Research Assistant/Associate - Public Health Evaluation

Salary:

Research Assistant: £31,396 to £32,982 per annum

Research Associate: £33,966 to £44,263 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date:11 April 2024

   
The Role

The School of Pharmacy has established a programme of outreach activities, where undergraduate students are providing Public health services to members of the public in various settings. This initiative has grown in scale and there is much interest from stakeholder across health care settings and from local authorities. Organisations from around the country are developing similar initiatives. There is a need to investigate the impact of the activities being undertaken by undergraduate students.

This is important for the partners with whom the School of Pharmacy is collaborating with and wider stakeholders, such as other providers and commissioners of such services.

Applications are invited for a Research Assistant/Associate to work on a mixed-methods evaluation of this programme of outreach activities.

The project is being funded by the Newcastle Health Innovation Partners.

You will be employed by the School of Pharmacy at the Newcastle University with affiliation to Population Health Sciences Institute.

You will be responsible for delivery of the evaluation project.

You will undertake the data collection and be responsible for the day to day running of the project.

The position is available on a full time, fixed term basis, to start immediately and is tenable for 13 months from start date.

For more information about the role please reach out to Dr Hamde Nazar (hamde.nazar@newcastle.ac.uk).

You will report to Dr Hamde Nazar and will be provided with support, guidance and (if needed) methodological training by members of the project team.

The other team members include Dr Matthew Copper and Dr Charlotte Richardson. 

Key Accountabilities
•    Manage project and administrative activities. This involves small scale project management, to co-ordinate multiple aspects of project to meet deadlines
•    Execute a mixed methods evaluation in conjunction with and support from the project team, which includes: developing data collection tools, undertaking data collection, data analysis and reporting of findings
•    Update relevant knowledge and undertake any further training that may be required to undertake the project
•    Organise and lead stakeholder meetings which will consider findings from the evaluation
•    Present findings from the project at internal and external meetings and/or conferences
•    Draft scientific papers from the project and participate in other dissemination activities
•    Other reasonable duties as required

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 
•    Ability to manage academic research and associated activities
•    Previous experience of contributing to publications/presentations
•    Experience of co-ordinating and delivering stakeholder activities
•    Track record of presenting at conferences and writing papers (appropriate for career stage)
•    Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to write for publication, present research proposals and results, and represent the research group at meetings
•    Proven organisational skills 
•    Strong administrative skills
•    Possess sufficient Information Technology (computer) skills to meet the needs of the project
•    Willingness to learn new research skills
•    Willingness to work flexibly in order to meet project’s demands
Desirable
•    Possess sufficient specialist knowledge or research experience in the topic and/or mixed methodology
•    Experience of independently managing a discrete area of a research project
•    Experience of actively collaborating in the development of research articles for publication

Attributes and Behaviour 
•    Ability to prioritise competing tasks
•    Ability to work independently, taking initiative and being pro-active, as well as working as a supportive team member
•    Ability to communicate with a diverse range of audiences, including members of the public, healthcare professionals and wider stakeholders 
•    Ability to carry out research project work within agreed timelines, meeting project milestones and producing research to an appropriate standard
•    Ability and willingness to travel locally and within UK, if required 

Qualifications 

•    Hold a relevant Master’s degree, together with relevant experience (especially in secondary research)
•    MSc/MA/MPH for Assistant - or for appointment at Associate level, a PhD - in health sciences, Public health, psychology, social sciences or a related field

Desirable

•    Hold (or be near to completing) a relevant PhD

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26774