Research Associate

This is an exciting opportunity to join the newly developed Bath Mental Health Research Group (MHRG) at the University of Bath. The MHRG is funded for an initial 5 years by the NIHR (National Institute for Health Research). The focus of our work is applied research aimed at improving health and wellbeing of children and young people aged 12-25 in the local region. 

The Bath Mental Health Research Group has four main work packages/themes: 

• Creating and testing simple and widely available support for common mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. This includes using digital treatments. 
• Improving understanding, awareness, and treatment for mental health difficulties in young people who have conditions such as autism and ADHD. 
• Understanding how many of young people in the region have issues with smoking, drinking, and drug use, and developing new ways to help reduce the harm this may cause their mental health. 
• Finding ways to help young people who have had difficult early experiences, to stop this leading to poor mental health when they get older. 

The successful applicants will work to specified projects but also draw on their unique skill set, with the opportunity to work across a range of work packages. The research of the MHRG involves quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches, including analysis of secondary data, designing and conducting new programmes of work, reporting and dissemination. Previous experience of research on the topic of children and young people’s mental health is desirable, but not essential as we primarily wish to recruit people with commitment and enthusiasm to the topic area, and relevant research skills. 

We have a clear commitment to skills training and career development for all research staff working in the MHRG. You will have the opportunity to work under the supervision of world-leading clinicians and academics. The Bath MHRG is partnering with the Universities of Bristol and Exeter (as part of the GW4 network) to deliver this project and there will be ample opportunities to work with researchers at our partner institutions. 

We have several full-time (1.0 FTE) posts available for an initial period of 3 years, with the possibility of extension for a further 2 years. We are also open to applications from people seeking part-time roles and/or flexible working patterns. The minimum time commitment would be 2 days/week (0.4 FTE). 

Due to the requirements of the post, regular in-person attendance at the University of Bath is required. Some team members will be expected to travel to undertake research activities in the local area of Bath and North-East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire. This post is therefore not suitable for someone looking for a remote position. 

About you 

We are looking to recruit candidates with a range of skills and experience (please note, we would not expect a single candidate to have expertise in all areas). We are looking to match project work with individual strengths and expertise. We are seeking to recruit people with a clear commitment to compliance with relevant ethical and regulatory frameworks, and to producing robust and reproducible research (open science). Candidates must enjoy working as part of a team, value inter-disciplinary research and engagement with diverse stakeholders. 

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