Research Lead - Centre for Behaviour Change

ABOUT THE CBC AND THE ROLE

The Centre for Behaviour Change (CBC) at UCL is a world leading and interdisciplinary research centre specialising in behaviour change (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-change/).

The Research Lead is a key senior role in the CBC management team.

The Research Lead will work under the supervision of the CBC Co-Director (Dr Fabiana Lorencatto), in close collaboration with the CBC Director (Professor Susan Michie), and alongside the CBC Administrative Manager, and Senior Lecturers for teaching, training, and consultancy. Including the Research Lead the Centre has 11 permanent staff (8.6 FTE), 14 researchers and 7 PhD students; there are currently 21 active research grants.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The main purpose of the job is to help build and manage the CBC’s research portfolio.

This will include applying for research funding to establish multidisciplinary collaborations across UCL and external organisations from different sectors, nationally and internationally (e.g. other universities, government departments, industry, NGOs). The CBC currently has research projects investigating a range of behaviour change issues related to health (e.g. antimicrobial resistance, maternal health), environmental sustainability (e.g. reducing plastic waste, active travel), and culture (e.g. improving research culture in universities) and methodology.

The role will provide an excellent opportunity to work on high profile, large-scale studies, with researchers, practitioners and policy-makers from a diverse range of backgrounds.

There will be opportunities to build on the CBC’s existing research portfolio and collaborations, as well as for the post holder to also develop their own programme of research.

The post holder will help manage a team of research staff and students, helping to provide overall co-ordination of their work, support, mentoring and training.

The post holder will also be responsible for overseeing research capacity building activities within the CBC (i.e. research seminars/lab meetings, writing groups, away days) and research dissemination to a wide range of academic and non-academic audiences. This will include supporting the write up of findings for publication in high-impact journals and maintaining oversight of research communications via social media, newsletters, and annual reports.

The post-holder will have responsibility for ensuring research is conducted to a high ethical and scientific standard. They will also be responsible for contributing to strategic planning and priority setting for the CBC’s research activities.

There will also be opportunities for the post-holder to engage in consultancy, teaching and training activities.

For an informal discussion of the role, please contact the CBC Co-Director, Dr Fabiana Lorencatto.

ABOUT YOU

Applicants should have a PhD in Behavioural Science or a closely related field and an undergraduate degree of 2.1 (or higher) in Psychology or related behavioural science.

Experience in research leadership and independent research is essential.

You will have a strong record of peer-review publications and a demonstrated track record of securing and managing research funding.

You should have excellent knowledge of behavioural science theory, methods and evidence, and ideally you will have experience of applying behavioural science theories, frameworks and methods to identify influences on behaviour, and design and evaluate behaviour change interventions.

You will have demonstrated expertise in using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

You should be an enthusiastic, efficient, and responsive individual with experience of establishing collaborative links in multidisciplinary and multi-centre projects.

You will have strong practical, problem-solving skills and experience of effectively managing multiple work streams and research projects.

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