Research Assistant

The Role

A 6-month fixed-term Research Assistant (RA) position is available in the Department of Psychology at Durham University. The post will be split across 2 projects on neurodiversity. The first project is the Triple-A project ( ) which is being led PIs Professor Hanley and Professor Riby, and the post holder would work on this project for 3 days a week for 6 months (1^st October 2025 - 31^st March 2026). Triple-A is a programme of translation of research to impact in the area of neurodiversity and education. The post-holder would be involved in the evaluation of the Triple-A training programme for educators. This project is funded by the Durham U niversity Research Impact Fund.

The second project focuses on neurodiversity, mental health and the criminal justice system (PIs Professor Walker & Professor Riby), and the post-holder would work on this project for 1.5 days per week for 2 months (1^st October 2025 – 30 November 2025) and then 1 day per week for the remainder of the post (1^st December 2025 – 31^st March 2026). This project is all about capacity building in neurodiversity, mental health, and the criminal justice system, reviewing current resources and practices to feed into future work. Two core elements of this work are the completion of a local needs analysis focused on mental health support in the North East of England and liaising with Durham University Research Innovation Services on a gap analysis of mental health research in the institution. The project therefore involves working with a range of key stakeholders. This project is funded by the Durham University Seedcorn fund.

Together, these projects require the post holder to have an excellent understanding of neurodiversity, and a core theme of the work is the support of neurodivergent people within our society, whether that be within education or within the criminal justice system.

The Project Teams: The research assistant will join a vibrant research group in the field of neurodiversity (includes 15 PhD students, 2 research staff, and 10 academic staff). The grant for the Triple-A project is held by Professor Mary Hanley and Professor Debbie Riby. Professor Hanley will lead on providing the RA with supervision. The grant for the Seedcorn project is held by Professor Tammi Walker and Professor Debbie Riby. Professor Tammi Walker will provide the RA with day-to-day supervision. Crucially, both projects are team-based

Expectations: The successful applicant will be expected to carry out day-to-day responsibilities / running of the projects, including: submitting ethics applications, collecting evaluation data from teachers, schools and organisations that have used Triple-A, both using quantitative online methods and qualitative interview methods; data analysis; literature reviewing; liaising with Research Innovation Services to map current regional mental health support. They will need to interact with various stakeholder groups (e.g. researchers, educators, schools, neurodiverse community, parents, clinicians, voluntary sector workers) The work will be conducted using online methods (e.g. video conferencing), and face-to-face work in Durham University.  The successful applicant will be expected to actively engage with the activities of the Centre for Neurodiversity and Development. Standard RA responsibilities and specific requirements are listed in more detail below. We would expect the RA to be physically in Durham at least one day per week.

Closing Date: 26-Aug-2025, 11:59:00 PM

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