University of Birmingham
Research Fellow - School of Social Policy - 107812 - Grade 8
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Position Details
School of Social Policy
University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
Full-time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606.
Grade: 8
Part-time 0.5FTE (18.75 hours per week)
Fixed-term contract up to February 2030
Closing date: 6th September 2026
Please note: We are advertising for both a Research Fellow Grade 7 (107826) and a Research Fellow Grade 8 (107812), however, there is only 1 post available.
Background
The post is situated in the Intellectual Disabilities Research Institute (IDRIS) in the School of Social Policy and Society. IDRIS is an applied cross-University research institute established in October 2024 with the appointment of Professor Richard Hastings as 125th Anniversary Chair and Professor of Psychology Health and Social Care. IDRIS also includes, in Social Policy and Society, three other professorial staff, an associate professor, two senior research fellows, a full-time administrator, and a number of research fellows, research associates, and PhD students. Most staff are employed on/funded through external research grants, including those funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Other members of IDRIS are based in Schools and Departments across the Colleges of the University. IDRIS works in close co-productive relationships and with people with intellectual disabilities, family carers, and with disability advocacy and professional organisations. IDRIS’s research and policy/practice impact is across the lifespan and across sectors (education, health, social care). IDRIS staff are engaged mainly in research on the development and evaluation of interventions and services to support individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families.
The successful applicant will be employed to work on the BEAMS trial which is a multicentre two-arm parallel randomised controlled trial with internal pilot that seeks to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an adapted psychological therapy for people with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities who have anxiety disorders. The intervention was previously tested within a feasibility study (https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hta/MWTQ5721). The trial is led by Professor Peter Langdon together with the Cardiff Centre for Trials Research (CTR).
Role Summary
- Plan, design, and help coordinate the BEAMS-ID Trial in collaboration with Cardiff CTR and our Trial Manager
- Initiate and conduct original research which has measurable outcomes and is reflected in a growing national and often incipient international reputation
- Contribute to the development of research and participant recruitment strategies
- Publish results of own research
- Supervise PhD students and research associates
- Capturing data from participants and their families
- Contribute to the Department/School through management/leadership
- Develop and make substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement activities, widening participation, schools outreach, or similar activities at Department/School level or further within the University
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Main Duties
To plan and carry out research, using appropriate methodology and techniques. This may include, where appropriate to the discipline:
- Pursue personal research including developing research ideas and winning support, including financial support
- Plan, publish, and/or execute high-quality research
- Project manage research activities, and/or supervise other research staff
- Present high-quality findings in publications and conference proceedings
- Develop novel methodologies and techniques appropriate to the type of research being pursued
- Supervise and examine PhD students, supervise research associates working on the trial both within and out with the University, while also capturing data from participants and their families
- Work collaboratively with our trial statistician and health economist and undertake data analyses
- Help drive participant recruitment and data capture
- Provide expert advice to colleagues and students within the discipline
- Deal with problems that may affect research objectives and deadlines
- Contribute to the administration/management of research across the Department/School
- Develop and make substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, and public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University
- Contribute to some administrative activities within the University, typically relating to research
- Apply knowledge in a way that develops new intellectual understanding
- Actively manage equality, diversity, and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenge unacceptable behaviour in line with university policies
- Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity duties document
Person Specification
- A PhD relevant to the research area (or near completion), or equivalent PhD-level qualifications
- Extensive research experience and scholarship within the subject specialism. This includes experience of undertaking research involving people with intellectual disabilities
- Practice-based experience of working with people with intellectual disabilities and their families
- Experience and achievement reflected in a growing reputation
- Extensive experience and demonstrated success in planning, undertaking research, and project management to deliver high-quality results including experience of working on clinical trials and other large research projects
- Experience of utilising the Mental Capacity Act, 2005, within research
- Extensive experience of applying and/or developing and devising successful models, techniques, and methods including multi-level or linear mixed effects modelling to analyse research data with variability at different levels or clustering
- Knowledge of missing data analysis using multiple imputation
- Experience and/or knowledge of health economics analyses within clinical trials
- Experience and/or knowledge of process evaluation within clinical trials
- Experience in training staff to work with the project protocols including data collection
- Extensive experience and achievement in knowledge transfer, enterprise, and similar activity
- Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action
- Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity knowledge, skills, and experience document
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Informal Enquiries
To Peter Langdon, email: p.langdon@bham.ac.uk
Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of the University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter, and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/about/equality-diversity-inclusion.
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