Senior Research Assistant (Improve APS)

FTE: 0.4TFE (Working 14.8 hours per week)

Duration of Contract: Fixed term for 12 months, from 1st March 2026 until 28^th February 2027

Salary: UH6 £33,002pa (pro-rata) to £38,784pa (pro-rata) by annual increments on achieving designated skills and experience

Annual Leave: 35 days pro rata plus standard public holidays and an additional 4 days including the closure of our office between Christmas and New Year

Location: College Lane Campus, Hatfield

Main duties and responsibilities

This role will require you to support the Principal Investigators (Dr Annalisa Casarin (UH), Dr Boyd Ghosh (Southampton NHS Trust) and the wider team. You will assist with a realist review and system thinking study to co-design service improvement, and support the recruitment and delivery of interviews and workshops with people affected by rare neurodegenerative conditions, their carers and professionals providing health and social care. Data analysis and interpretation of results will be performed in collaboration with team members and experts by experience. You will work collaboratively with a public co-researcher and charity members, staff and volunteers.

Skill and experience required

You will have experience of working independently and as part of a research team in a Higher Education Institution or in industry, a local authority, NHS, charity or a community organisation. You will have demonstrable research experience at undergraduate level (e.g., final year project) and above.

In addition to this, you will be expected to demonstrate good IT skills, proficiency in relevant literature databases and the ability to conduct literature searches, strong time‑management skills with the capacity to plan and manage your own workload effectively, and the ability to handle sensitive material with strict confidentiality. You must be able to communicate with different individuals and audiences and be flexible and adaptable to workload and team requirements. Familiarity with innovative methods, as specified in the job description and annex, would also be useful.

Furthermore, you may have experience of working or volunteering with organisations that support people with rare and/or neurological conditions, including mild cognitive impairment or speech & language difficulties, and under-represented groups in research. You may also have experience of working with experts by experience/Patient, Public Involvement and engagement.

Travel across England (the two charities run support groups nationally, in person and virtually) and collaboration with other NHS and community organisations will be expected, so a driving licence and/or access to transport is desirable.

Qualifications required

For this role you must hold an undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline.

Please view the job description and person specification for a full list of the duties and essential criteria. Please attach a personal statement showing clearly how your skills and experience match the Person Specification.

We regret that we are unable to offer UKVI sponsorship for this post; applicants will either hold UK Right to Work or demonstrate access to UK Right to Work before an offer is made.

Contact Details/Informal Enquiries: Dr Annalisa Casarin @ a.casarin@herts.ac.uk

Closing Date: 15 January 2026

Interview Date: To be confirmed

Reference Number: REQ000495

Advert information