Research Assistant

Post Title: Research Assistant

SBU/Department:  Life and Medical Sciences / Psychology, Sport Science and Geography

FTE: 1.0fte (working 37 hours per week) 

Duration of Contract: Fixed term for 48 months

Salary: UH5 £27,181pa with potential to progress to £30,487 by annual increments

Annual Leave: 35 days plus standard public holidays and an additional 4 days including the closure of our office between Christmas and New Year

Location: College Lane Campus, Hatfield

We are seeking a Senior Research Assistant to work on an exciting behavioral science research project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The project is a randomised controlled trial which aims to determine whether a new intervention ‘Wrapped’ is effective in increasing condom use and in turn reducing STI positivity amongst young people. Wrapped has been developed especially for 16-24 year olds accessing sexually transmitted infection (STI) self-sampling websites. It is a tailored digital intervention consisting of six components including a video demo of correct condom application and access to an online condom distribution service.

The successful candidate will join other researchers within the PHAB lab (Public health and Applied Behaviour change laboratory) at the University of Hertfordshire. This is a vibrant, friendly, and supportive environment within which to demonstrate and develop your research skills and academic career. 

Main duties and responsibilities

The successful candidate will support the principal investigator (Dr Katie Newby) and the wider team (including other researchers and trial manager), to set up and run the online randomised controlled trial. The main duties and responsibilities of this role include, but are not limited to: developing ethics applications, qualitative data collection and analysis, coordination of a Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG), monitoring of online data collection, organisation of steering group meetings, and report writing/dissemination. For a full list of responsibilities and duties please refer to the Job Description and accompanying Annex.

Skills and experience required

The successful candidate will be a motivated and organised researcher able to navigate the demands of a full scale randomised controlled trial. You will be supported by a team of experienced researchers who encourage researcher development, and so you will need to be able to work effectively within a team, demonstrating strong communication skills. You will possess good IT Skills, specifically the use of MS Office and database with strong numeracy, literacy and keyboard skills. This role dictates the need for good customer care, including a polite and helpful manner and the ability to deal with sensitive material with complete confidentiality.  You will have experience collecting, processing and presenting data, working to tight, sometimes conflicting deadlines with an accurate and methodical approach.   

Qualifications required

You will be educated with a minimum of an undergraduate honours degree (or equivalent level 6 qualification) 

Please view the job description and person specification for a full list of the duties and essential criteria. Please attach a personal statement showing clearly how your skills and experience match the Person Specification.

An appointment to this role may require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate.

Contact Details/Informal Enquiries: Dr Katie Newby, Associate Professor, tel: 07842600795, email: k.newby@herts.ac.uk

Closing Date: 04 July 2024

Interview Date: 24 July 2024

Reference Number: 059875

Date advert placed: 19 June 2024

The University offers every individual the opportunity to succeed. We want our staff to represent multi-faceted life experiences, varied cultural heritage and to encourage cognitive diversity. We recognise that the field is not ‘level’ and want to actively address barriers to progression. Markers of success to date include no gender pay gap within the School where this post sits and holding an Athena Swan Bronze Award. We also challenge stereotypes and partner with networks both within and outside of the University to enhance inclusion in the workplace.

Apply online at https://www.jobs.herts.ac.uk/go/059875