The Department of Psychology at the University of Bath is seeking a highly motivated Post-Doctoral Research Associate to join the NIHR-funded Bath Mental Health Research Group (£11M).

About the role

The Bath Mental Health Research Group aims to improve mental health and wellbeing in young people aged between 12 and 25 in Bath, North-East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire.

This role is embedded within a programme of applied research focused on improving access to, and outcomes from, community mental health services for children and young people, with a particular focus on neurodivergent youth through the use of electronic health records.

The Research Associate will join the project, “Harnessing the power of electronic health records to understand and improve access and outcomes in community mental health services for neurodivergent youth”, led by Dr Katherine Button.

There is a substantial gap in mental health provision for children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and oppositional defiant disorder, which is particularly concerning given their high rates of co-occurring anxiety and/or depression.

Needs and outcome reporting in children and young people’s mental health services is highly variable, making it difficult to build a clear picture of current provision and to identify opportunities for targeted improvement.

It is therefore unclear how well these services are meeting the needs of neurodivergent youth, and whether modifications to existing treatments (e.g. adapted CBT) are required.

This project aims to use routinely collected health data to better understand current practices, identify opportunities for improvement, and inform future service development.

To address these issues, the Research Associate will work in partnership with the digital technology company Mayden and with community mental health services to produce publications and applied research outputs, including:

• Using routinely collected clinical and administrative mental health data to examine how neurodiversity and co-occurring externalising difficulties are recorded within services for children and young people, the types of interventions received, and whether patterns of access and outcomes differ across groups.
• Conducting quantitative analyses of large-scale health and service-level datasets to address applied research questions relevant to community mental health provision, and contributing to peer-reviewed publications and reports.
• Working with key stakeholders (e.g. NHS services, commissioners, clinicians, young people and carers) to understand data practices and priorities, and contributing to co-production activities aimed at identifying and refining candidate screening and outcome measures suitable for use within electronic health record systems.
• Producing evidence-based recommendations and outputs to inform future service development, data use, and best-practice guidance.

What we're looking for

We welcome applications from candidates who have:

• A PhD in psychology, psychiatry, epidemiology, statistics, data science or related discipline, with a strong quantitative research element.
• Knowledge and experience of mental health research, ideally with children and young people.
• Experience of working with administrative data, electronical health records and/or big data is desirable but not essential
• Experience with advanced quantitative data analysis and data code (preferably using R or Stata) and a commitment to research integrity, reproducibility, and open research.
• Excellent team working, communication, and time management skills.
• While prior experience of working with electronic health records or administrative data is desirable, candidates with strong quantitative skills and a demonstrable interest in applied mental health research are encouraged to apply.

Additional information

We have one position available offered on a full time (36.5 hours per week) fixed-term basis for an initial period of 3 years.

Informal enquiries about this role should be directed to Dr Katherine Button (K.S.Button@bath.ac.uk).

A lower grade offer may be made (Grade 6) with comparable reduction in responsibilities and amendment in job title to Research Assistant, if a suitable applicant cannot be found to fill the Grade 7 position. Applicants will need to be within six months of their course completion date and will be promoted to Research Associate once their PhD has been awarded.

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equity and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students and encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.

We're very proud to be a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. an accredited Disability Confident Leader; autism friendly university, committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff.

What we can offer you

We're continually expanding our benefits package to better support you and enhance your experience with us and the below is just an example of some of the many great benefits we offer:

• Employee assistance services through Health Assured, including access to the Wisdom app
• Generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
• Generous employer contributory pension schemes
• Cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
• Staff discount at Team Bath gym
• Staff benefits include discounted postgraduate tuition and language courses, alongside a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities such as apprenticeships, LinkedIn Learning, and more
• Local discounts, including free entry to the Holburne Museum in Bath
• A family-friendly workplace
• An excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
• Relocation allowance
• Visa reimbursement and Interest-Free Loan to help with the cost of some immigration expenses

Find out more about our benefits hear from our staff about what makes the University of Bath a great place to work as well as following us X and LinkedIn.

Be Well at Bath

We’re committed to creating a health-supporting working environment where everyone can thrive and be at their best. We offer a range of resources to enable you to do that from your first day here, including:

• Staff support groups and networks
• A network of Staff Wellbeing Champions
• A suite of tools, resources and frameworks that enable you to be at your best and thrive

Find out more about being at your best at Bath.

• Job Description & Person Specification
• Job Description & Person Specification