Senior Research Associate (Quantative) (1565-22)

(Health Economics and NIHR Research Design Service Adviser)

Full time 

The Division of Health Research (DHR) within Lancaster University’s Faculty of Health and Medicine is seeking to appoint a Senior Research Associate to join the Health Economics at Lancaster group, to support the NIHR Three Research Schools Mental Health Practice Evaluation, specifically as part of an NIHR grant held by Professor Céu Mateus, and Professor Mark Limmer. 

Our mission is to produce evidence on how to tackle drug misuse, this project involves different public services and voluntary groups in the town working together to support people with a high risk of committing drug-related crime or dying from drug use.  This position will be responsible to Professor Céu Mateus and Professor Mark Limmer. 

You must have a PG qualification in a relevant discipline, and ideally have research experience in health economics, relative to opportunity. Experience in a health-related area is preferred but not essential. You will be working on this project part time (50%) until September 2023 and then full time on this project to March 2024. 

Further to the above work, you will also be working part time (50%) until September 2023 as a Research Adviser with specific expertise in mixed-methods health research within the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service North West (RDS NW), based in the Division of Health Research.   The RDS NW is part of a national network of skilled advisers offering free and confidential advice to develop competitive funding applications for health and social care research.

We provide our service:

via one to one advice sessions that are conducted either face to face or via virtual meetings; via events that target specific funding streams or areas of need, providing advice on how to be successful with a funding grant application in health, public health and social care research

The post holder will work as part of the local service team covering the North West Coast geography (Lancashire and South Cumbria, Mersey and Cheshire) (hosted by Lancaster University), however the service is a regional service covering the North West region delivered through our two local service teams in Greater Manchester and North West Coast. 

We are looking for someone who enjoys dealing with varied enquiries on a day-to-day basis, supporting other potential researchers who may not have the same expertise or research experience to support them in developing research grant applications. Advice can be provided via 1:1 meetings/ sessions or as part of a team, drawing on expertise of other RDS advisers or at RDS or external hosted events, always ensuring the service maintains the required records on advice provision.  

The Faculty provides an environment that strongly supports the individual needs of each employee, promoting a healthy work-life balance. We are committed to family-friendly and flexible working policies on an individual basis, as well as the Athena SWAN Charter, which recognises and celebrates good employment practice undertaken to address gender equality in higher education.

 Lancaster University is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research. Our scientists and students work in close collaboration with internal and external parties to solve global social challenges. Our research increasingly takes place in multidisciplinary teams, which are strongly intertwined with international networks. With our research impact and thanks to the high quality of education, Lancaster University can compete with the top European universities. We put our values to respect each other, build strong communities and create positive change at the heart of what we do.

 We are proactive in engagement with our staff to help us understand the lived experiences of our university community and to understand how we are doing in creating a fairer and more inclusive University.  Our multi-faith Chaplaincy Centre is a welcoming place for people of all faiths and none.  It includes facilities for the Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islam and Jewish faiths and also a Muslim Prayer Room.

 The position is available for immediate start and we are open to discussing flexible working arrangements including working week and days/hours worked and flexible start and finish times. Part-time work and job share can be considered.

You will join us on an indefinite contract however the role remains contingent on external funding which at this time is due to come to an end on 31st March 2024.

Please direct informal enquiries to Professor Céu Mateus – c.mateus@lancaster.ac.uk 

For more information on the RDS role please contact Catherine Gedling, Director, NIHR’s Research Design Service North West, email: c.gedling@lancaster.ac.uk

Closing Date: 09 Feb 2023

Department: Research

Salary: £36,386 to £42,155