Research Fellow / Programme Manager

Title of position: Research Fellow and Programme Manager in Global Health Research in Mental and Physical  Multimorbidity.

Expected salary: Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Hours of work: Full-time (40 hours per week) 50% FTE for the position of Research Fellow and 50% FTE for the programme Manager.

Duration of Post: 2 years extendable to 4 years.

Probation Period: 6 months

Leave Entitlements: As per the HR policy of the contracting institution 

Contracting Institution: Institute of Psychiatry, Rawalpindi Medical University, Pakistan.

Based at: Institute of Psychiatry, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Introduction

This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated mid-career researcher to build on their experience and develop their research career as a future research leader. The successful applicant will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) and with a large international collaboration of partners in the United Kingdom (UK) and South Asia (Centre for IMPACT).  

IoP is an academic unit of Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) and a tertiary mental health care facility at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The IoP has long-standing multi-sectorial collaborations with national and international organisations in various mental health research projects.

IoP is working with the University of York and Hull York Medical School, UK, on various National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UKRI-funded programs, e.g. IMPACT, DiaDeM, IMPASS, TB-Multimorbidity and Centre for IMPACT and recently we have also commenced the SCIMITAR-South Asia Programme.

“The SCIMITAR-South Asia Programme to Address Tobacco-Related Multiple Long-Term Conditions in Severe Mental Illness” is a new global health program led by the University of York and Hull York Medical School, UK, in conjunction with the Institute of Psychiatry (IOP), Rawalpindi Medical University and other academic institutions, research organizations, and public institutions of Bangladesh, India, the UK and Pakistan.

Our team has several years of experience in working with people who have Severe Mental Illness (SMI) and has made significant advances in recent years in the UK and South Asia. We have conducted research into the causes of health inequalities for people with serious mental illness in both settings. In South Asia, we have made advances in mental and physical multimorbidity research by developing a culturally appropriate behavioural treatment to help people with SMI in India and Pakistan quit smoking. Tobacco use is a long-term condition in itself, which can also lead to the development of other long-term conditions. It is one of the preventable factors responsible for health inequality but remains unaddressed among people with serious mental illnesses who live in low-resource settings such as South Asia.

In the SCIMITAR-South Asia Programme, we will build on our previous research and experience, extending to three South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India and Pakistan) with a high prevalence of tobacco use. We will adapt the previously developed treatment, behavioral intervention for smoking cessation, to cater to a broader group of individuals, including those who use smokeless tobacco. We aim to test the feasibility, acceptability, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this behavioral intervention, SCIMITAR-South Asia, for all forms of tobacco users (including smokeless tobacco) in SMI populations of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. We will design contextually tailored implementation strategies and identify the contextual barriers and drivers to delivering SCIMITAR-South Asia to guide further adaptations and tailor implementation strategies in South Asia.

Alongside the research, we develop the capacity and expertise to conduct research in mental health, train clinicians to deliver tobacco cessation treatments and support policymakers in using our research findings in practice. Community and public involvement will be embedded throughout the Programme. This four-year programme is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in the UK.

We are looking to recruit a full-time research fellow and programme manager for this programme. Our priority is to hire someone passionate about mental health and multimorbidity research who can demonstrate the potential to develop as an independent researcher with support from experienced supervisors and mentors in the programme.

The selected candidate will be integral to our multidisciplinary team of health professionals and researchers. They will benefit from guidance and mentorship from world-leading experts in the field.  Successful candidates will be able to acquire expertise in applied health research, including multimorbidity, intervention development, behaviour change, systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, feasibility trials, qualitative research, economic modelling and community and public involvement. The capacity development of early career researchers is recognised as a key element of our global health partnership.

This position will be based at the IOP, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, under the line management of a co-investigator at the Institute of Psychiatry, Pakistan and under the direct supervision of the chief investigator at the University of York, UK. Hence, this is an exciting opportunity to join an international research team conducting world-class research and develop your global health research career, focusing on mental and physical multimorbidity. 

The primary purpose of the role

• To support and manage the successful delivery of the SCIMITAR South Asia programme and its operational functions
• To implement systems and structures to ensure programme delivery, coordinating and monitoring activities through regular communication with partners and the collation of reports on progress against activities
• To conduct research under the supervision of senior colleagues and contribute to research production.
• To develop knowledge, skills and experience in an area that will complement the research interests of the SCIMITAR SA Group

Key Responsibilities

(Role holders will be required to undertake some or all the duties below)

As a Programme Manager:

1.         Coordinate regularly via email and other in-person or online platforms such as emails and WhatsApp with the Chief investigator and Programme Manager at UoY, the funders (NIHR), Workstream leads, the finance team and collaborators.

2.         Schedule meetings for the workstreams, cross-cut themes, prepare the agenda, maintain action logs, record meeting notes, and facilitate timely and efficient distribution of information.

3.         Liaise with NIHR regarding reporting and contractual obligations, including managing and submitting tasks on the NIHR management system

4.         Develop and maintain agreed project plans defining criteria for control and management of the project, including the Gantt chart, risk register, programme management plan, data management plan, programme outputs register, dissemination plan and authorship policy.

5.         Collate information from all partners, completing and submitting the programme’s annual report for the funder, e.g. drafting non-technical sections.

6.         Coordinate contributions and lead the coordination of arrangements for annual meetings.

7.         Maintain the reporting systems in place to collect regular returns on activities.

8.         Coordinate communications and dissemination activities for the programme, including Twitter X activity and maintenance of the programme website and content production.

9.         Contribute to the deployment of resources to meet project milestones. Monitor project timelines to ensure the programme meets its deliverables and activities are progressing adequately – including all research projects and cross-cutting themes.

10.      Report on project progress through agreed reporting lines; evaluate and disseminate project outcomes, e.g. prepare papers for Programme Management meetings and the Independent Advisory Board; monitor progress of dissemination and impact plans.

11.      Determine and manage associated project risks.

12.      Generate and maintain collaborative links with a wide range of individuals and/or professional bodies, both internally and externally. Proactively working alongside UK team members, including research and support staff, to manage the programme; build effective relationships with country partners and support them with their budgets concerning the use of funds across activities.

13.      Provide advice to the team members on current NIHR branding guidelines to ensure that acknowledgement/ disclaimers and logos are used appropriately on project documentation and outputs.

As a Research Fellow:

1.         Contribute to preparing research proposals, research tools, standard operational procedures and other relevant applications to external bodies (e.g. ethics review boards, drug regulatory authorities, etc.)

2.         Conduct a comprehensive mixed methods research programme including collection, analysis and interpretation of quantitative and qualitative research data; contributing to the systematic reviews; use of appropriate research techniques and methods; write-up of research results and dissemination through publications; conducting co-design workshops; seminar and conference presentations and public engagement and outreach activities.

3.         Undertake appropriate organisational activities at IOP connected to SCIMITAR South Asia. These may include management and reporting of site budget, managing human resources, site setup for the trials, conference, travel or event organisation, and developing promotional or dissemination material, including website development and maintenance.

4.         Monitor progress, plan, and report activities to line supervisors at IOP and UoY. Acquire, record, and compile all necessary information to develop and submit summary reports, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports of IOP. The focus should be on efficient long-distance collaboration for progress reports, strategic planning, and clear communication to ensure successful task execution despite the geographical separation.

5.         Recruit and supervise appropriate staff for the programme (research fellows, research assistants, administrators and finance manager) based at IOP, tracking and reporting their progress to line supervisors. Identify their training needs and oversee their personal development plans.

6.         Provision of research support and guidance to the team at various study sites and collaborating organisations.

7.         Develop and review resource materials for community engagement and involvement (CEI) and stakeholders’ consultation in research. Supporting arrangements for selecting, recruiting, and actively engaging CEI and stakeholders’ consultation activities. Facilitating the CEI and stakeholder working groups will also be part of this job.

8.         Maintain the office decorum and follow the ethical code of conduct.

9.         Develop and initiate collaborative working, duties to include building of contacts and identification and participation in networks; collaboration with colleagues on joint projects or other workstreams as required; sharing information and identifying potential opportunities for cooperation and possible sources of funding; attendance at and contribution to relevant meetings.

10.      Support other research programme activities at IOP as and when required

11.      Complete any other tasks that fall within the scope of the research and management, if considered appropriate, to be assigned by the supervisors and workstream leads based on any modifications in the programme.

Person specification

Person specification

Essential / Desirable

Qualifications

First degree in a relevant subject area (health-related, management, economics or social sciences)

Essential

Masters in relevant area (health-related, management, economics or social sciences)

Essential

A completed or ongoing PhD in a relevant field (health-related, management, economics or social sciences)

Desirable

Knowledge

Knowledge of applied health research methods relevant to both mental and physical health

Essential

Knowledge of common mental disorders

Desirable

Knowledge of non-communicable diseases 

Desirable

Skills, abilities, and competencies

Highly developed communication skills to engage effectively with a wide-ranging audience, both orally and in writing, using a range of media

Essential

Ability to conduct research with patients, carers, and healthcare staff

Essential

Ability to accept, give and build on feedback for personal development

Essential

Ability to write up research work for publication and engage in public dissemination with the assistance of a mentor if required

Essential

Ability to develop healthcare research objectives, projects, and proposals with the assistance of a mentor if required

Essential

Competency to make presentations at conferences or exhibit work in other appropriate events

Essential

Competency to conduct individual and collaborative research projects

Essential

Ability to identify sources of funding and contribute to the process of securing funds with collaborators if required

Desirable

Ability to contribute to the writing of research grant applications if required

Desirable

Experience

Experience in carrying out both independent and collaborative research

Essential

Experience in writing up research work for publication

Essential

Experience in conducting research with patients, carers, or healthcare staff

Essential

Experience in a relevant health area, such as mental health

Desirable

Experience with behavioural lifestyle interventions

Desirable

Personal attributes

Commitment to high quality

Essential

Collaborative ethos

Essential

Interest in and enthusiasm for the subject matter of the project(s)

Essential

Positive attitude to colleagues and others involved in the project in any capacity

Essential

Willingness to work proactively with colleagues in other work areas/institutions

Essential

Ability to plan and prioritise own work to meet deadlines

Essential

Commitment to personal development and updating of knowledge and skills

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications, knowledge and experience.