Research Assistant/Associate (DI Study)

Salary:  Reserach Assistant - £33,951 to £35,608 per annum

            Reserach Associate - £36,636 to £46,049 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 28 May 2026

The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated Research Assistant/Associate to join the DISCOVER Implementation Study, a multi-site mixed-methods research programme investigating the sustainability and scale-up of DISCOVER, a schools-based mental health intervention for young people aged 16 to 18 years.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research Programme and led by Professor June Brown (King’s College London), the study is being delivered across five NHS regions in England in collaboration with Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), schools, and Higher Education Institutions responsible for MHST training.

The project builds on the successful BESST trial and aims to understand how DISCOVER can be implemented effectively and sustainably within real-world NHS and school settings. The Research Assistant/Associate will contribute to both the practical implementation of DISCOVER and the evaluation of how the intervention is delivered across different regions.

Working within the Population Health Sciences Institute at Newcastle University, you will collaborate with a multidisciplinary research team and regional partners. The role will involve conducting qualitative and quantitative data collection, including interviews, focus groups and observational fieldwork within schools and partner organisations. You will also support monitoring of implementation activities, engage with stakeholders including MHST teams and educators, and contribute to research outputs and dissemination activities.

We are looking for a candidate with experience of qualitative research methods and an interest in implementation research, mental health, and working with young people or within education or health settings. The successful candidate will have strong organisational and interpersonal skills, the ability to work collaboratively within a multi-site research project, and a commitment to high-quality and ethical research practice.

This role will involve engagement with partners across the region and occasional travel to research sites. Due to the nature of the work, appropriate DBS clearance will be required.

The 12-month fixed-term post offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to an important programme of research aimed at improving access to evidence-based mental health support for young people. For appointment at Research Associate, the candidate will require a PhD (or have submitted and awaiting viva) in psychology, public health, social sciences, education or a related field.

For more information, please contact Liam Spencer (liam.spencer1@newcastle.ac.uk)

Key Accountabilities

Observing Site-level Implementation:

• Attend WP2 team meetings
• Observe recruitment activities within schools (e.g., assemblies, briefing sessions)
• Attend DISCOVER workshops (where appropriate) as a non-participant observer
• Gather site level measures on fidelity to the DISCOVER model
• Record contextual factors influencing implementation (e.g., school culture, staffing, capacity)
• Contribute field notes to the WP3 implementation journal
• The RA will ensure observations are conducted ethically, maintaining confidentiality and safeguarding standards.

Qualitative Data Collection:

• Recruiting participants for interviews and focus groups (students, MHST staff, teachers, training providers)
• Conducting semi-structured interviews (remote and/or in person)
• Supporting or facilitating focus groups
• Maintaining secure audio recordings and transcripts
• Producing high-quality field notes and summaries
• Contributing to iterative feedback loops to inform implementation strategy

Supporting MHSTs During Implementation:

• Liaise regularly with 2-3 MHST teams in their assigned region
• Support tracking of recruitment (schools and students) and liaise with central project management team
• Assist in monitoring workshop delivery schedules
• Support tracking of student follow-up completion (e.g., 3- and 6-month measures via POD)
• Help identify barriers and facilitators emerging during delivery
• Provide practical coordination support where appropriate (e.g., scheduling interviews, communication support)

Quantitative Data Support:

• Monitoring recruitment numbers and demographic data at a site level
• Monitoring completion rates of students (e.g., information meeting attendance, participation in 1:1 meetings, workshop attendance, follow-ups) and staff retention within MHST teams.
• Supporting data entry or quality checks where required and central tracking of implementation metrics (e.g., school participation, student attendance, follow-ups) working with the wider research team
• Supporting the collection of data relating to MHST staff training (e.g., willingness to be involved in the training, views of training) and structured feedback about workshop sessions from both staff and students.
• Working with the wider research team to contribute to descriptive and inferential statistical analyses examining reach, levels of take-up, and potential inequalities in access and uptake across SUSTAIN and SCALE region
• Contributing to documentation required for health economic costing as appropriate

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Build and maintain positive relationships with MHSTs, schools, and HEIs
• Communicate clearly and professionally with stakeholders
• Support dissemination activities (e.g., summaries, presentations, stakeholder workshops)
• Contribute to reporting for regional leads and central study team

Professional Engagement and Development:

• Participate in regional and cross-site team meetings, including WP2 and WP3 meetings
• Contribute to shared reflective learning across regions, including discussion of implementation challenges and emerging findings
• Engage in regular supervision with the site lead and contribute to collaborative problem-solving within the study team
• Be supported to access relevant institutional training and professional development opportunities aligned with the role (e.g., safeguarding training, qualitative methods, implementation science, research governance)

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Experience conducting qualitative research including interviews and/or focus groups.
• Experience working with young people or within education, health or community settings.
• Understanding of data governance requirements including GDPR and experience handling sensitive data securely.
• Ability to work independently across multiple sites.
• Strong organisational, interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary and multi-institution research teams.
• Understanding of ethical research practice including confidentiality and safeguarding.
• Willingness to travel to research sites.

Desirable

• Experience in implementation research or evaluation studies.
• Experience working within NHS services, schools or education settings.
• Experience supporting mental health or wellbeing programmes.
• Experience of mixed-methods research.
• Experience using qualitative analysis software such as NVivo.
• Experience working on multi-site research projects.
• Knowledge of adolescent mental health.

Attributes and Behaviour (essential)

• Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders including researchers, practitioners, educators and young people.
• Ability to prioritise tasks and manage competing demands.
• Flexible approach to research delivery and fieldwork.
• Commitment to inclusive and ethical research practice.

Qualifications

• A degree in psychology, public health, social sciences, education or a related field and equivalent research experience (for appointment at Research Assistant).
• PhD (or have submitted and awaiting viva) in psychology, public health, social sciences, education or a related field, and equivalent research experience (for appointment at Research Associate).

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 29337