Overview
More than 13,000 people in Lancashire and South Cumbria have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness, while Blackpool has the highest rate of deaths linked to addiction and suicide in England. In conjunction with partners at the University of Manchester and King’s College London, the group will identify local needs and priorities for mental health research and work alongside residents to develop a more proactive, preventative model of care. Four initial research themes aim to tackle inequities in access to effective mental health interventions, particularly for those experiencing multiple disadvantages and/or complex mental health issues, who are often excluded from mainstream services. The voices of diverse individuals with lived experience are central to all aspects of the research programme.
Responsibilities
In this role, you will work within the cross‑cutting implementation science strand, facilitating the rapid translation of co‑produced research into significant improvements in local mental health service provision. This will include relational work with diverse partners across health, social care and community sectors to integrate activities and support the development of local implementation plans and business cases that enable practical application of research evidence. The ideal candidate will have experience in supporting the translation of research evidence into healthcare service improvements and measuring the impact of these changes. Experience of using implementation tools to facilitate the uptake of evidence‑based practices would also be an advantage, but is not essential as full training will be provided. Opportunities to support supervising PhD students within the MHRG may also be available.
Qualifications
You will have good awareness of the current mental health research landscape and a PhD in a related discipline (or equivalent experience). You will work closely with members of the MHRG programme from a wide range of organisations, producing reports, publications and other outputs tailored for different audiences. As such, you will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills. You will be well‑organised and able to manage multiple work priorities, including co‑ordinating regular meetings of the MHRG Implementation Science Steering Group.
Employment and Working Conditions
Lancaster University has a world‑class reputation as a centre for excellence in teaching and research. It is in the top 1 per cent of universities in the world and highly ranked in each of the UK’s major university league tables. An exciting opportunity has arisen at Lancaster Medical School for a Senior Research Associate to join the new Mental Health Research Group (MHRG), working in the field of implementation science. The MHRG is a five‑year initiative funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), who have recently awarded Lancaster University almost £11 million to conduct world‑class mental health research in the North West region. The post will be based at Lancaster Medical School and will involve some travel across the UK. Lancaster Medical School sits within Lancaster University’s Faculty of Health and Medicine and offers a friendly environment that strongly supports the individual needs of each employee and actively promotes a healthy work‑life balance. The Faculty is committed to family‑friendly and flexible working policies and has held a Silver Athena SWAN award since 2014 in recognition of its good employment practice undertaken to address gender equality in higher education and research. We are open to discussing flexible working arrangements and welcome applications from people in all diversity groups.
You will join Lancaster University on an indefinite contract; however, the role remains contingent on external funding, which is currently due to come to an end on 30th June 2031.
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