Research Fellow (Part Time 0.4 FTE)

The post holder will take the lead and be responsible for the project management of the clustered randomised controlled feasibility trial Project HIIT: a school-based intervention for adolescents with intellectual disability/autism targeting physical activity. The Research Fellow will be required to work within the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences and will be responsible for leading on the planning, delivery and evaluation of Project HIIT within Special Education Needs Schools throughout Northern Ireland.

About the person:

The successful candidate must have, and your application should clearly demonstrate that you meet, the following criteria:

• Degree or equivalent in an area related to sport, health, education or psychology.
• Have or be about to obtain* a PhD with a physical activity or behaviour change component for children with intellectual disabilities/autism. (*must be obtained within 3 months of the closing date for the post).
• Substantial relevant research experience in the field of behaviour change interventions with children with intellectual disability/autism.
• Experienced qualitative and quantitative researcher with evidence of ability to plan, conduct, analyse and disseminate feasibility/RCT’s.
• Experience in designing and conducting process evaluations within physical activity research in schools for children with intellectual disabilities/autism.
• Proven track record of publishing research within the field of intellectual disabilities/autism.
• Experience of managing the planning, delivery and successful completion, and reporting of a behaviour change intervention in the area of intellectual disabilities/autism.
• Sufficient breadth and depth of specialist knowledge in the area of physical activity research within the field of intellectual disabilities/autism. This includes having an understanding of the existing methodological barriers/enablers of school-based physical activity interventions within this population.
• Experienced in the administration, collection, analysis and reporting of physical activity outcomes (specifically accelerometery) in children with intellectual disability/autism.
• Experience in the assessment of body composition/anthropometric measures in children with intellectual disability/autism.

To be successful at shortlisting stage, please ensure you clearly evidence in your application how you meet the essential and, where applicable, desirable criteria listed in the Candidate Information on our website.

This post is available until 31 March 2027. Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding.

What we offer:

Beyond a competitive salary, the University offers an attractive benefits package including a holiday entitlement of up to 8.4 weeks a year, pension schemes and development opportunities. We support staff wellbeing with flexible working options, work-life balance initiatives and support for physical and mental health. You can find more detail on all of this and more at https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/HumanResources/pay-reward-and-benefits/

Queen's University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to all. We subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as the Diversity Charter Mark NI and Athena Swan and have established staff networks such as iRise (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network) and PRISM (LGBTQ+) which help us progress equality.

For further information on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, please visit www.qub.ac.uk/diversity.

If you are an international applicant and don't already hold a visa that permits you to take up the role you are applying for, please use the information provided on our website to self-assess whether the University is likely to be able to support a visa application - http://go.qub.ac.uk/internationalstaffsupport

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