Research Assistant/Associate

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

            Research Associate: £36,636 - £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: 21 June 2026

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Research Assistant/Associate to join a CLEFT Bridging the Gap funded study to investigate the feasibility of measuring sleep and speech and language development in young children with cleft lip & palate: the SleepyHeads feasibility study.

This study is led by Dr Stephanie van Eeden and Dr Vic Knowland. For more information about the team and the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, including our Speech and Language Sciences subject area, see here.

The postholder should have a PhD in a relevant discipline e.g. Speech and Language Sciences, Education, Psychology, Linguistics (Research Associate), although we will consider candidates who are close to submission of their PhD, (initially employed at Research Assistant level).

The postholder will be responsible for setting up and implementing mixed methods data collection with families in the North East and Cumbria, and subsequent data coding and analysis. They will also be actively involved in writing and dissemination of research outcomes, and in engagement beyond academic audiences.

We are committed to building and maintaining a fair and inclusive working environment. We would be happy to discuss arrangements for flexible working, including a combination of working on campus and remotely, and flexibility around start and finish times, appropriate to the needs of the role. However, please note that responsibilities of this role, linked to delivering the SleepyHeads feasibility study within the community, will necessitate regular in-person sessions across the North East and Cumbria. The post holder will be required to be a car driver and hold/undergo an enhanced DBS check.

Informal enquiries are welcome. Please contact Dr Stephanie van Eeden (stephanie.van-eeden@newcastle.ac.uk) to discuss the role. To apply, please upload an up-to-date CV and letter of application of 1-2 pages outlining specific examples around how you meet the requirements set out in ‘The Person’ section below.

This post is part time 0.4FTE for 14.8 hours a week

Interview will be held on the 30th June

Key Accountabilities

• Organising mixed methods data collection, including set up, implementation and analysis.
• Working directly with families of children with cleft lip & palate age 1-6.
• Working closely with external stakeholders in the NHS.
• Conducting research-related administration to ensure ethical research procedures and security of data management.
• Developing and maintaining knowledge of relevant research findings and policy/practice developments.
• Collaboratively working to prepare research outcomes for submission to high-quality refereed journals, presentation at national academic and practitioner conferences, and reports to funder.
• Undertaking appropriate training and career enhancement activities, including the development of skills relevant to wider academic responsibilities.

The Person (Essential/Desirable)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Theoretical knowledge of children’s sleep and/or speech and language development (E)
• Knowledge of observational research methodology (E)
• Data analysis skills with both qualitative and quantitative data sets (E)
• Experience working with young children and families for research data collection (E)
• Awareness of and sensitivity to needs of research participants from diverse cultural backgrounds (E)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate complex information effectively with varied stakeholders (E)

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to engage in ongoing, structured reflection to evaluate and improve performance (E)
• Ability to travel to research sites in the North East and Cumbria (E)
• Systematic approach to project planning, time-management, organisation and prioritisation, with the ability to set and update realistic goals (E)
• Collegial contributions to project work as a part of an interdisciplinary team (E)
• Commitment to personal career development appropriate to the expectations and opportunities of the position (E)

Qualifications

• Driving license (E)
• Appointment subject to an up-to-date enhanced DBS check (E)

Essential for Research Associate post:

• A fully completed and awarded PhD in Speech and Language Sciences, Education, Psychology, Linguistics or a closely related discipline.

Essential for Research Assistant post:

• Working towards or nearing completion of a PhD (submission within 3 months maximum) in Speech and Language Sciences, Education, Psychology, Linguistics or a closely related discipline.

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: 29376