Department of Psychology

Grade 6: - £26,715 - £28,331 per annum, pro rata
Fixed Term - Part Time
Contract Duration: 9 months
Contracted Hours per Week: 21
Closing Date: 16-Mar-2021, 7:59:00 AM 

Durham University

Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.

The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience.

Less than 3 hours north of London and an hour and a half south of Edinburgh, County Durham is a region steeped in history and natural beauty. The Durham Dales, including the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, are home to breath-taking scenery and attractions. Durham offers an excellent choice of city, suburban and rural residential locations. The University provides a range of benefits including pension and childcare benefits and the University’s Relocation Manager can assist with potential schooling requirements.

Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength and we welcome applications from across the international, national and regional communities that we work with and serve.

The Department

Founded in 1952, the Department of Psychology is consistently ranked as one of the very best in the UK with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research and student employability. The department is committed to creating and maintaining a research environment that spans the entire breadth of psychology. Currently the department’s research falls within three groupings: Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Science, and Quantitative Social Psychology. There is a vibrant research culture with a weekly departmental research seminar series.

The department is extremely well equipped for research, including facilities for fMRI, TMS, tDCS, EEG/ERP, VR, eye movement tracking, and biophysiological recording. The department also has a motion capture lab for analysis of visuomotor action and experiments in immersive VR, a ‘bar’ lab for naturalistic studies in health psychology, and setups for psychophysics including an echo-attenuated chamber. The department benefits from full IT and mechanical research support from departmental technicians between 8:30 and 16:30 Monday to Friday.

We offer a prestigious Psychology undergraduate programme (C800), a new undergraduate programme in Behavioural Science (C803), as well as a suite of masters programmes. Our single honours Psychology programme achieved 91% satisfaction with our students in the 2020 NSS and we are privileged to work with outstanding students who are attracted to Durham from across the globe.

The successful candidate will be a core member of the Centre for Developmental Disorders (www.durham.ac.uk/devdis) which includes researchers conducting a wide range of studies in the field of neurodevelopmental research – especially focused on Autism and Williams syndrome and they will be invited to join the North East Autism Research group.

The Role

A 9-month fixed-term Research Assistant (RA) position is available three days per week in the Department of Psychology at Durham University. The successful candidate will join the research project “Triple A – Attention, Arousal and Anxiety in the Classroom” led by Dr Mary Hanley and Prof Debbie Riby and funded by an ESRC IAA grant. The project focuses on translating research on barriers to learning in the classroom to make an impact with educators, by developing an online training tool. A critical element of the project is engagement and co-production with our collaborative partners in the Autism and Social Communication team at Durham County Council, and with key stakeholder groups (teachers, educational psychologist, autistic adults, parents and families).  The ultimate aim is that our online resource will improve understanding of ‘Triple A’ difficulties in the classroom and enhance learning outcomes for all children.

The Project: The project has three over-arching aims. Aim 1 is to maximise the impact of our underpinning research outputs by engaging stakeholders who directly support the needs of children in the classroom (teachers, trainee teachers and educational psychologists). Aim 2 is to co-produce a new online training and support resource with autistic young people and specialist autism teachers within County Durham focusing on Triple-A issues in the classroom. Aim 3 is to evaluate the impact of the new resource.

The Project Team: The research assistant will join a vibrant research group in the field of developmental disorders (inc 5 PhD students, a postdoc, another RA, academic staff). The grant is held by Dr Mary Hanley and Prof Debbie Riby, who will jointly provide RA supervision. The broader project team also involves the Autism and Social Communication team in Durham County Council, who are our collaborative partners in this project (acting as advisers).

Expectations: The successful applicant will be expected to carry out the day-to-day responsibilities of the running of the project, including submitting ethics applications, recruiting participants to take part in focus groups and workshops, running focus groups and workshops with stakeholders, analysing the data from focus groups and workshops. They will also be tasked with the co-ordination of the development of the online resource, its promotion and distribution and analysing the evidence of impact. They will need to interact with various stakeholder groups (teachers, Educational Psychologists, parents, autistic adults and young people) as well as the collaborative partner (Autism and Social Communication team at Durham County Council).  The work will be conducted primarily using online methods (e.g. video conferencing). Data analysis will be conducted in SPSS. The RA will also be involved in reporting the findings back to the relevant stakeholder groups involved in the project. The successful applicant will be expected to actively engage with the activities of the Centre for Developmental Disorders. Standard RA responsibilities and specific requirements are listed in more detail below.

Responsibilities:

• To understand and convey information which needs careful explanation to the team or group of people through presentations, discussions and meetings which contribute to the production of research reports and publications.
• To write up results of research work, present information on research progress and outcomes to bodies supervising research in a clear and accurate manner.
• To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and offering creative or innovative solutions.
• To liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• To contribute to the planning of research projects. 
• To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
• To engage in wider citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
• To engage in continuing professional development by attending relevant training and development courses.

This post is fixed term for 9 months and this is set by the level of funding provided for this post by the sponsor, ESRC IAA. The successful applicant will, ideally, be in post in April 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Successful applicants will, ideally, be in post by 1st April 2021.

How to Apply

For informal enquiries please contact Dr Mary Hanley mary.hanley@durham.ac.uk.  All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence.

We prefer to receive applications online via the Durham University Vacancies Site. https://www.dur.ac.uk/jobs/. As part of the application process, you should provide details of 3 (preferably academic/research) referees and the details of your current line manager so that we may seek an employment reference.

Applications are particularly welcome from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in the University.

What to Submit

All applicants are asked to submit:

• A CV and covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above.

Next Steps

The assessment for the post will include an online interview and assessment in March 2021.

The Requirements

Essential:

• A good first degree in psychology or related discipline
• A Masters degree in psychology.
• Experience in conducting basic academic research or providing research assistance, including the use of standard research methods.
• Demonstrable ability to produce concise and well-written reports for a range of stakeholders, including a non-academic audience.
• Experience of conducting research with people with autism
• Demonstrate an awareness of translating research to practice.
• Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
• Ability to manage time effectively and work to strict deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Desirable:

• Experience in conducting online questionnaire studies and focus groups.
• Experience of conducting research with schools, families, or public sector organisations.
• Knowledge of research on Triple-A difficulties in the classroom (i.e. difficulties with attention, arousal and anxiety relevant to learning in the classroom).

DBS Requirement: Not Applicable.