (Pharmacy, Nutritional Sciences and Women's Health cluster) for REF was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. We use this expertise to teach the next generation of health professionals and research scientists. Based across King’s Denmark Hill, Guy’s, St Thomas’ and Waterloo campuses, our academic programme of teaching, research and clinical practice is embedded across five Departments.

About the Role

We are seeking to appoint a Research Associate to join the CHILDs group within the School of Life Course and Population Sciences. The successful candidate will serve as the qualitative researcher for a mixed-methods ARC South London study focused on multi-morbidity in children.

The ARC South London Children and Young People theme addresses critical issues, as many children in the region experience poor health and unequal care outcomes. There is a particular need to improve services for children with disabilities, complex needs, and other significant challenges. This role involves conducting qualitative research and engaging stakeholders, including children, to identify opportunities for prevention activities and improvements in health service delivery for children with multi-morbidity.

The post holder will be responsible for developing research protocols, setting up the study (including obtaining ethical approval), collecting data, and conducting public and patient involvement (PPI) activities. Key tasks include leading PPI activities, recruiting participants, conducting semi-structured interviews with children, parents, and healthcare professionals, analyzing qualitative data, facilitating co-production workshops, and disseminating findings.

Essential qualifications include expertise in qualitative research methods, experience working with children, and a completed PhD in a relevant discipline. The ideal candidate will thrive in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment but must also be capable of independent problem-solving and meeting tight deadlines.

This role offers an excellent opportunity to advance a research career through high-quality publications, contributions to research proposals, and access to developmental resources within the department and King’s College London (KCL). We provide a supportive environment for developing future grant and fellowship applications, particularly for those enthusiastic about child health research.

This is a 0.6 FTE fixed-term position, from February 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.

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, child health, psychology.  *
3. Experience with undertaking qualitative research including data collection and analyses
4. Experience writing/contributing to manuscripts for publication.
5. Knowledge of research governance procedures (including R&D and ethical approval processes).
6. Excellent written and oral communication skills.
7. Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team and independently.
8. Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias.

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of interviewing children and young people.
2. Publications in high impact journals.

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.

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