Lecturer in Epidemiology and Youth Mental Health

Job description

​This is an exciting opportunity for a Lecturer to join us to contribute the research and postgraduate educational programme in the Health Service and Population Research Department and ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London (IoPPN-KCL). We are seeking an enthusiastic and dedicated colleague with expertise in epidemiology, longitudinal methods, and youth mental health who can make a distinctive contribution to education and drive forward collaborative high-quality research. You should have excellent teaching and communication skills and be able to inspire and inform students. 

In this post, you will perform independent research that complements the existing interdisciplinary mix in the Department and ESRC Centre, focussing on how social factors during adolescence contribute to mental health outcomes across the lifespan through psychosocial and other pathways. We particularly welcome candidates with potential to undertake interdisciplinary research and with experience of building strong collaborations with community partners and young people. 

As postholder, you will establish a research programme as principal investigator, attracting external funding. You will establish collaborations with other groups within the Department, ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health, and School of Mental health and Psychological Sciences, and with the Pears Maudsley Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. You may link with existing programmes and/or bring new perspectives on the pathways through which social factors across adolescence influence mental health. We encourage open science practices in data, software, and publishing.

Education and training of the next generation of scientists is a priority in HSPR. You will deliver undergraduate and postgraduate teaching (approximately 20% to 40% FTE) by co-developing a new MSc in Society and Mental Health, leading a MSc module, supervising MSc/BSc research dissertation projects, and acting as a personal tutor. 

We particularly welcome applicants who are disabled, LGBTQ+ and/or from a minority ethnic background, as they are particularly under-represented at King’s. At King’s, we are deeply committed to embedding good equality and diversity practice into all our activities so that the university is an inclusive, welcoming and inspiring place to work and study. HSPR strives to be an open and supportive community, with a strong emphasis on working practices that promote diversity and inclusion, including an anti-racism working group.  

HSPR: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/mental-health-and-psychological-sciences/about/departments/health-service-and-population-research

ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health:  https://www.kcl.ac.uk/csmh 

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract   

This is a full-time post, 100% full time equivalent; a part-time role would be considered.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and sustain and high-quality research activity in epidemiological and longitudinal approaches to understanding how social factors contribute to mental health outcomes during adolescence, through a portfolio of independent and collaborative research projects.
• Acquire grant funding for research through project grants, fellowships, studentship funding, consultancy and other sources.
• Enhance the research profile of the HSPR, the ESRC Centre, and King’s, through maintaining a consistently high-level output of publications in quality peer reviewed scientific journals and presentations of world-class quality. 
• Contribute to the dynamic and collegiate research environment in HSPR. 
• Supervise, train and mentor postgraduate research students and research staff to ensure their academic and professional development.  
• Deliver an excellent student experience through innovative teaching and assessment methods  
• Contribute lecture provision, develop, and mark assessments, project dissertation supervision and module leadership for both undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes.  
• Contribute to and help shape new educational offerings, including both in person and online courses.  
• Play an active role in the personal tutor scheme and be involved in new initiatives for student welfare.  
• Enthusiastically contribute to academic management, supporting the administration and organisation of the department to further our education, research activities and ambitions. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Essential criteria

1.       PhD in an area relevant to the Department and ESRC Centre and the proposed research area (e.g., epidemiology, social epidemiology, youth mental health) 

2.       Research excellence in using epidemiological and longitudinal methods to study health, mental health, or well-being outcomes  

3.       Ability to produce nationally and internationally excellent scientific outputs as first and/or senior author   

4.      Strong research record, with evidence of potential to attract research grant funding  

5.       Experience, enthusiasm and energy for teaching at BSc, MSc and PhD levels  

6.      Ability to supervise research projects for postgraduate taught and undergraduate students.

Desirable criteria

1.       Experience in collaborative research across disciplinary boundaries

2.       Ability to contribute to the Department’s teaching and research strategy 

3.       Experience with curriculum development and/or module leadership

4.      Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, or completion of appropriate training in Higher Education teaching

Further information

Professor Craig Morgan (craig.morgan@kcl.ac.uk)