Research Associate- Complex Obesity Management

Research Associate- Complex Obesity Management (Including fully funded PhD Studentship - home fees only)

Job id: 088186. Salary: £44,347 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.

Business unit: Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. Department: Department of Nutritional Sciences.

Location: Waterloo Campus. Category: Research.

This 3-year post is for a Research Associate to explore sustainable behaviour change for people living with complex obesity. This post is offered with a fully funded PhD studentship (home fees only) and it is open to Allied Health Professionals, Clinical Psychologists, Nurses or Midwives. The postholder will lead a portfolio of mixed-methods studies working alongside NHS clinicians in South East London treating patients enrolled in Tier 2, 3 and 4 weight management services. The South East London population is uniquely diverse, with women of Black heritage particularly at risk of poorer access and outcomes associated with complex obesity. Health inequities exist associated with age, deprivation, ethnicity and learning disability. This unique cohort allows for exciting and much-needed avenues of research.

The postholder will be expected to lead on design of their research, however the focus must include: (1) addressing health inequities; (2) how best to support patients following discharge from their weight management intervention; and (3) an exploration of how best to deliver sustainable behaviour change. The postholder will initially work on ethics and protocol design before embarking on participant recruitment. It is anticipated that research participants will include a diversity of stakeholders as well as NHS patients. Following data analysis and manuscript writing, recommendations for wide-ranging service development will be expected.

The postholder will lead obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, recruiting study participants, delivering any intervention designed as part of the research project, and collecting qualitative data. They will maintain study documentation, co-ordinate subject correspondence and study visits, and ensure measurements of primary and secondary outcomes are conducted according to standard operating protocols. They will also be involved in data analysis and dissemination, including manuscript preparation, and co-ordination of correspondence with stakeholders. The post-holder will be expected to work closely and effectively with other team members, including supporting BSc and MSc research students.

The postholder will register for a PhD at KCL, and be based in the Nutritional Sciences department at the Waterloo campus of King’s College London. They will work closely with NHS colleagues delivering obesity interventions across South East London. Supervision will be available from both KCL and NHS staff, including Dr Alastair Duncan, Consultant Dietitian, who works as a clinical academic at both KCL and Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Hospital. Completion of this PhD would provide a springboard for applying for NIHR clinical academic research fellowships, subject to eligibility criteria.

This post will be offered on an fixed-term contract for 3 years.

This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent.

Key responsibilities

• Carry out research exploring sustainable behaviour change for people living with complex obesity, as directed by Dr Alastair Duncan (Department of Nutritional Sciences, King’s College London).
• Collaborate with a team of researchers and staff at King’s College London and at clinical sites across South East London.
• Lead on recruitment, screening and monitoring of study participants (as appropriate for experience of the successful candidate).
• Order materials and services associated with the project.
• Ensure all data are carefully and promptly collated and entered into the database throughout the study and that records are properly kept and audited.
• Engage in research and produce written research outputs, as set out in the research proposal and as agreed with the Chief Investigators.
• Develop ideas for future research studies and publications, and to develop these into grant applications and manuscripts.
• Recommend service development for management of complex obesity across South East London
• Participate in all project meetings, and deliver presentations in relation to the research.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

• Registered Allied Health Professional, clinical psychologist, nurse or midwife
• MSc or equivalent in a clinical subject
• Experience of working with people living with obesity
• Proficiency in using Microsoft Office software and other academic research-related software, e.g. SPSS, NVIVO, referencing software
• Experience of working in clinical research.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team on a research project
• Evidence of excellent organisational skills and attention to detail whilst working on a range of projects
• Experience of managing qualitative and quantitative data and statistical analysis
• Ability to take initiative to solve technical and logistical problems
• Ability to write reports and manuscripts to a high-level
• Flexible approach to working (including travel, hours, locations, different studies)
• Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias.
• Experience of working to address health inequities
• Experience of working in Tier 2, 3 or 4 weight management services in the UK or equivalent

In their covering letter, candidates must specifically address the essential criteria (and desirable criteria if applicable) outlined in the Person Specification.

Further information

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

You must outline your proposed research questions and projects. Your project must be embedded within Tier 2, 3 and 4 weight management services in South East London, and must meet the following criteria:

(1) How to best address health inequities; (2) how to support patients following discharge from their weight management intervention; and (3) an exploration of how to deliver sustainable behaviour change.

The Department of Nutritional Sciences explores the relationship between diet, health and disease from molecules to populations. Based at King’s Waterloo Campus, the Department of Nutritional Sciences combines over 60 basic and applied scientists, dietitians, nutritionists, doctors and public health experts. Our mission is to find new ways to improve health and to prevent and treat nutrition-related disease.

We began in 1953 as the first university department of nutrition in Europe and have been at the forefront of research in nutrition science and dietetics ever since. We have developed new food applications to impact blood glucose control, collected big data through citizen science to understand individual responses to food, pioneered the low FODMAP diet as a treatment for IBS, and are developing new cereal processing techniques to unlock the natural iron and zinc in staple foods.

The School of Life Course & Population Sciences is one of five Schools that make up the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine at King’s College London. The School unites over 400 experts in women and children’s health, nutritional sciences, population health and the molecular genetics of human disease. Our research links the causes of common health problems to life’s landmark stages, treating life, disease and healthcare as a continuum. We are interdisciplinary by nature and this innovative approach works: 91 per cent of our research submitted to the Subjects Allied to Medicine (Pharmacy, Nutritional Sciences and Women's Health cluster) for REF was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. We use this expertise to teach the next generation of health professionals and research scientists. Based across King’s Denmark Hill, Guy’s, St Thomas’ and Waterloo campuses, our academic programme of teaching, research and clinical practice is embedded across five Departments.

At King’s we seek to recruit and retain skilled and engaged colleagues to deliver the competitive advantage.

Our pay and benefits package attracts the best candidates from around the world.

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