***THIS JOB VACANCY HAS NOW CLOSED***
Job description
We are looking to appoint an enthusiastic and highly skilled Research Assistant to support the delivery of the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) Research Centre.
The FiMT Research Centre was created to help ensure that policy makers and service providers supporting the UK Armed Forces Community can base their decision-making on the most accurate and contemporary evidence available. It is therefore a research centre of excellence, providing an authoritative and accessible repository of latest research evidence and policy and practice documents, resources, and summaries, about ex-service personnel and their families’ transition to civilian life. The centre also aims to facilitate collaboration between researchers, policy makers, and service providers to inform and transform policy and practice affecting ex-Service personnel and their families in the UK.
The Research Centre is run by a consortium of King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), King’s College London, and RAND Europe and is led by Co-Directors Professor Nicola Fear (KCMHR) and Ruth Harris (RAND Europe).
This post of Research Assistant would be situated within the KCMHR side of this collaborative team.
The King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) is the leading civilian UK centre of excellence for research with the Armed Forces Community. Independent of the Ministry of Defence, Office for Veterans’ Affairs and chain of command, our research has provided much-needed evidence on the health and well-being of serving and ex-serving personnel and their families.
The appointed Research Assistant will work closely with the Deputy Research Manager (Employed by KCL) and the Research Manager (Employed by RAND Europe) to support the day to day running of the centre. This will include contributing to primary research, production and publication of research and policy summaries, conducting literature searches and other tasks related to maintaining and updating the online research repository, and engaging with stakeholders and partners as we build and maintain the Centre’s presence and engagement. They will be responsible for managing the centre’s social media presence and producing written content such as newsletters and news articles. The post holder will also support the Deputy Research Manager in planning and delivering the annual FiMT Research Centre Conference. These responsibilities are not exhaustive and may change depending on the needs of the centre.
The successful candidate will be enthusiastic and organised, with great attention to detail and multi-tasking abilities, and a desire to grow their skills and experience as researcher. They will be comfortable working independently and collaboratively between different teams. They will successfully manage their time and workload and demonstrate initiative in handling demanding deadlines and targets when needed. The successful candidate will demonstrate an understanding and practice of equitable and inclusive research practices. Ideally the post holder will have an interest and experience in working with the Armed Forces Community or similar.
We value diversity and representation and are dedicated to creating an equitable and inclusive working environment in all that we do. We encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, genders, and experiences.
This post is a 0.6 FTE part-time role [3 days a week] for a duration of 2 years with scope for extension dependant on performance. The post holder will be responsible to the Deputy Research Manager Kirsty Dimond
The post is based at the Kings Centre for Military Health Research at King’s College London, Denmark Hill Campus. The post holder may also be required to work at the FiMT offices in Victoria, London.
This post will be offered on an a fixed term contract for 2 years
This is a part-time post
Key responsibilities
• Supporting the Research Manager and Deputy Research Manager with day-to-day operations of the research centre
• Contributing to the delivery of the FiMT Research Centre agreed primary research outputs and activities
• Quality Management of the online research repository including regular updates of new articles
• Supporting the planning and delivery of the FiMT Research Centre annual Conference
• Contributing to the production of materials relevant to the centre’s work i.e., reports, educational materials, research summaries
• Assisting in the development and management of the Centre’s website
• Assisting the team in delivering the FiMT Research Centre’s strategy and achieving impact
• Management of social media accounts including creation of content such as posts and newsletters.
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. 2:1 or above degree in a relevant field e.g., psychology, public health, sociology, other social sciences, or health sciences
2. Knowledge of the Armed Forces community
3. Interest in working in research within the Armed Forces Community
4. Produces high-quality work efficiently and prioritizes their workload to meet targets and deadlines
5. Able to work independently and use their own initiative as well as collaborate across multiple teams
6. Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) including newsletters and blogs
7. Demonstrates an understanding and reflection of, and appropriate action related to, equality, equity, inclusion, and diversity
8. Knowledge and experience of research methods including literature searches and reviews, and the ability to interpret findings from academic and scientific research papers and publications, and policy documents.
9. High attention to detail and able to work consistently even on repetitive tasks
10. Intermediate in Microsoft Office 365 programs
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in Research in the Armed Forces Community or other relevant experience working within the Armed Forces Community or similar groups.
- Experience in social media management/content creation
- Postgraduate qualification in a related field
