Senior Research Assistant: Child and Adolescent Mental Health

We are looking for an enthusiastic Research Assistant to join the Wirral Child Health and Development Study (WCHADS/First Steps), a long-running longitudinal study following families from pregnancy through childhood and adolescence.

You will join WCHADS at an exciting stage of its development, working on a new Wellcome-funded multi-cohort study examining how changes in social media policy affect young people's mental health and wellbeing. The project will recruit and follow approximately 550 young people aged 9-17 years and their families.

You will take a central role in recruiting and retaining families, communicating with young people and parents, coordinating repeated questionnaire assessments, and responding sensitively to participant queries and concerns. You will also contribute to the development and piloting of age-appropriate psychological measures and study materials and co-facilitate a young person advisory group, ensuring young people's perspectives help shape the research.

The role would particularly suit someone with an interest in child and adolescent mental health and developmental or clinical psychology who would value experience working directly with young people and families within a large longitudinal research study. You will work alongside psychologists and researchers specialising in child and adolescent mental health and development and as part of a wider collaboration involving several leading UK longitudinal cohorts.

We are looking for someone who is organised, approachable and confident communicating with young people and families, including about sensitive issues relating to mental health and wellbeing. Experience of working or conducting research with children, young people or families would be particularly valuable.

The role offers flexible hybrid working. However, you will work as part of a team based across Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Liverpool and will be expected to attend both locations when required. The role also involves regular early-evening telephone contact with participating families, with flexibility in working hours to accommodate this.

Application & Assessment

• To apply, submit your CV and supporting statement outlining how best you met the criteria, via our online portal. Please note applications received without a supporting statement will not be considered.
• Assessment will include a task to be completed on the day (no advance prep needed) followed by a competency-based interview round, and interviews will be held in the w/c 16 November.
• For informal enquiries about this vacancy, please contact Nicky Wright on Nicky.Wright@mmu.ac.uk.

Further Information

Manchester Metropolitan University fosters an inclusive culture of belonging that promotes equity and celebrates diversity. We value a diverse workforce for the innovation and diversity of thought it brings and welcome applications from all local and international communities, including Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, disabled people, and LGBTQ+ individuals.      

We support a range of flexible working arrangements, including hybrid and tailored schedules, which can be discussed with your line manager. If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know so we can provide appropriate support.      

Our commitment to inclusivity includes mentoring programmes, accessibility resources, and professional development opportunities to empower and support underrepresented groups.      

Manchester Met is a Disability Confident Leader and, under this scheme, aims to offer an interview to disabled people who apply for the role and meet the essential criteria as listed in the Job Description for that vacancy.