Research Fellow

Contract: 7 hours per week over 12 months

Location: London UK HQ or Nottingham with hybrid working (remote working may be considered).

At the Royal College of Nursing we’re an optimistic organisation. And we’ve got good reason to be. We all share the same voice when it comes to changing the shape of the health policies of the future. And as the largest trade union of nursing staff and students in the UK – with over half a million members – all we can see are the infinite possibilities for a brighter future. Join us and you will too.

The role

As a Research Fellow, working on a grant-funded project, you will be expected to lead on the design, delivery, analysis and reporting of a study to examine ‘research embeddedness in undergraduate nursing and midwifery education in the UK’’. The study will include a UK-wide survey of student experiences and documentary analysis of nursing curriculum and education standards. The Research Fellow will be expected to provide robust evidence and to write a full report documenting key findings to inform policy and curricula development. The Research Fellow will also be expected disseminate findings and knowledge exchange, such as, at the RCN International Nursing Research Conference.

As the study is a collaboration between the RCN Foundation, RCN and Nottingham Trent University, the role holder will receive regular support and supervision from all three organisations, whilst being responsible for project management, meeting key milestones and regular reporting in line with funding agreements.

The person

To join us, you will have the skills and experience to work independently to design, deliver, analyse and report on a high-quality national survey, to impact policy and systemic change. You will be expected to meet agreed key milestones and report at regular intervals to meet the funding requirements for the study.

You will have skills and expertise in survey design and mixed methods research. Experience of working with underserved populations, researching sensitive topics and building key relationships with key national stakeholders will be essential. You will ideally have lived experience of the topic and demonstrate allyship, with a strong personal commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, in line with the ethos of the study.

What we offer you

We expect you to look after our members. And we expect you to be rewarded for it. We offer an impressive range of benefits, a broad range of learning development opportunities and an award-winning health and wellbeing programme.

We are a diverse organisation and understand everyone has different needs and many of our employees enjoy flexible working enabling them to deliver results whilst having a good work life balance. Our hybrid working model allows for up to 60% of your working time to be carried out from home. At least 40% of your working time will be spent working in person.

Q&A Session

We’ll be hosting a Q&A session via MS Teams on 13 April at 10:30am to answer any questions about the role. Please email recruit@rcn.org.uk to sign up.

For more information about the recruitment and selection process please contact recruit@rcn.org.uk

Closing date: 11.59pm on Sunday 26 April 2026.

Interviews (online): Wednesday 13 May 2026

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