Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
We are currently seeking a highly motivated and experienced Senior Research Assistant to join our dynamic and vibrant R&D team.
The post holder will be the lead researcher on a NIHR funded study entitled ‘Being kind to ourselves: A feasibility randomised controlled trial of Compassion Focused therapy (CFT) to improve depression and anxiety in Dementia’.
The post holder will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of the trial, recruiting participants from existing clinical services and establishing relationships with new services/specialties as required.
The role is both staff and patient/client facing and requires an aptitude for working with a range of people from different cultures, ages, and environments. Strong written communication skills are essential, particularly for the development of research outputs, reports, and peer-reviewed publications.
We are looking for someone with a solid foundation in clinical research, a passion for innovation in mental health care, and a commitment to improving outcomes for people living with dementia.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide oversight and management of the research activities in the CFT for dementia project.
They will underpin the day-to-day operations of the research and contribute to the administrative aspects of the research governance processes.
They will work closely with the Chief Investigator, Principal Investigators and Sponsor (NELFT) to ensure cohesive and efficient research processes.
The post holder will support all stages of the trial set up including refinement of the CFT intervention, NHS ethical approvals, database and case report form development and site approval processes.
They will be responsible for maintenance of the site file and key databases and files, data cleaning, entry and analysis.
They will lead recruitment both at NELFT and other sites, liaise with clinical teams and research participants, and set up and conduct assessments with people with dementia and their families.
They will have oversight of other NELFT researchers working on the project, and any UCL students who may support them.
They will travel to other research sites may be involved.
They will organise management group meetings, meetings with researchers from different sites, PPI and Trial Steering Committee meetings.
They will play a key role in the write up and dissemination of findings and have opportunities to contribute to high-profile academic publications and conferences.
Working for our organisation
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have coproduced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:
We are kind.
We are respectful.
We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
High Cost Area Supplement – Outer London
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,714 to a maximum of £5,941 per annum (pro rata for part time).
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Please apply as soon as possible as some posts close early to limit the number of applications.
Certificates of Sponsorship
Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.
Use of AI
Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria
1. Experience working in a research environment
2. Experience of training others or facilitating groups
3. Experience of supporting people with dementia.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
4. Knowledge of the governance and legislative framework for conducting research
5. Knowledge of the theoretical foundations and core components of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
Benefits
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
6. A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
7. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
8. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
9. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.