Overview
Research Assistant in the Department of Psychological Medicine – Strand, London, WC2R 2LS
About us
Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) and the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at King’s College London in collaboration with Black Thrive Global and two international partners in the United States and Sweden have been funded to deliver a new research programme, titled Collective Action for Race Equity in Health and Social Care (CARE-HSC) that aims to address and dismantle structural factors that perpetuate racial discrimination and harassment within care systems.
About the role
We are seeking an enthusiastic Research Assistant to join CARE-HSC, specifically working on ‘Workstream 1: Formal (Workforce) Carers’ co-led by Professor Stephani Hatch and Dr Rebecca Rhead.
This workstream focusses on a collaboration with NHS peer researchers to uncover mechanisms through which racial inequities persist within care systems, exploring how racism affects care delivery and health and social outcomes, using qualitative and quantitative methods.
The successful Research Assistant will support the team and develop and conduct a PhD project within the remit of the workstream. Research priorities and questions will be co-produced with the NHS Race and Health Observatory, and the project will broadly aim to examine and explore intersecting formal and informal (unpaid) carer identities and inequities in health and service use.
The postholder will lead on co-designing a mixed methods PhD project with a partner organisation, scoping a feasible topic that aligns with Workstream 1. They will conduct literature and policy reviews on racialised inequality in health and social care, drawing on critical race and intersectionality frameworks, and work closely with postdoctoral researchers to support qualitative elements of the project, including ethics applications, data collection, and dissemination.
The role will involve qualitative research such as discourse analysis, interviews, participatory workshops with carers and stakeholders, and data coding, alongside contributing to the development and coordination of the new Race Equity in Care survey. This will include assisting with ethics applications, questionnaire design, and partner liaison. The postholder will also contribute to quantitative analyses, including survey data and secondary datasets (e.g. TIDES, UK-REACH, NHS CHECK, NHS staff survey) using statistical software such as Stata, R, MPLUS or Python. Working with the workstream Co-leads and wider research team, they will contribute to analyses, publications, reports and dissemination, as well as undertake administrative tasks and present findings at meetings, seminars and conferences. Professional and career development will be supported through training opportunities and dedicated CARE-HSC funding.
This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31st December 2030, with the possibility of extension.
Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers , applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.
About you
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
Essential criteria
- Master’s degree in a relevant area of the social sciences (e.g. Mental Health Studies, Public Health, Epidemiology, Occupational Health, Research Methods) and intent to pursue a co-designed mixed methods PhD on racism in the healthcare.
- Experience of conducting quantitative analysis with strong motivation to develop further through training and practice.
- Strong qualitative research skills (e.g. semi-structured interviews, focus groups, content analysis).
- Excellent writing and communication skills, with experience assisting in writing publications for academic, public and stakeholder audiences.
- Demonstrated knowledge of concepts and social theory as it relates to racism, racialisation and inequality in health and care settings.
- Proven ability to manage time effectively and organise workload across competing priorities.
- Strong ability to present complex information clearly to academic, policy, and public audiences, with clear examples from previous roles.
- Understanding of data confidentiality and data security.
Desirable criteria
- Experience engaging with wider audiences through accessible and creative outputs (e.g. blogs, community events).
- Demonstrated experience working effectively with non-academic partners, such as public-funded bodies or volunteer and community sector organisations.
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 page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.
