Research Associate

Role Description

Department

The School for Business and Society brings new dimensions to interdisciplinarity in the fields of business, management and public and social policy.  We are seeking a Research Associate to take on a substantial role in the qualitative work package of a mixed-methods research project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Work and Health Research Initiative. The Support2Work research project will establish the impact and effectiveness of Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies (NHS TTs) on mental health, work outcomes, inequalities, costs, and the economy. The qualitative work package of Support2Work will explore the mechanisms through which Employment Advisors influence service users’ trajectories of absenteeism, presenteeism, and entering/maintaining/returning to work, from the perspective of service users, employment advisors, and therapists. This prestigious multi-disciplinary project is sponsored by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) and led by Professor Rowena Jacobs, Deputy Director of the Centre for Health Economics, one of the world’s most prominent academic health economics research centres.

Role

The successful candidate will have a substantial role in participant recruitment, conducting in-depth qualitative interviews (in person and online), qualitative data analysis, writing for academic and policy-focused audiences, and dissemination through seminar and conference presentations and public engagement and outreach activities. They will collaborate with and be supported in their work and professional development by Dr Jane Suter and Dr Annie Irvine. We are looking for someone with a strong background in qualitative research and in-depth interviewing techniques, who has a keen interest in interrogating the role of contextual features in understanding health and work outcomes. Strong candidates will have a background in qualitative research focused on one or more of: job retention and vocational rehabilitation, coaching and mentoring, workplace support, local-level and wider labour market features. They will have a critical and reflective approach to qualitative analysis, with an ability to deeply interrogate situational features pertaining to the individual, their employment circumstances, and systemic factors. The successful candidate will collaborate with the multidisciplinary team to support our wider research programme and our dissemination activities geared towards national policymakers and other relevant stakeholders.

As part of the application, please submit an example of qualitative analysis that you have written up. This can be either published or unpublished.   

Skills, Experience & Qualification needed

• PhD in a subject related to work and health (e.g. mental health, social policy, human resource management (HRM), occupational health psychology).
• Knowledge in mental health, social policy, HRM, occupational health psychology and/or employment related disciplines to engage in high quality research.
• Knowledge of a range of qualitative research techniques and methodologies
• Highly developed communication skills to engage effectively with a wide ranging audience, both orally and in writing, using a range of media
• Ability to write up research work for publication in high profile journals and engage in public dissemination
• Competency to conduct individual and collaborative research projects
• Competency to make presentations at conferences or exhibit work in other appropriate events

Interview date: TBC

For informal enquiries: please contact Dr Jane Suter on jane.suter@york.ac.uk

Condition of employment

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Consequently, all applicants will be asked to declare both unspent and spent convictions on their application form.

Appointment of the successful candidate will be conditional on a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

The University strives to be diverse and inclusive  – a place where we can ALL be ourselves.

We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, who are underrepresented at the University. 

We offer family friendly, flexible working arrangements, with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff. #EqualityatYork