About
The
Job.
School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR)
Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Research Group
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health
Research Associate
About
The
Job.
Pursue the extraordinary
Overview
About the Department
One of nine departments in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health, ScHARR is based
in modern accommodation, mainly in Regent Court. It brings together a wide range of
health related skills in three academic sections and also houses the NIHR Research Design
Service for Yorkshire & the Humber)
http://www.rds-yh.nihr.ac.uk/ and the Clinical Trials
Research Unit.
ScHARR employs over 200 multidisciplinary staff from disciplines such as Health Economics,
Operational Research, Sociology, Medical Statistics, Nursing, Psychology and Information
Science. There are also clinical skills in Public Health; Emergency and Vascular Medicine;
Rehabilitation and Mental Health.
The School conducts applied and methodological health services research (HSR) and the
2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) confirmed ScHARR as the UK´s most powerful
department for HSR, with the largest volume of activity assessed as either world-leading or
internationally excellent among institutions returned. It earns over six million pounds per
year in external research funding.
ScHARR has about 80 postgraduate research students, contributes to the training of medical
students and delivers a very successful suite of Masters level programmes to graduate students from
around the world. It received an excellent assessment in its 2010 Periodic Review of teaching.
ScHARR has three sections, Health Services Research, Public Health and Health Economics
and Decision Science.
For more information about ScHARR visit: http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/.
This post is located within the Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies research group,
Health Services Research.
Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology research group
The Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology research group is part of ScHARR’s Health
Services Research section and is one of the largest groups in the UK dedicated to Assistive
Technology and Digital Healthcare research, earning over 1 million pounds a year in external
research funding. It is highly multi-disciplinary, and currently has 38 staff including Health
Services Researchers, Computer Scientists, Engineers and Psychologists, including four
Professors. The group has established strong links with the NHS through its long-term
funded collaborations with Barnsley and Sheffield Hospitals and through the £20M
Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for South Yorkshire
(CLAHRC-SY). The group leads the Telehealth and Care Technologies (TaCT) theme of
CLAHRC-SY. Long-term collaborations are in place with other universities including
Sheffield Hallam, Ulster, Newcastle, Leeds and Bath. The group works with leading
companies in collaborative research and consultancy projects. The group is the cornerstone
of the recently announced Centre of Assistive Technology and Digital Healthcare that has
collaborations across the University’s faculties.
Job Role
This post involves enquiry into the ways in which technology is taken up and adapted in
professional and end-user settings as part of the MALT Project (Overcoming Barriers to
Mainstreaming Assisted Living Technologies).
You will work with a wide range of
stakeholders to determine the barriers to the mainstreaming and adoption of Telehealth
technology and to identify ways in which these barriers might be overcome.
In order to achieve this you will be required to engage, communicate and work with people
with long term conditions, their carers, and with all levels of staff working in health and
social care organisations. This will require skills in both qualitative and quantitative research
methodologies including interviewing, questionnaire design and action research. You will
be able to develop and design research, collect and analyse data to a high standard. You
must be familiar with the dissemination of research outputs to meet the needs of different
audiences including Academic, Practitioner, Industry and End Users.
You will be able to contribute to future research proposal developments and undertake
some specified teaching and administration as agreed.
More information about the MALT Project is available at http://malt.group.shef.ac.uk.
Job Description
Main Duties and Responsibilities

Design and undertake both primary and secondary data collection and analysis to a high
standard.

Maintain a high output of academic publications of exceptional quality.

Maintain accurate and detailed research records.

Collaborate closely with Project Colleagues, including those in other Universities, to
efficiently deliver project milestones

Disseminate findings, tailoring content to meet the requirements of a varied readership.

Comply and assist with all project data validation, auditing and quality requirements.

Identify appropriate sources of funding and write research proposals and grant
applications for UK and international funding bodies as agreed and in collaboration with
others.

Carry out administrative roles for the project and for the Rehabilitation and Assistive
Technologies group as agreed.

Present the results of the research at in-house and at national and international
conferences.

Engage and develop expert knowledge in the Assistive Technology agenda in health and
social care, in particular from a patient and frontline staff perspective.

Assist in obtaining research ethical and governance approvals.

Deliver teaching on postgraduate courses and supervise dissertations of ScHARR
students as agreed.

Involvement in wider research activities such as refereeing papers, refereeing research
grants and organising conferences.

Read academic papers, journals and textbooks and attend conferences to keep abreast
of developments.
Planning and Organising

Plan the research programme and review progress on a regular basis in collaboration
with other members of the team.

Plan and undertake work within the resources allocated for the project.

Ensure that key research contributions are successfully completed.

Ensure that adequate time is assigned to various tasks to enable their timely completion
within the agreed project timeline.

Prioritise own workload, using discretion to determine priorities while also ensuring that
there is cohesion with other relevant areas of the Department/School/University.

Attend and contribute to project team meetings.

Assist in the identification of research risks, monitoring and taking any actions as
appropriate in collaboration with others.

Plan time to incorporate submission of publications to peer-reviewed journals and
conferences.

Factor teaching activities into overall work plan as agreed.
Resource Management Responsibilities

Supervise Students, Research Assistants and Clerical Assistants as requested and
appropriate.

Ensure appropriate use of non-staff budget: travel costs, IT, office costs etc.

Assist the Project Director in ensuring the safeguarding of project data in electronic and
hardcopy formats.

Any other duties, commensurate with the grade of the post.
Person Specification
Applicants should provide evidence in their applications that they meet the following
criteria. We will use a range of selection methods to measure candidates’ abilities in these
areas including reviewing your on-line application, seeking references, inviting shortlisted
candidates to interview and other forms of assessment action relevant to the post.
Criteria
Essential Desirable
Qualifications and experience
1
A good honours degree.
X
2
Masters or PhD in a health related discipline (or equivalent
X
experience).
3
Experience of designing and developing health services
research.
4
Proven ability to undertake independent research, including
X
development of research ideas into new research proposals.
5
Ability to systematically search and appraise scientific literature.
X
6
Experience of both qualitative and quantitative research.
X
7
Good understanding of action research methodology.
X
8
Track record of high quality publications.
X
9
Track record of research grant capture.
X
10
Teaching experience at Postgraduate level.
X
11
Good IT skills, e.g. use of Excel, Access, Word, NVivo.
12
Experience of using statistical analysis packages.
X
X
Management skills
13
Ability to manage own workload in line with
X
Departmental/University wide objectives.
14
Experience of staff management.
X
Communication skills
15
Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, report
writing skills and experience of delivering presentations.
16
Excellent interpersonal skills.
X
Team working
17
Ability to function as a team player in a multi-disciplinary team
by utilising a broad knowledge of associated research
techniques, disciplines and topics.
18
Flexible, reliable and professional approach to work.
Problem solving and decision making
19
Ability to analyse and solve problems with an appreciation of
X
longer-term implications.
20
Ability to develop creative approaches to problem solving.
X
Project management
21
Ability to assess and organise resources, and plan and progress
X
work activities.
22
Ability to manage and prioritise different demands.
X
Personal effectiveness
23
Experience of developing and maintaining a network of
X
contacts in own work area.
24
Experience of adapting own skills to new circumstances.
X
25
Up to date knowledge of ongoing research associated with
X
current projects.
26
Aware of the need to update and acquire new skills and
X
knowledge.
27
Respect for confidentiality and awareness of ethical issues.
Further Information
This post is fixed-term from 1 January 2013 until 30 April 2014.
X
The role has been identified as full-time, but we are committed to exploring flexible working
opportunities with our staff which benefit both the individual and the University. Therefore,
we would consider flexible delivery of the role subject to meeting the business needs of the
post. See www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/wellbeing/info/wlb.html for more information.
Benefits
Terms and conditions of employment: Will be those for Grade 7 staff.
Salary for this grade: £28,401 to £35,938 per annum pro-rata. Potential to progress to
£39,107 per annum through sustained exceptional contribution.
More details on salaries, terms and conditions and our wide range of benefits for staff are
available at www.sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/salaries.html
Informal enquiries:
For all on-line application system queries and support, contact: e-Recruitment@sheffield.ac.uk .
For informal enquiries about this job and department, contact: Professor Gail Mountain
on g.a.mountain@sheffield.ac.uk or 0114 222 2982
Selection-Next Step
Following the closing date, you will be informed by email whether or not you have been
shortlisted to be invited to participate in the next stage of the selection process. Please note
that due to the large number of applications that we receive, it may take up to two working
weeks following the closing date before the recruiting department will be able to contact
you.
It is anticipated that interviews and other selection action will be held on XXX. Full details
will be provided to invited candidates.
The University of Sheffield is committed to achieving excellence through inclusion.
The University of Sheffield is proud to be a Two Ticks employer
www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/equality/support/twoticks/
Pursue the extraordinary