Research Fellow

UCL's Research Department of CEHP undertake world-leading research and teaching in mind, behaviour, and language. It brings together researchers in a range of disciplines such as developmental psychology, clinical psychology, psychoanalysis, neuroscience, health, education, communication, medicine, behaviour and development. The Department is a vibrant environment for both study and research. UCL is the top-ranked university in the UK for research in Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience.

The successful candidate will join PI Rachel Hiller’s team (Child Trauma & Recovery research group) to work on a large NIHR-funded research project, using a randomised controlled trial (RCT) design to test a comprehensive mental health assessment package for children and teens in the care system.

About the role

The researcher will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the children’s social care based RCT, which will compare a comprehensive mental health assessment to usual-care, with an embedded process evaluation. They will be supported on this project by the PI, a multidisciplinary co-investigator team, and a research assistant and trial manager. They will work closely with a second postdoctoral researcher, who will be based at Newcastle University.

Roles will include: working closely with children’s services/local authorities across England, as well as mental health teams; liaising with senior and frontline professionals to support recruitment and data collection; recruitment and consenting of young people and caregivers; and more. (Please refer to the Job Description.)

• The starting salary range for this post is Grade 7, SP 31 - 34 (£44,480 - £48,007, inclusive of London Allowance).
• The role is expected to start on 1 June 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.
• An Enhanced DBS check is required to carry out this role.
• This role is an open-ended contract with a funding end-date of 30 November 2028.
• Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £38,607 - £41,255 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD thesis.

This role does not meet the eligibility requirements for a Skilled Worker Visa certificate of sponsorship under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL will not be able to sponsor individuals who require right to work in the UK to carry out this role.

About you

The candidate must be experienced at running research projects within busy environments (such as social care, NHS, education settings). They must be exceptionally organised and able to balance and prioritise a busy workload of competing demands. They must also have the interpersonal skills, understanding and resilience to work with multi-disciplinary professionals and caregivers, as well with children who will be struggling with their mental health, many of whom will have complex trauma histories.

Further details

The advert will close on 8th May at 23:59 GMT. The interview date(s) are scheduled for the week commencing 12th May.

A JD and Person Spec can be found at the bottom of the UCL advert page, once you click 'apply'.

What we offer & our commitment to EDI

For our benefits, please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more. You can read about our commitment to EDI in the UCL advert page, once you click 'apply', and here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/

Customer advert reference: B02-08680

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