Job description

Are you an experienced postgraduate researcher in a field related to psychology and/or clinical research, with an interest in how technology can improve access, experience, and outcomes for a diverse range of people with severe mental health problems? This is an exciting opportunity to be the Study Co-ordinator for a new Wellcome funded study, SlowMo2.   

SlowMo is a class I UKCA marked inclusive, digitally supported psychological intervention for psychosis that improves paranoia and promotes living well. It works by targeting the fast-thinking habits associated with paranoia and supports people to slow down their thinking to find ways of feeling safer. SlowMo is designed to address key barriers to therapy implementation for psychosis, particularly for marginalised groups.  

In our large, multi-centre RCT, SlowMo was found to be efficacious, and highly engaging and deliverable, with improvements demonstrated in paranoia, worry, self-concept, quality of life and wellbeing, which were sustained over 6 months (Garety et al, 2021; Hardy et al, 2022; Ward et al, 2021). SlowMo2 will investigate if these benefits can be translated to real world settings, by developing a new version of SlowMo and evaluating its implementation, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness in three NHS Trusts. 

This unique 36-month full-time study co-ordinator post will be integral to our mission of delivering an appealing, easy-to-use, and effective therapy for people with psychosis, that can be scaled up in the NHS. The postholder will join a friendly and supportive interdisciplinary team. They will be highly capable of co-ordinating all aspects of the study conduct, under the line management of the study lead, Dr Amy Hardy. This includes therapy development and user testing; site set-up including obtaining medical device regulatory and research ethics approvals; collection, monitoring and reporting of implementation, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness data; and contributing to output development including funder progress reports, research papers and a commercialisation plan.  

As the successful candidate, you will have an academic background in psychology or a related discipline and an outstanding track record in project management and/or clinical research co-ordination. You will be highly capable of working independently and problem solving as necessary. You will be strongly committed to promoting an inclusive and supportive working environment, whilst maintaining high standards of performance. You will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and an ability to work under pressure to meet study milestones. The successful applicant will join the Psychology Department and become a member of the psychosis research group. As an equal opportunities employer, we strongly welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit. 

This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 3 years 

This is a full-time post, 100% full-time equivalent.

Key responsibilities  

•        Co-ordinate software development in liaison with the project lead, software developers and design collaborators. 

•        Contribute to the design and production of audio-visual therapy materials, including user testing and piloting. 

•        Produce documentation to support medical device regulation, NHS adoption and REC/HRA ethical approvals. 

•        Support the development of promotional materials for SlowMo (including website, video, and leaflets) to assist public engagement and therapy implementation. 

•        Liaise with NHS trust staff to support site readiness for implementation, including technical support and compliance with trust standards. 

•        Develop secure and reliable protocols for collection of high-quality implementation, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness data. 

•        Oversee the training and co-ordination of site research workers, to maintain research standards and consistency across sites.   

•        Support data collation, data quality checks, and data reporting, to monitor study progress in line with planned milestones. 

•        Ensure data are recorded and stored in accordance with study procedures, following Good Clinical Practice, ethical and regulatory standards. 

•        Engage in effective communication via phone, email, video call, and remote and in-person meetings with the interdisciplinary team and develop supportive interpersonal relationships.  

•        Co-ordinate and facilitate team meetings as necessary.  

•        Co-ordinate the development and delivery of an automated therapist training for SlowMo2. 

•        Support the project team to develop a commercialisation strategy to assist further scale-up and spread. 

•        Work flexibly for the benefit of the project as required, including travel to study sites where appropriate.  

•        Facilitate meaningful involvement of people with lived experience throughout all aspects of the research, including lay PPI members and lived experience researchers.

•        Comply with departmental and IoPPN (or KCL) policies concerning security, safety, and patient confidentiality. 

•        Undertake necessary administration tasks, training and/or development in line with study aims. 

•        Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as directed by the line manager. 

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.      A degree (2:1 or above) in a field related to psychology or clinical research. 

2.      Extensive clinical research management experience and/or a postgraduate research degree and experience in a field related to psychology or clinical research. 

3.      Outstanding project management skills and experience of using initiative, including organisation, planning, and problem solving, to meet agreed milestones.  

4.      Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and experience of working with colleagues to promote an inclusive working environment.  

5.      Knowledge of or ability to learn protocols and procedures for HRA/REC ethical approval, medical device regulation and NHS technology adoption requirements.  

6.      Strong IT skills to support product development and research data management.  

7.      Experience of supporting the creation of engaging and accessible multimedia content. 

8.      Experience of engaging marginalised groups in research to promote inclusion.  

9.      Experience of maintaining records in line with information governance requirements, including data storage and privacy.  

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of working with people with severe mental health problems.  
2. Knowledge of research ethics protocols and procedures, particularly in NHS settings. 
3. Experience of human-centred design, product development, and/or graphic design.  
4. Experience of medical device development, evaluation and/or regulation. 
5. Experience of developing and/or evaluating digital therapeutics for mental health. 

Further information

Shortlisted candidates will be informed on Tuesday 18th April and invited for interview on Monday 24th April 2023. Interview will be held via videocall. The post start date is anticipated to be 25.07.23 (pending set-up of study contracts for participating institutions).