Research Assistant

Site: The Lantern Centre Town Preston

Salary: £29,970 - £36,483 per annum (subject to confirmation)

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 15/04/2025 23:59

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism and community based services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated mental health, learning disability and community Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including:

1. Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, forensic services including low and medium secure care.
2. Specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
3. Community physical health and well-being services for children and adults.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,000 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health and general nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers.

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust supports flexible working; we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours, home/remote working, and flexi-time.

Job overview

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Research Assistant in Mental Health Research, to work in close partnership with researchers, in the delivery of an NIHR funded trial. Understanding the Wellbeing and Support Needs of Carers of Parents with Bipolar is a 21-month research project funded by the NIHR's Research Programme for Social Care. This project aims to understand the needs and experiences of the partners of parents with bipolar disorder, a group we currently know little about. Often, parents with bipolar are cared for by their partners. These partner carers experience many emotional and practical impacts from their caring role, but there is little research on their specific support needs and experiences.

The Trust delivers a wide portfolio of high quality research including this important study pathways, including an existing clinical trial (the integrated bipolar parenting intervention (IBPI) trial), NHS Trusts, and the third sector including Bipolar UK and social media to advertise the study. This is a great opportunity to have a key role in a new NIHR funded research trial, led by Professor Steve Jones.

Main duties of the job

The post will be based at LSCFT with regular travel to the Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research at Lancaster University. The post-holder will join a unique team of clinical, academic and research staff who are passionate about optimising mental health services through applied research, working alongside clinical services and other relevant health and education settings. The post-holder will be responsible for recruitment to each work package, as well as developing the online survey, conducting the qualitative interviews, and supporting the co-design workshops. After recruitment targets have been met, this post will also involve analysis of the survey and interview data.

You must have at least a degree level qualification in a relevant discipline and knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research designs including clinical trial designs with recruitment and retention targets. You will need to be competent in qualitative methods. Experience of working collaboratively in clinical trials and service users/relatives, clinicians and service providers, would be a definite advantage. We are looking for an energetic dynamic, self-directed and committed individual with an interest in becoming a key part of our research team.

Working for our organisation

Our goal is to find out what needs partner carers have, how they want these needs addressed, and what influences these needs and experiences. We will use this information to work with carers and professionals to develop a toolkit to improve social care for these carers. The post will be based both in LSCFT and in the Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research at Lancaster University.

The study has three work packages:

• Online Survey: We will recruit 150 partner carers and measure well-being, support needs, and experiences with Care Act assessments.
• Interviews: We will interview 30 partner carers to gain deeper insights into their experiences.
• Toolkit Development: Through a series of workshops with 10 professionals and 10 social care workers, we will co-produce a toolkit for frontline social care workers about the needs of partner carers.

This is a full-time post, funded from the 1st April 2025 to the 31st December 2026. The post-holder will be responsible for recruitment to each work package, as well as developing the online survey, conducting the qualitative interviews, and supporting the co-design workshops.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

After recruitment targets have been met, this post will also involve analysis of the survey and interview data.

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across this area. Specialist provision comprises inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care.

The Trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community alongside a range of partners in the Lancashire, Cumbria and Sefton area.

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust encourages flexible working; we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours, flexi-time and career breaks. We encourage applicants to state clearly on their application forms this request and discuss these options at interview.

Person specificationQualifications

• BSc(hons) Psychology (2:1 or above) or equivalent (e.g. post graduate conversion course accredited by the British Psychological Society)
• Eligibility for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
• Post-graduate qualifications in relevant area of psychology e.g. Masters in Research Methods or a clinical topic

Knowledge

• Quantitative, qualitative and co-design research methods
• Research governance and ethics
• A good understanding of the needs and challenges of people living with bipolar and their families

Experience

• Work with people with mental health issues
• Using data entry and data management.
• Recruiting individuals to research studies

Other

• Ability to undertake psychologically informed research projects under supervision
• Good communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work across a number of different settings
• Communicate effectively with potentially vulnerable or otherwise anxious/distressed participants
• Familiar with working with databases, statistical software such as SPSS or R, and qualitative analysis software such as nVivo.
• Ability to access electronic information and conduct literature searches using resources such as Medline, Cochrane, Proquest etc.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Please be aware, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when submitting an application is monitored and if you have used AI to generate an application, you are required to declare this on your application form.

We want to highlight the importance of integrity and authenticity in your application form, and ask you to use AI tools responsibly to ensure your application form is a true reflection of your skills, knowledge and experiences.

Please ensure that you read the person specification attached below as your application will be measured against this document.

Applications from job share partners are welcome and other forms of flexible working will be considered for all posts.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website.

You are advised to consider applying for LSCft vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received.

LSCft is committed to celebrating difference as an asset and we know that recruiting talent from diverse backgrounds helps to create a more flexible, creative and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from people regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, religion or belief or sexual orientation. Our goal is for the Trust to be truly representative of the communities we serve so we are particularly keen to receive applications from people in under-represented groups. If there is anything you'd like to discuss in relation to your application then please ask.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. You are therefore advised to consider applying for this vacancy as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Name: Farah Lunat

Job title: Senior Research Facilitator

Email address: farah.lunat@lscft.nhs.uk

Additional information: For further information, please contact: Farah Lunat - farah.lunat@lscft.nhs.uk

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