Professor Lisa Henderson (Head of Psychology, University of York) and collaborators are looking to hire a Grade 5 Project Administrator to support a new research project funded by the Huo Family Foundation. SmartSleep - Waking up to the Effects of Smartphones and Social Media Adolescents are immersed in a smartphone-dominated digital world with instant access to social media. While this can offer opportunities for connection, mounting evidence points to sleep disruption, poor mental health, and declining cognition. Despite growing concern, policy action has stalled partly due to limited causal evidence for these harms. Our feasibility and pilot work—featured in Channel 4’s Swiped— suggests that a total 21-day SM/smartphone detox can improve sleep, wellbeing, and cognition in teens. Our research also points to sleep as a critical driver of the impacts of problematic smartphone use on mental health. We have now received a large grant from the Huo Family Foundation to scale up this research programme to examine the pathways linking smartphone/SM use to youth mental health and cognition, focusing on sleep as a key causal mechanism. This project will comprise a randomised controlled trial (N=1500 11–14-year-olds) to compare a total 21-day smartphone/social media detox to pre-sleep restriction and typical use. We will also examine how physiological emotional reactivity to social media is influenced by sleep and digital downtime. In collaboration with the University of York’s Smart Data Donation Service, we will gain rich insights into young people’s social media behaviour. Our hope is that the SmartSleep project will provide policymakers with mechanistic, causal evidence and inform translational strategies—such as collective digital detoxes or pre-bedtime interventions—to promote digital health among young people. This project, led by Professor Henderson, comprises a large and multidisciplinary project team of developmental and cognitive psychologists, social psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, data analysts, educators and clinical trials experts, as well as health professionals from Health Professionals for Safe Screens UK and The Sleep Charity. Role As Project Administrator you will play a pivotal role in the SmartSleep team, providing coordination, planning, support and administrative assistance. Reporting to the Principle Investigator, you will also work closely with the Research Associate and two Research Trainees, as well as a range of collaborators, external advisory groups and key stakeholders, including families and schools. You will be comfortable working independently and managing the administrative processes crucial to project success. The Project Administrator will provide activities and event management, oversee progress and the meeting of milestones, and compile progress and budgetary reports, among other activities. The Project Administrator role comes with ample opportunity for personal development and the remit to shape core ways of working. The post is to start as soon as possible and no later than June 2026 and is a fixed term contract funded from January 2026 to December 2028, with the possibility of end date extension with a later start date. Skills, Experience & Qualification needed The postholder will have relevant Level 3 qualifications (e.g., A levels) or equivalent. They will require the ability to communicate effectively with the project team and key stakeholders (e.g., families, schools) and have excellent planning and organisational skills. They will have experience in supporting the organisation of events and experience in project management and/or administrative support (e.g., in the context of research projects). For the full list please refer to the Person Specification. Interview date: To be confirmed For informal enquiries: please contact Professor Lisa Henderson on lisa-marie.henderson@york.ac.uk Condition of employment This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Consequently, all applicants will be asked to declare both unspent and spent convictions on their application form. Appointment of the successful candidate will be conditional on a Disclosure and Barring Service check. 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