CONNECT Research Assistant

About us

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a School of King's College London and the largest academic community in Europe devoted to the study and prevention of mental illness and brain disease. The IoPPN  pioneers research into new and improved ways of understanding and treating mental ill health ( http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/). The research role is based in the Psychology Department, one of the world’s largest academic groupings of clinical and health psychologists. It is one of four departments in the School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences. ( https://www.kcl.ac.uk/psychology).

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity for someone to join the CONNECT study at King’s College London as a researcher assistant. The CONNECT study is a multi-site Wellcome Trust funded project that aims to identify relapse signatures in people with psychosis using active and passive digital monitoring and data collection.

The NHS has a clear digital agenda for addressing mental health challenges by harnessing the information gathered from technology and self-management in long-term conditions. Our long-term vision is to improve the quality of life of people with psychosis while also reducing the impact and financial burden on service providers. Continuous symptom monitoring coupled with models that accurately and reliably predict relapse will contribute to this vision.

The post-holder will have an interest in and/or experience of research with people with a diagnosis of psychosis or severe mental health difficulties. It would suit a bright, responsible individual who can take initiative as well as work well in a team as well as problem solve issues relatively independently. The role involves recruitment and assessment of participants from local services, working closely with our local Research Coordinator, the study Project Manager based in Manchester and the project team. The successful applicant will join the Department of Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered an a fixed term contract for 12 months.

About you

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

Essential criteria 

• Degree in a Psychology or related field at least at the 2.1 level
• Experience of working with people with severe mental health problems in the NHS
• Proven ability to use initiative to efficiently plan, and progress projects and communicate their findings
• Proven ability to work effectively as a team member and with colleagues at all levels, as well as working alone  
• Experience working as an assistant psychologist/researcher offering assessment to people with psychosis in the NHS
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and ability to work with colleagues at all levels
• An understanding of confidentiality and protocols for ethics and data protection
• Flexible approach to dealing with research problems as they arise

Desirable criteria

• Experience working as a research assistant in a study using digital technology in people with severe mental health conditions
• Experience with, and commitment to, patient and public engagement and non-academic dissemination of research study findings

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