Research Associate in Population Mental Health and Health Inequalities
- Employer
- KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
- Location
- Denmark Hill Campus, King's College London
- Salary
- £44,105 - £51,485 per annum (including London Weighting Allowance)
- Closing date
- 10 Feb 2025
View more categoriesView less categories
- Academic Discipline
- Psychology, Social Sciences
- Job Type
- Research Related, Research Associate
- Contract Type
- Fixed Term
- Hours
- Full Time
Job Details
About us:
In April 2024, IoPPN, King’s College London led the establishment of a national disseminated population mental health consortium, as part of a UKRI funded population health improvement initiative (Population Health Improvement UK- PHIUK). This post will be situated in Department of Psychological Medicine, at IoPPN (Denmark Hill campus), London (KCL) and will work across this partnership.
About the role:
We are seeking an enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher with a strong background in quantitative methods and mental health research to join Platform 3 (Narrowing Inequalities) within the Population Mental Health Consortium. This role focuses on conducting robust quantitative analysis to assess intersectional inequalities in population mental health, ensuring that interventions and policies are equitable and actively reduce existing disparities.
The successful candidate will apply advanced statistical methods to large-scale, linked datasets to investigate health inequalities utilising intersectional approaches. They will also use mapping tools such as ArcGIS and QGIS to visualise spatial data and patterns in health inequalities, and develop dynamic, interactive reports using Quarto or Markdown to communicate findings effectively to diverse audiences.
The researcher will prepare high-quality research outputs, including peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and presentations for academic, policy, and public audiences. They will engage with consortium partners—including NHS England/Improvement, Traumascapes, the Association of Directors of Public Health, and the NHS Race and Health Observatory—to co-produce research that integrates the lived experiences of underserved communities.
In addition, the role will involve conducting ongoing Equality Impact Assessments (EIA) to evaluate interventions, identify missing voices, assess power dynamics, and consider the potential consequences of policies and initiatives. The researcher will also use the Health Inequalities Assessment Toolkit (HIAT) to systematically integrate an intersectional equity lens into research across the consortium. This includes mapping inequalities, ensuring accountability in addressing identified inequities, and incorporating lived experience and policy/practice expertise into all stages of research.
This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31st May 2027.
About you:
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
Essential criteria
1. PhD in a Relevant Discipline: Statistics, Epidemiology, Public Health, or a related field.
*Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate, and the salary will increase to Grade 6.
2. Proficiency in statistical analyses and use of relevant statistical packages (Stata, R, MPLUS etc.)
3. Evidence of previous research in mental health, particularly related to health inequalities.
4. Experience working with large-scale, linked datasets (e.g., health records, administrative data).
5. Experience with geographical information systems and spatial data visualisation.
6. Excellent organisational and time-management skills.
7. Strong ability to present complex information clearly to academic, policy, and public audiences.
8. Demonstrated experience working effectively within interdisciplinary teams and with non-academic partners, including public health entities, people with lived experience and volunteer and community sector organisations.
Desirable criteria
1. Track record of publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
2. Experience working across policy, public health, voluntary sectors, or with people with lived experience.
3. Familiarity with intersectional analysis methods like multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA) and participatory research methods, such as Photovoice.
4. Experience supervising researchers or students and delivering seminars or training to diverse audiences.
5. Track record of publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Downloading a copy of our Job Description
Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.
Further information
We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.
To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.
Interviews are due to be held week commencing 3rd March 2025.
We are not able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.
Company
King's College London is one of the top 20 universities in the world and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 27,600 students (of whom nearly 10,500 are graduate students) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 6,800 staff.
King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) King’s was ranked 6th nationally in the ‘power’ ranking, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of research activity, and 7th for quality according to Times Higher Education rankings. Eighty-four per cent of research at King’s was deemed ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3* and 4*). The university is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of more than £684 million.
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.
King’s £600 million campaign, World questions|KING’s answers, has delivered huge global impact in areas where King’s has particular expertise. Philanthropic support has funded new research to save young lives at Evelina London Children’s Hospital; established the King’s Dickson Poon School of Law as a worldwide leader in transnational law; built a new Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital; allowed unique collaboration between leading neuroscientists to fast-track new treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, motor neurone disease, depression and schizophrenia at the new Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute; created the Cicely Saunders Institute: the first academic institution in the world dedicated to palliative care, and supported the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership in the Ebola crisis. Donations provide over 300 of the most promising students with scholarships and bursaries each year. More information about the campaign is available at www.kcl.ac.uk/kingsanswers.
- Mini-site
- KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
- Telephone
- +(44)02078365454
- Location
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STRAND
LONDON
WC2R 2LS
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