Research Associate

The Department of Psychology is seeking a skilled and highly motivated post-doctoral research associate to support a new project investigating the development and effectiveness of an adapted cognitive behavioural intervention for social anxiety disorder for autistic people. 

About the role

The project, co-led by Professor Ailsa Russell at University of Bath and Dr Emma Warnock-Parkes at University of Oxford, will co-produce and evaluate the effectiveness of an empirically informed cognitive behavioural intervention for social anxiety disorder with autistic people. 

There will be two main phases to the project: 

1) The adapted intervention and therapist training materials will be developed in Year 1 through co-production meetings, individual/small group consultations with varied engagement methods. This will be followed by refinement of the adapted intervention using a multiple baseline pilot case series.

2) The effectiveness of the intervention will be investigated via a cluster randomised controlled trial in NHS services commencing at the start of Year 2 of the project. 

The post holder will be actively involved in:

• co-ordination of co-production endeavours with the PIs and PPIE co-applicant leads, 
• design, preparation and piloting of research materials in collaboration with the clinical trials unit, 
• liaising with NHS sites,
• training and supporting research assistants to work to protocol,
• preparing manuscripts for publication as relevant to research stage e.g. protocols, qualitative and mixed methods findings from case series and co-production.  

The post holder will join the Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR) at the University of Bath. 

They will be encouraged and supported in pursuing career development opportunities. As a member of Research Staff at the University of Bath, you will be encouraged to take up a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata per year.

Ideal candidate

We welcome applications from candidates who have:

• A PhD or professional doctoral qualification in Psychology or related discipline
• Experience or interest in the field of autism and/or mental health
• Experience of inclusive research practices
• Experience of mixed methods data collection (interviews, surveys) and analysis techniques (e.g. reflexive thematic analysis, quantitative approaches)
• Experience of conducting research with autistic people is desirable
• Excellent team working, communication, and time management skills. 

Additional information

We have one position available offered on a part time (22.5 hours per week), fixed-term basis. 

The post is funded for 24 months. 

Due to the research involving clinical populations, an Enhanced DBS check will be required for this post. 

The post will require some travel to meetings and NHS sites.

Informal enquiries about this role should be directed to Professor Ailsa Russell (a.j.russell@bath.ac.uk). 

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students and encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.

We're very proud to be a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. an accredited Disability Confident Leader; autism friendly university, committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff. 

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