University of Birmingham
Research Fellow - School of Social Policy - 107826 - Grade 7
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Position Details
School of Social Policy
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822
Grade: 7
Part Time (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 co-ordinate the BEAMS-ID Trial in collaboration with Cardiff CTR and our Trial Manager
- Work within specified research grants and projects and contribute to writing bids
- Operate within area of specialism
- Analyse and interpret research findings and results
- Contribute to generating funding
- Capturing data from participants and their families
- Contribute to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) and/or public understanding of the discipline or similar
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Main Duties
The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.
- Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
- Contribute to writing bids for research funding
- Analyse and interpret data
- Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
- Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
- Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
- To supervise research associates working on the trial both within and out of the university
- To capture data from participants and their families
- Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
- Undertake management/administration arising from research
- Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
- To work collaboratively with our trial statistician and health economist and undertake data analyses with guidance
- To help drive participant recruitment and data capture
- Provide expert advice to colleagues and students within discipline
- Deal with problems that may affect research objectives and deadlines
- Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
- Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
- Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
- Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
- Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
- Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
Person Specification
- First degree in area of specialism and normally, a higher degree relevant to research area or equivalent qualifications
- High level analytical capability
- Ability to communicate complex information clearly
- Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
- Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
- Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
- 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 and/or knowledge of 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 of utilising the Mental Capacity Act, 2005, within research
- Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
- Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
- Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly
- Experience of working with people with intellectual disabilities and their families
- Experience of working on funded clinical trials of health and/or social care interventions
- Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity knowledge, skills and experience document (https://bham.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/HRDC/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={7c460d71-5114-45aa-b9dd-1692b59aeea4}&action=default&mobileredirect=true).
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Informal enquiries
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.
Diversity and Inclusion
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of 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 (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/about/equality-diversity-inclusion).
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