Department

Hull York Medical School

Salary

£37,694 - £46,049 per year

Grade

Grade 6

Contract status

Fixed term

Hours of work

Full-time

Based at

University of York campus

Interview date

To be confirmed

Posted Date

04/06/2026

Apply by

02/07/2026

Job Reference

15037

Documents

• Job Description 15037.pdf (PDF, 394.63kb)

Role Description

Hull York Medical School

The Hull York Medical School is looking to appoint a Research Associate in the Mental Health and Addiction Research Group, specialising in research to improve the lives of those with severe mental illness. This is an exciting opportunity to join a multidisciplinary team working to drive meaningful change in outcomes and care. The post offers the opportunity to be part of a large and successful research group, renowned for its methodological expertise and commitment to policy relevant research.

You will conduct high quality mixed-methods research to optimise pathways to preventive care to support those people with severe mental illness to live healthier, longer lives. The post sits within the prestigious NIHR Yorkshire and Humber Applied Research Collaboration, which aims to develop partnerships to address specific health or care issues in the region and to undertake cutting edge research. You will also provide essential mental health theme-level coordination support for the ARC Mental Health Theme, liaising with a range of stakeholders to ensure timely delivery of the ARC’s research goals.

The University of York offers flexible working patterns and a number of family friendly initiatives. As a Department we are proud to foster a supportive culture that helps staff and students contribute fully, flourish and excel, to reach their full potential. We embrace equality, diversity and inclusion as well as the values of the Athena SWAN Charter in all our Departmental activities.

Role

Role

The main purpose of this role is to conduct collaborative research relating to the ‘Severe Mental Illness’ workstream in the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Mental Health Theme. You will:

• Lead work with stakeholders (including service users and clinicians) to refine and extend physical healthcare pathways for those individuals living with severe mental illness
• Lead qualitative interviews with service users and providers, to identify barriers and facilitators of uptake
• Contribute to the production of research outputs and research outcomes
• Manage theme-level coordination and administrative tasks, such as stakeholder liaison and reporting
• Contribute to the obtaining of external research funding

Skills, Experience & Qualification Needed

• A degree in a health or social science research related field (e.g. psychology, health sciences)
• PhD (in Psychology, Sociology or allied health or social science related field) or equivalent experience
• Knowledge of a range of mixed methods research techniques and methodologies
• Knowledge of severe mental illness
• 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 make presentations at conferences.
• Ability to work as part of a team and to work independently using your own initiative.
• Experience of carrying out both independent and collaborative research.
• Experience in project management

Interview date: To be confirmed

For informal enquiries: please contact Dr Lewis Paton (lewis.paton@york.ac.uk) and Dr Claire Carswell (claire.carswell@york.ac.uk)

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

As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum (essential) criteria for each position will be offered an interview. Read more about the University of York’s commitments under the Disability Confident scheme.