Employer Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
Employer type NHS
Site Blackberry Hill Hospital or Bath NHS House (to be confirmed at interview)
Town Research & Development
Salary £31,049 - £37,796 per annum
Salary period Yearly
Closing 26/10/2025 23:59
Band 5 Research Practitioner - Bristol
Band 5
Job overview
We are seeking a Research Practitioner, with an interest in improving the lives of individuals with mental health difficulties to join our research team. AWP are committed to improving the lives of people with mental health difficulties through research that improves our services.
AWP R&D has over 25 research staff supporting the development and delivery of research over six counties in England (Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucester, BANES, Swindon & Wiltshire). Our work covers a broad range of topic areas, including exploring novel treatments for psychosis, bipolar, treatment resistant depression and dementia. This role offers an opportunity to support a broad range of NIHR-portfolio research studies, including observational (questionnaire/interview) studies and interventional trials exploring psychological and pharmacological interventions for mental health conditions.
This role is particularly suitable for individuals that have a background in psychology, and/or experience of delivering mental health research and/or research in NHS/social care settings.
Main duties of the job
The role will involve supporting the set-up and delivery of NIHR research projects in AWP. This will include contributing to all elements of a study’s life cycle within AWP, from ensuring study materials are ready, to identifying and consenting participants through to delivery of the research assessments and any follow-ups.
The role requires attention to details and the ability to understand and learn skills in how research is delivered in the NHS.
Working for our organisation
We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.
We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.
Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.
At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Primary duties, Key Results Areas and areas of responsibility.
Clinical Research Delivery
1. Pre-screen, Screen and recruit participants.
2. Assist with patient eligibility for entry to research.
3. Provide ongoing information, advice and support to participants in relation to research participation.
4. Update appropriate databases accurately and in a timely manner.
5. Undertake the collection and accurate recording of research samples (including blood, saliva and urine) from research as required by the needs of research and maintain these competencies.
6. Maintain adequate patient records and ensure all relevant information is documented in the patient’s medical notes in relation to research contact.
7. Assist with accurate safety reporting under appropriate supervision of senior colleagues.
8. Maintain patient confidentiality at all times.
9. Provide cover for research department as required.
10. Maintain and develop skillsets through CPD.
11. Support research activities as part of the extended clinical care team, as the service requires.
12. Fulfil pre-screen, screening and recruitment targets as defined in KSI, dependant on research activity allocation.
For more details please review Job Description file attached.
Person specification
Professional Qualification
* Minimum of a undergraduate degree or equivalent in a psychological, health or social care discipline.
Experience
* Experience of working with service users with mental health, dementia or neurodegenerative diseases conditions and their carers.
* Familiarity with the issues surrounding clinical data, particularly confidentiality.
* Previous experience of working with a multidisciplinary team in a healthcare environment
* Previous clinical research experience.
Skills & Knowledge
* High level of interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills to work with clinical and management colleagues at all levels across a range of organisations.
* Evidence of accuracy and attention to detail in data collection (e.g., research / service evaluation / audit).
* Understanding of clinical trials in the field of mental health/dementia.
We are proud to be fostering a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. A key commitment to this is improving staff representation from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, those from the LGBTQ+ communities, people with ‘lived-experience’ of mental health conditions and people living with disabilities, we are a ‘Disability Confident Employer’ offering a guaranteed interview to Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. This includes people with a variety of disabilities and neurodivergent conditions (for example autism, ADHD, sensory, physical and learning disabilities).
We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service users.
Please apply to join us, we would love to hear from you. Any personal details you supply to us are kept safe in line with the General Data Protection Regulations.
Adverts normally close for application a few minutes before midnight on the closing date and we will let you know if we are offering you an interview by email via our recruitment system ‘TRAC’. We contact all applicants within 4 weeks after the closing date, so please check your emails regularly once you have submitted your application; you are welcome to contact us, via the TRAC system, if you have any queries about your application.
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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. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.
Name Krist Noonan
Job title Head of Research & Development
Email address krist.noonan@nhs.net
Additional information
Please note Interviews will be held in person on 6th and 7th November 2025 in Blackberry Hospital, Bristol.
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