Welcome to the McPin Foundation About us: Thank you for your interest in our organisation and this Senior Researcher position. Our aim is to transform mental health research to place people affected by mental health problems at its centre. Each of our employees is vital to us in delivering our mission. This post will join a team of seven researchers based in central London, and a wider network of freelance or contracted researchers who work with us on specific projects. This is an opportunity to join an ambitious and friendly team to conduct a range of mental health research projects, all of which place people with experience of mental health problems at their centre. We are looking for someone with a commitment to good quality research and who shares our vision of ensuring that lived experience is valued throughout our work. You can find out more about us at www.mcpin.org Background: You will be working in a busy team based within an open plan serviced office space in London. The current team is made up of a Research Director, Research Manager, Public Involvement in Research Manager, and three senior researchers and researchers. This post will report to the Research Manager. The team conducts a range of research and evaluation projects, supports involvement of people with lived experience in the work of other researchers, and provides support, training and consultancy to the wider mental health sector. Much of our work is conducted in partnership with universities, charities, public sector organisations and NHS and social care professionals. This post would ideally suit someone with expert qualitative skills who has used these in both research and evaluation projects is ambitious to develop further skills and willing to take a lead on projects as well as working with others. As an organisation, we place support and development for our staff at a high premium. We look for people that are willing to take the opportunities provided by working in a small but ambitious organisation and run with them.
On a day to day basis your tasks will include: - Leading and supporting research and evaluation projects, including delivering according to agreed research protocols, on time and within budget - Supporting, supervising and working alongside people who bring lived experience of mental health problems to the research, including experience as a family member/carer, and facilitate meaningful engagement in our work - Communicating and collaborating with academic and other partners, commissioners, and the wider mental health sector as required - Data collection, which may include qualitative interviews, focus groups, surveys, and consultations - Conducting literature reviews and scoping work - Qualitative and some quantitative analysis and interpretation as required - Contributing to the development of new research proposals and study designs, ensuring they meet the needs of commissioners and funders - Working within relevant ethical and governance frameworks - Contributing to a critical learning environment within the team, sharing your skills with colleagues as required and developing new ways of working - Supporting external colleagues, partner organisations, and the wider public through delivering training, advice and responding to queries - Attend and contribute to the team s weekly meetings and other organisational activities - Contributing to McPin s profile by attending and presenting at conferences, seminars and other public events - Writing and publishing for peer review journals, funder reports and McPin published reports - Engage effectively with a range of communication tools, including twitter, blogs, and our website - Liaise with external organisations to promote our research and other resources - Working at all times within McPin s principles, policies and procedures, including equality and diversity, as well as any relevant research governance requirements and legislation - Travel across England as required. The post holder will work on a range of projects and will be expected to undertake new work as it comes in.
Job Description Job Title: Prepared by: Senior Researcher Research Manager Location: Central London Closing Date: 8 th September, 2014 Terms and conditions Hours: 37.5 hours Salary FTE: 25,687.51 to 28,0885.19 PLUS 3351.01 Inner London Weighting Holidays FTE: 25 days plus 8 public holidays and 3 additional days at Christmas Employment status: Fixed term 2 years Probationary period: 6 months Notice period: 4 weeks Purpose of the job: Leading as well as supporting research and evaluation projects, working in collaboration with team members, external partners, and particularly with people who have lived experience of mental health problems. Key Responsibilities: Conduct research and evaluation projects to a high standard, on time and within budget. Supervise, support and work alongside people with lived experience of mental health problems, either personally or as family members. Develop ideas for new research projects, and contribute to writing research funding proposals Contribute to the capacity, skills and profile of the McPin Foundation as a research organisation. Develop own skills and new ways of working. Represent the McPin Foundation at events and meetings promoting the aims and work of the organisation in line with McPin Foundation mission, vision and values. Contribute to the communication resources within the foundation writing blogs, adding website content, publishing peer review research and PPI practice articles, developing toolkits and other outputs for dissemination. Comply with regulations including the Data Protection Act, as well as
the McPin Foundation s policies and research governance framework, and show a commitment to personal development in order to deliver high quality work. Competencies A post holder who is meeting the requirements of this role will demonstrate the following competencies in their work: Quality: Understands scope of own role and how this may develop; works as an effective and responsible team member; prioritises and organises workload effectively; evaluates the quality of own and others work; raises any quality issues and related risks to the appropriate person Equality: Values people as individuals; takes into account own and others behaviour and its effects on others and takes appropriate action when own or others behaviours undermine equality and diversity Information: Gathers, analyses, interprets and presents extensive and or complex data and information to a sufficient quality; complies with legislation, policies and procedures including research standards for publication of data; defines and implements search strategies for reviewing data and summarising results; develops justifiable conclusions and recommendations and presents them clearly and appropriately to meet the needs and interests of the intended audience(s). Communication: Communicates effectively, using a range of different media, including email, telephone, social media and the web; maintains accurate and complete records consistent with legislation, policies and procedures; ensures effective communication with a range of people on a range of matters; constructively manages barriers to communication; evidences ability to develop and maintain communication in difficult situations and on sensitive matters, modifying responses where necessary People management: Engages effectively with other team members and with opportunities to influence work objectives and planning; plans and coordinates work, responding well to changing circumstances and multiple priorities; provides effective and appropriate support to others, recognising individual needs and circumstances Dimensions: People You will work directly with McPin researchers, including reporting to the research manager. You will also work with our Project officer who provides office and organisational support, and our Public Involvement in Research team. You may be required to supervise or support volunteers or freelance researchers on specific projects. You will be working alongside peer researchers. Money You will be required to work within a budget which will be set and overseen by the research manager or research director.
Projects The number of projects you are working on will vary, depending on their scale and complexity and the amount of time required by each of them. Travel Travel within the UK will be required depending on the demands of the project. The key responsibilities above give a broad outline of the functions of the post. However, these duties must be approached in a flexible manner. The post holder will be expected to adapt to changing circumstances and undertake other duties appropriate to the grade of post as allocated by your Line Manager as part of working in a small team to deliver the McPin Foundation mission, vision and goals. The outline of responsibilities may change from time to time. Knowledge Must have excellent understanding of qualitative research methodologies used in social research (E) Must have a good understanding of research governance principles and be able to operate safely and ethically within required procedures (E) Should have a good understanding of mental health, the impact of mental health problems on people s lives, and the system and services operating to support people with mental health problems (D) Should have a good understanding of Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in research and user-led research (D) Knowledge of statistical analysis techniques would be an advantage (D) Skills Must have excellent qualitative research skills, demonstrated through using them in different projects including producing written outputs illustrating expert analysis and interpretative skills Must have excellent inter-personal skills, an ability to inspire others, and work effectively within a small team (E) Must be able to sensitively support and recognise need for support in others, taking into account principles of equality and diversity (E) Must be an adept communicator both oral and written - using well developed skills including presentation abilities and writing for a variety of audiences, including academics, third sector organisations, policymakers, professionals and the public (E) Must take personal responsibility for own development by taking an active role in learning opportunities and be able to identify own learning needs (E) Must have excellent project management skills (E)
Must be highly organised and efficient, with the ability to manage competing priorities and work to deadlines (E) Must have excellent computer skills, particularly in using Microsoft Office software word, power point, excel, outlook and a good working knowledge of NVivo equivalent software (E) Experience Must have experience of applying qualitative research methods, and of working in a research environment (outside of own education) (E) Must have experience of conducting interviews on sensitive topics (E) Must have experience of analysing and writing up research (E), ideally including writing for peer review journal publication (D) Must have experience of building constructive working relationships with others, including senior managers, academics and other researchers (E) Experience of using quantitative methodologies would be an advantage (D) Should have experience of preparing documents for ethical review (NHS REC) (D) Should have experience of working with people with mental health problems and families / carers, preferably in a research setting (D) Should have experience of using social media, either in a work setting or for personal use, including twitter and facebook (D) Qualifications Appropriate level of education and qualifications in order to demonstrate clear ability in skills, knowledge and competency for this post (E). This will typically be a Masters degree or equivalent. E = Essential D = Desirable