Research Associate, Better Health & Care Hub

About the role

King’s College London’s Better Health & Care Hub (BH&CH) is a cross faculty initiative to develop research and education dedicated to supporting the transformation of health and care, in partnership, on a local, national and international scale. BH&CH aims to support research and education which radically redesign interventions, systems, and pathways to address the most pressing challenges faced by people living with complex illnesses, and the healthcare systems that support them.

Led by the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care (NMPC), in collaboration with the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy (SSPP) and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), our initiative harnesses interdisciplinary expertise from across King’s College London, bolstered by strategic partnerships with NHS, social care, community, patient-led, charitable and international organisations.

We are seeking to appoint a full-time Research Associate to support evaluations of policy and service innovations and developments in social care and community-based care. The postholder will support a number of projects led by Dr Juliette Malley, including projects that are part of the NIHR-funded Social Care Rapid Evaluation Team (SOCRATES) and the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Policy Innovation and Evaluation (PIRU). The BH&CH Research Associate will also be expected to play an active role in the life and activities of the Better Health & Care Hub and support its broader work, including the development of educational offerings. Patient and Public Involvement and Hub events.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31st July 2028.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

• PhD qualified in relevant subject area *
• Experience of carrying out evaluations of innovations and/or service developments in social care or a related area of practice
• Knowledge of literature review methods and experience of carrying out literature reviews
• Use creativity to analyse and interpret research data and draw conclusions to outcomes
• An interest in the research focus of the Better Health & Care Hub including the commitment to diversity and reducing inequality for people with complex illness
• Ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with academic colleagues on joint projects and areas of shared research interest across a range of topics
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and ability to communicate complex information effectively
• Ability to manage own workload and balance the competing pressures of research and administrative demands and deadlines

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Desirable criteria

• Good knowledge of social care practice and policy in England
• Preparing proposals and applications to external bodies e.g. for funding and contractual purposes
• Experience of working with lived experience groups and using participatory research methods
• Experience of teaching and supervision of student projects

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