Associate Professor in Co-production in Mental Health Research

York St John is an ambitious, modern university at the heart of historic York and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

The Institute for Social Justice was launched in 2020 to underpin York St John University’s mission to stand up for social justice. We do so through developing collaborative research and practice that seeks to identify, expose and address some of the inequalities, injustices and challenges facing society today. At its core the Institute seeks to work with people, with partners and with communities in a manner that sees participation, implementation and change as vital parts of its mission.

This post is part of the Converge project, which provides courses for adults who use mental health services. It provides a model with which to address issues of social justice and equality of access within education and mental health services.

The Role

We are seeking a reflexive and innovative Associate Professor to lead in the development of co-productive research in collaboration with Converge. Converge is a longitudinal practice-research project which uses action research, peer research, creative methods and reflective practice to explore the impact of offering educational opportunities to adults who experience mental ill health within a university context. It also hosts the Converge Evaluation and Research Team (CERT), a group of researchers with lived experience of mental health difficulties.

Converge has been a successful REF impact case study for the University in 2021 and 2016. We are looking to consolidate this track-record, but also develop and innovate new activity that sits within both Converge’s and the ISJ’s core principles.

To this end, the role will model interdisciplinary approaches of participatory, inclusive and community research in the context of mental health. It will actively seek external research funding to deliver high-quality and impactful projects and activity; foster research links that facilitate the engagement and impact of co-productive research in mental health; supervise and provide training for PGRs and community researchers and provide leadership to the Converge Evaluation and Research Team. The role will also provide leadership support within the Institute for Social Justice and through this contribute to the strategic direction of research within the University as a whole.

Key Requirements

Candidates will have a strong record of working in co-productive, participatory, inclusive and/or community research practices, evidenced through projects, publication (including non-traditional publications), and successful funding applications. The successful candidate will be somebody who grasps the challenges and opportunities of participatory research and addresses these with both compassion and imagination.

We are looking for somebody for whom identification with a set of methodological and ethical principles is at the forefront of their research practice, which might be located in a range disciplines, including the arts, humanities, education and social sciences.

Crucially the candidate will have a record of working across disciplinary boundaries and an outward facing academic practice which communicates clear to a diversity of audiences.

It is essential that candidates hold a doctoral level qualification.

Further Information

For informal enquiries please Professor Matthew Reason, Director of the Institute for Social Justice m.reason@yorksj.ac.uk

This role is eligible for Skilled Worker Visa sponsorship. For further information regarding this visa route please visit Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

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