Faculty of Medicine & Health
School of Healthcare
Research Fellow in Maternal Care and Wellbeing
Full time or part time considered
Fixed term for 1 year
The School is looking for an enthusiastic Research Fellow to develop the Maternal, Child and Family
Health research theme led by Linda McGowan, Professor of Applied Health Research.
The Research Fellow role has been created to strengthen the development of a maternal, child and
family research theme in the School of Healthcare. The post holder will be a key contributor in driving
forward research grant writing initiatives in order to secure sustained income generation for this
research programme.
The team currently consists of an active group of researchers, lecturers, PhD students and
practitioners and has international strengths in the areas of psychological and social aspects of
maternal care and women’s health in general.
You will be expected to contribute to the overall research profile of the maternal, child and family
research team and work directly with Professor McGowan.
You should have experience of working in applied health research and a desire to use these skills
within maternal care and have the ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with
staff and clinical colleagues.
The post is available immediately and is located in the School of Healthcare.
University Grade 7 (£31,342 – 37,395 p.a. (pro rata if applicable)) depending on
qualifications and experience
Informal enquiries regarding the post should be directed to Prof Linda McGowan, tel. +44
(0) 113 343 1339 or email; l.mcgowan@leeds.ac.uk.
If you have any specific enquiries about your online application please contact School of
Healthcare Head of School Office, tel. +44 (0) 113 343 1434 or email;
headofschooloffice@healthcare.leeds.ac.uk.
Job Ref: MHHEA1000
Closing Date: 6 October 2014
Job Description
Background
There are three key strategic objectives for the School which underpin the purpose of this role:
1. To integrate Research, Learning and Teaching, Innovation & Knowledge Transfer and
Practice activities within the School and also the wider Faculty
2. To deliver a high quality, research-orientated interdisciplinary portfolio of health and social
care education
3. To raise the School’s international profile and standing as an academic centre of
excellence, driving positive change in local, national and international health and social care
communities
Purpose of the Post
This Research Fellow role has been created to support Linda McGowan, Professor of Applied
Health Research and newly appointed Director of Research and Innovation, to drive forward and
further develop the Maternal, Child and Family Research theme. This post holder will be a key
contributor to the leadership of research projects within this theme, e.g. driving forward NIHR grant
writing initiatives in order to secure a sustained income generation.
Job Summary
In line with the University’s Research Strategy and the School Vision you will contribute to a
defined area of maternal care and wellbeing research which underpins policy, practice, and
education and makes a positive difference to health, locally, nationally, and internationally.
You will work across disciplines, programmes and Academic Units as a member of the research
team, within an integrated School of Healthcare, to deliver high quality research and increase our
global research impact by actively disseminating research to expand international recognition for
the School’s research and innovation activities.
You will actively engage in IKT activities to support the School’s vision to deliver a portfolio of high
quality research led / informed health and social care education underpinned by the integration of
research, L&T, practice & IKT.
Main Duties and Responsibilities

Support the Maternal, Child and Family Research theme by working alongside Linda
McGowan, Professor of Applied Health Research, and taking forward designated research
projects.

Develop and manage research objectives and resulting activities within the School’s Maternal,
Child and Family Research theme as outlined in grant proposals; and co-ordinate the team to
achieve outputs where appropriate.

Pursue research ideas including practitioner and service-user led question development in
maternal research; with a focus on the psychological and social aspects of care relating to
women and their families.

Conduct systematic reviews and primary research in the research theme.

Analyse and interpret results of research and generate original ideas based on outcomes.

Articulate and convey the impact of research, clearly showing wider benefits that research
could generate.

Prepare peer reviewed articles and present research results through publication or other
recognised forms of output, e.g. peer-reviewed journals, reports and conference presentation
at local, national and international levels.

Keep up to date with the research literature and maintain specialist knowledge levels in
background and current developments in the field of maternal wellbeing and women’s health
research as a means to be recognised internally and externally as an authority in the subject
area.

Contribute to research group meetings, journal clubs and seminar programmes, and to
discussions alongside senior colleagues on subjects within the Maternal, Child and Family
Research group.

Work within the emerging Maternal, Child and Family research group to facilitate efficient
progress of the research programme involving: following up funding opportunities; contributing
to grant applications with partners; contributing to securing external research funding; writing
research publications.

Work innovatively and in collaboration with external parties, for example professional
organisations or patient support groups, to develop successful research protocols in maternal
care and women’s health research.

Evaluate methods and techniques used and results obtained by other researchers and relate
such evaluations appropriately to work.

Attend training courses in research methodology, research writing and gain other skills
required for career development.

Take part in knowledge-transfer activities where appropriate and feasible.

Contribute to postgraduate teaching and supervision of students where appropriate in the fields
of evidence based practice and research methods within the School.
INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER (IKT)
Engage in IKT activities, examples include:



The application of research outcomes to benefit society in the field of women’s health and
wellbeing.
Commercialisation of intellectual property derived from research and/or teaching.
Conducting applied, or user-driven, research.
Administration
 Make active contribution to School, Faculty and University committees as appropriate.
 Remain proactive in personal and professional development, and undertake staff
development opportunities as may be appropriate.
 Undertake the role in accord with the requirements of the University’s Health & Safety
Policy. This may include ensuring that risk assessments in their area are completed, that
the staff are aware of them and that they adhere to all relevant safety polices and
arrangements.
General
 Undertake any additional activities commensurate with the post-holder’s level of training
and experience and conducive to fulfilment of the job purpose outlined above, as well as
similar posts elsewhere within the University
 Have an awareness and understanding of Health & Safety issues as they relate to the
University
 This job description should not be regarded as a definitive list of duties and responsibilities,
which will develop and change over time through natural progression.
The above list is not exhaustive and you may be required to undertake other duties as may
reasonably be expected. Job descriptions are re-evaluated during annual review to ensure that
they are an accurate representation of the post.
Relationships
You will be responsible on a day to day basis to the Academic Unit Director, Head of School and
the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health. Strong relationships will be formed with the
Director of Academic Unit, Professional Leads, other learning, teaching and research colleagues
within the School and across the Faculty and wider University, as well as external stakeholders in
the health and social care economy.
University Values
All staff are expected to operate in line with the university’s values and standards, which work as
an integral part of our strategy and set out the principles of how we work together. More
information about the university’s strategy and values is available at
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/comms/strategy/.
Person Specification
Essential
 A PhD or equivalent in a subject area relating to applied health research/nursing/midwifery
 Relevant post-doctoral research experience in maternal care and wellbeing and applied
health research
 A developing background relating to the School’s Maternal, Child and Family theme as
demonstrated by a developing national/international publication record, as single or main
author, in women’s health or maternal wellbeing, and research publications in peer
reviewed journals
 Project management experience in the design and conduct of health research
 Proven experience of working in an interdisciplinary research environment
 Good communications skills with the proven ability to write to a standard required for
research reports/ national publications
 The ability to work and think independently in the field of maternal care and women’s health
whilst building and maintaining collaborations with other researchers working in related
areas in the School (such as pain, wound care, mental health, decision making, medicines
management)
 Evidence of an ability to work effectively individually and in a research team
 Experience of effectively liaising with external partners and contributing to networks
 Effective time management and organisation skills with a proven ability to work efficiently
and effectively to meet deadlines and targets
 Good IT Skills with familiarity with computer packages for data analysis
Desirable
 An international research publication record
 An interest in the maternal care within global health systems
 A sustained track-record of obtaining external income for research
 The ability to lead the planning of research in the field of maternal care and women’s health
Further Information
Faculty Information
With more than 6,000 students, 1,600 staff and annual research income of £50m, the Faculty of
Medicine and Health at Leeds is bigger than some universities. Leeds has one of the largest
medical and bioscience research bases in the UK, and is an acknowledged world leader in cancer,
cardiovascular, psychiatric, genetic, musculo-skeletal and health services research. Treatments
developed in Leeds are transforming the lives of people around the world living with conditions
such as HIV, TB, diabetes and malaria.
School/Institute Information
The School of Healthcare is a research led multidisciplinary school within the Faculty of Medicine
and Health and one of the largest schools of its type in the UK. We are in the top two for Social
Work and top five for Nursing in the Guardian league tables and top two for Audiology in the
Complete University guide.
The School of Healthcare takes pride in being at the forefront of advancing the healthcare agenda,
driving positive change and developments in healthcare policy, practice, research and education.
The unique multi-disciplinary nature of our School ensures that our students receive a rounded
experience enabling them to contribute positively as life-long citizens in the healthcare community.
Our research is rated as ‘World leading’ and ‘Internationally excellent in terms of originality,
significance and rigour in the current Research Assessment Exercise and the School has a vibrant
research culture which influences national and international healthcare policy. We have a broad
ranging team of highly trained staff and award winning researchers contributing to the professional
areas of Audiology, Cardiology, Counselling, Nursing, Midwifery, Pharmacy, Radiography and
Social Work
More information about the School can be obtained at www.healthcare.leeds.ac.uk
Additional Information
Terms and Conditions
Details of the terms and conditions of employment for all staff at the university, including
information on pensions and benefits, are available on the Human Resources web pages
accessible via the links on the right hand side, or at http://hr.leeds.ac.uk/policies
University Teaching and Research Award
The Senate of the University has agreed that all newly appointed staff with a contract of 0.5 FTE
and above who have a teaching/ research role and are deemed new to teaching or research in
Higher Education should be required to complete successfully all of the requirements of the
University of Leeds Teaching and Research or an appropriate alternative. Whether or not this
applies to you will be decided as part of the appointment procedure at interview.
Further details of the ULTRA are available at http://www.sddu.leeds.ac.uk/sddu-ultra.html.
Staff with contracts of less than 0.5 FTE may take the ULTRA provided that they have a broad
enough range of teaching, research and assessment to complete the requirements of the
Programme: this will be decided in conjunction with the School and the course providers.
Disclosure and Barring Service checks
This post falls under the remit of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order
1975. As such, all applicants are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and
warnings, including any pending criminal prosecutions and those which would otherwise be
considered 'spent' under the 1974 Act. However, amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975
(2013) provide that certain ‘spent’ convictions and cautions are now 'protected' and are not subject
to disclosure to employers , and cannot be taken into account. Guidance and criteria on the
filtering of these cautions and convictions can be found on the Disclosure and Barring Service
website. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service and at
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1198/pdfs/uksi_20131198_en.pdf
Declarations of any such information as described above, should be made in the ‘other personal
details’ section of the application form and details sent to the Recruitment Officer at
disclosure@leeds.ac.uk.
Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is required for this position.
The successful applicant will be required to give consent for the University to check their criminal
record status through independent verification (from the DBS). Information will be kept in strict
confidence. Your offer of appointment will be subject to the University being satisfied with the
outcome of these checks.
Disabled Applicants
The post is located in the School of Healthcare, Baines Wing. Disabled applicants wishing to
review access to the building are invited to contact the department direct. Additional information
may be sought from the Recruitment Officer, email; disclosure@leeds.ac.uk or tel. + 44 (0) 113
343 1723.
Disabled applicants are not obliged to inform employers of their disability but will still be covered
by the Equality Act once their disability becomes known.
Further information for applicants with disabilities, impairments or health conditions is
available in the applicant guidance.