Research Fellow

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity for a Research Fellow to work on a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded project entitled ‘Assessing the impact of supported employment initiatives for people who experience complex barriers to employment’.

This project will build a partnership to help us understand how to support people who experience complex barriers to employment, to get into and stay in work. It will bring together stakeholders across Plymouth and three other Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) areas, to build research capacity to help address this crucial national challenge. You will support the establishment of a sustainable collaboration that includes experts by experience, researchers, employers and other stakeholders. You will collate and analyse documents and information about individualised approaches to supporting people into and in work, and relevant secondary data, and help produce case studies of supported employment initiatives in the four HDRC areas. You will also work to develop a programme theory and with the research team to prepare a future research proposal.

You will be working as part of a larger research team, and with HDRC partners in other parts of the country. Therefore, you will have excellent communication and relationship building skills, experience of qualitative research methods and data analysis and an ability to be flexible and work autonomously. The position requires a mix of skills and behaviours both academic and inter-personal, particularly with regards to engagement (e.g., ability to engage with diverse stakeholders; ability to communicate with non-researchers) and organisational and project management skills.

All activities undertaken within this role will be compliant with the University’s policies, including Health & Safety, Equality and Diversity, Ethics, Data Protection etc.

For an informal discussion to find out more about the role please contact Rebecca Carter-Dillon by email rebecca.carter-dillon@plymouth.ac.uk

There is an essential requirement within these roles that you will be required to travel to and work at different University sites and/or other locations that may not be easily accessible by public transport.

Interviews are likely to take place on Monday 15th September 2025, in person. You will be notified if you have been shortlisted or not.

This is a part-time position working 22.2 hours per week on a fixed-term basis to 30th June 2026 due to funding. Flexible working options including flexible hours across the working week will be considered to accommodate excellent candidates. Please state your preference in the supporting statement section of your application form. 

For more information on Peninsula Medical School please visit our dedicated webpage at https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/schools

For this role, you will need to be on site 1-2 days a week. Although we can accommodate hybrid working, flexibility to be on-site will be expected depending on business needs.

Application Process

Please apply online, demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the knowledge, qualifications, training, and experience elements of the job description in your supporting statement.

Following the closing date of the vacancy, you will be notified on the outcome of your application in due course.

Interviews are expected to take place Monday 15 September 2025.

Closing date:  12 midnight, Wednesday 3 September 2025.

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