Research Associate in the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (PATHWAYS Study)

About us

King's College London offers an intellectually stimulating environment in which to work, where staff are dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and learning, in the service of society. We are a multi-faculty institution, providing high-quality teaching, research and innovation across the sciences, humanities, medicine, law, dentistry, and social sciences. As a member of the Russell Group, an association of leading UK research-intensive universities, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards in research and education. King's is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe, and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres spread across its three teaching hospitals.

King's is one of the top 20 universities in the world (2014/15 QS World University Rankings). We are the fourth oldest university in England and based in the heart of London, King's has more than 26,000 students from nearly 140 countries, and more than 7,000 employees.

The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is the only such Department in the UK, with 7 professors, 1 Reader and 6 Senior Lecturers comprising its substantive academic staff.  The Pepartment will shortly move into the Pears Maudsley Centre, a £90M purpose-built clinical research facility co-locating the academic department and clinical colleagues from South London and Maudsley NGS Foundation Trust, with the purpose of enhancing translational research designed to improve the mental health of children and young people.  Its new Clinical Research Facility with cutting-edge equipment offers research opportunities that are unparalleled in the UK and Europe. The PATHWAYS study will be based in the Pears Maudsley Centre.

About the role

We are looking for a highly experienced and enthusiastic post-doctoral researcher to play a leading role in PATHWAYS, a six-year research programme involving children and young people with complex mental and/or physical health needs. The post-holder will be a lead researcher in a large-scale multi-site research programme and will play a key role in implementing and undertaking the research across multiple sites in the UK. This is a six-year programme where the post-holder will be appointed at the beginning of the research and will have significant opportunity to shape its implementation and success.

The role includes the following functions:

• Oversight of all study processes, including timelines, measurement, data collection and data validation, ensuring timely and accurate data.
• Liaise with PIs at all sites to problem-solve around any issues that arise at clinical sites.
• Supervise research assistants in all aspects of their roles, including contacting participants and data collection/validation.
• Assist in providing regular reports on study progress to the investigators and the oversight committees.
• Support study advisory groups with relevant training and materials.
• Contribute to writing up study findings for publication.

This is a full-time post (and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31 January 2031.

About you

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

Essential criteria

• PhD qualified in an area related to the cross-over between physical & mental health (or pending results)
• Experience in quantitative methods research including analytical techniques & qualitative methods
• Experience of maintaining a research database
• Research experience with children or young people with mental health or physical health concerns
• Experience in writing and publishing research papers in high-quality journals
• Excellent interpersonal skills to develop & maintain effective working relationships
• Strong planning and organisational skills, including ability to work to & meet firm deadlines

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