Welcome to the McPin Foundation
About us:
Thank you for your interest in our organisation and this Regional Peer
Researcher position. This post is two days per week for 15 months.
Our aim is to transform mental health research to place people affected by
mental health problems at its centre. Each of our employees is vital to us in
delivering our mission.
We are recruiting a Regional Peer Researcher to work on an evaluation of a
Big Lottery funded project to provide Peer Support to people with mental
health problems. The role will join a larger team of researchers working on
this evaluation including two other Regional Peers Researchers based in
Suffolk and Lancashire and researchers at the McPin Foundation and St
George’s University, London.
Given the nature of the project this post will be working on, we are
particularly looking for someone who has, either currently or in the past,
personal experience of living with a mental health problem, and
experience of providing, or receiving, peer support.
You can find out more about us at www.mcpin.org.
Background:
You will be part of a busy team research team at the McPin Foundation,
consisting of eight researchers based in our offices in London, and a wider
team of project researchers based all over the country.
This post will be based in West London. It is essential that candidates are
within easy travelling distance of this area, and are able travel to a number of
sites within and around this location. We are particularly interested in
candidates with substantial knowledge of local services and provision of peer
support.
This post will report to one of our Senior Researchers who will provide regular
supervision and line management support.
This post would ideally suit someone with some experience of social research
and evaluation, and particularly of conducting research interviews with others.
A good understanding of peer support as a way of helping and supporting
people with mental health problems is also vital.
The deadline is Wednesday 22nd July at 17:00. Interviews will be at the
McPin offices in London on 30th July.
This role will involve interviewing study participants, including some people
with a mental health problem, and promoting data collection through a regular
online questionnaire to be completed by participants.
On a day to day basis your tasks will include:
- Providing input and feedback alongside other members of the study
team on a wide range of project decisions;
- Contributing to the development of data collection tools, including
interview schedules;
- Visiting local peer support projects participating in the Mind peer
support programme
- Building excellent relationships with local peer support providers and
other stakeholders to help ensure that the evaluation progresses
smoothly in your local site;
- Promoting and supporting the completion of regular, online or paperbased questionnaires among people using the peer support projects
locally, including supporting people to overcome barriers to accessing
the questionnaire;
- Conducting qualitative interviews with people taking part in local peer
support projects and with other local stakeholders;
- Providing regular updates to the wider project team, including
identifying any local difficulties and solutions to these problems;
- Speaking informally with people in the local peer support projects and
observing any related activity where appropriate, to produce detailed
field notes about the peer support provision across the sites;
- Contributing to the analysis, write-up and presentation of study
findings;
- Attendance at project team meetings in London (approximately 8 in
total);
- Working within relevant ethical and governance frameworks;
- Contributing to a critical learning environment within the team, sharing
your skills with colleagues as required and developing new ways of
working;
- Working at all times within McPin’s principles, policies and procedures,
including equality and diversity, as well as any relevant research
governance requirements and legislation;
- Regular travel across local regions and occasional travel to London will
be required.
The post is 2 days a week for 15 months. We anticipate that this will be
extended by a further 4 months for 1 day per week but this will be
confirmed closer to the time. The 2 working days per week are not specified
and can be broadly led by the post-holder’s own availability. However, some
degree of flexibility on the part of the post-holder – including probably some
work in the evenings – will be required to fit around the peer support projects.
There will be some overlap in working hours with other peer researchers
. Company number: 6010593
London SE1 0EH.
Charity number: 1117336. Head office and registered office: 32-36 Loman Street,
working in Suffolk and Lancashire, and the London-based project team in
order for peer support, mentoring, training and team meetings.
Job Description
Job Title:
Prepared by:
Regional Peer Researcher – peer
Research Manager
support evaluation
Location: West London
Closing Date: 22nd July, 2015 at
17:00
Terms and conditions
Hours: 15 hours per week
Salary: Starts at £25,687.51 pro rata. (The London-based post only will
additionally receive Inner London Weighting at £3,351, pro rata). The actual
wage for 15 hours per week will therefore be £11,615
Holidays FTE: 25 days plus 8 public holidays, pro rata
Employment status: Fixed term 15 months
Probationary period: 6 months
Notice period: 4 weeks
Purpose of the job:
To support local recruitment and data collection for an evaluation of peer
support projects being delivered in West London, and to contribute to wider
study decisions.
Key Responsibilities:
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Being responsible for data collection in one study region
Contributing to the development of data collection tools, including
interview schedules;
Building excellent relationships with local peer support providers other
stakeholders to help ensure that the evaluation progresses smoothly in
the local site;
Promoting and supporting the completion of regular, online or paperbased questionnaires among people using the peer support projects
locally, including supporting people to overcome barriers to accessing
the questionnaire;
. Company number: 6010593
London SE1 0EH.
Charity number: 1117336. Head office and registered office: 32-36 Loman Street,
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Conducting qualitative interviews with people taking part in local peer
support projects and with other local stakeholders;
Providing regular updates to the wider project team, including
identifying and communicating any local difficulties and possible
solutions;
Speaking informally with people in the local peer support projects and
observing any related activity where appropriate, to produce detailed
field notes about the peer support provision across the sites;
Providing input and feedback alongside other members of the study
team on a wide range of project decisions;
Contributing to the analysis, write-up and presentation of study
findings;
Attendance at project team meetings in London (approximately 8 in
total);
Working within relevant ethical and governance frameworks;
Contributing to a critical learning environment within the team, sharing
your skills with colleagues as required and developing new ways of
working;
Working at all times within McPin’s principles, policies and procedures,
including equality and diversity, as well as any relevant research
governance requirements and legislation;
Some travel across local regions and to London will be required.
Competencies
A post holder who is meeting the requirements of this role will demonstrate
the following competencies in their work:
 Quality: Understands scope of own role and how this may develop;
works as an effective and responsible team member; prioritises and
organises workload effectively; evaluates the quality of own and others’
work; raises any quality issues and related risks to the appropriate
person
 Equality: Values people as individuals; takes into account own and
others’ behaviour and its effects on others and takes appropriate action
when own or others’ behaviours undermine equality and diversity
 Information: Gathers, analyses, interprets and presents data and
information to a sufficient quality; complies with legislation, policies and
procedures.
 Communication: Communicates effectively, using a range of different
media, including email, telephone, social media and the web; maintains
accurate and complete records consistent with legislation, policies and
procedures; ensures effective communication with a range of people
on a range of matters; constructively manages barriers to
communication; evidences ability to develop and maintain
communication in difficult situations and on sensitive matters,
modifying responses where necessary.
 People management: Engages effectively with other team members
and with opportunities to influence work objectives and planning; plans
and coordinates work, responding well to changing circumstances and
. Company number: 6010593
London SE1 0EH.
Charity number: 1117336. Head office and registered office: 32-36 Loman Street,
multiple priorities; provides effective and appropriate support to others,
recognising individual needs and circumstances
Dimensions:
People – You will work alongside two other Regional Peer Researchers
based in Suffolk and Lancashire, three project researchers based in the
London office, and the wider team of researchers, including those based at St
George’s University of London. You will report to the Senior Researcher. You
will also work with colleagues in the wider organisation, including our Patient
Involvement in Research and Operations teams.
Projects – You will work on one specific project – the Peer Support
Programme Evaluation.
Travel – Regular travel within the local region will be required. Occasional
travel to London for meetings will also be required. Costs of travel will be
covered in accordance with our expenses policy. In some regions, use of a
car will be a considerable advantage, and confidence using public transport is
essential.
The key responsibilities above give a broad outline of the functions of the
post. However, these duties must be approached in a flexible manner. The
post holder will be expected to adapt to changing circumstances and
undertake other duties appropriate to the grade of post as allocated by your
Line Manager as part of working in a small team to deliver the project. The
outline of responsibilities may change from time to time.
Knowledge
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Must have a good understanding of qualitative and quantitative research
methodologies (E)
Must have a good understanding of research principles and an interest in
developing knowledge and skills as a researcher (E)
Must have a good understanding of research governance principles and
be able to operate safely and ethically within required procedures (E)
Must have a good understanding of mental health and the impact of
mental health problems on people’s lives (E)
Must have good knowledge of peer support and the types of peer support
currently delivered locally (E)
A good understanding of the principles and purpose of peer support in
mental health would be desirable (D)
Skills
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Must be fluent in English (E)
Must have excellent inter-personal skills and work effectively within a
. Company number: 6010593
London SE1 0EH.
Charity number: 1117336. Head office and registered office: 32-36 Loman Street,
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small team (E)
Must be able to work independently and manage own workload whilst
being part of a geographically dispersed team (E)
Must act according to principles of equality and diversity at all times (E)
Must have good communication skills and the ability to build constructive
working relationships with a wide range of people (E)
Must be highly organised and efficient, with the ability to manage
competing priorities and work to deadlines (E)
Must have excellent computer skills, particularly in using Microsoft Office
software – word, power point, excel, outlook (E)
Must be willing to identify areas for development and ask for work-based
support when necessary (E)
Experience
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Must have personal experience of mental health issues and/or using
mental health services (E)
Experience of delivering and / or receiving peer support for mental health
problems is desirable (D)
Must have experience of conducting research, either independently or as
part of a bigger team (E)
Experience of explicitly using lived experience in your work would be
desirable (D)
Must have experience of conducting interviews or other qualitative data
collection (E)
Must have experience of building constructive working relationships with a
wide range of other people (E)
Must be able to demonstrate initiative, ambition and a desire to learn and
develop new skills through working with others (E)
Must be able to demonstrate an ability to manage own time, prioritise
tasks and organise workload to meet deadlines (E)
Qualifications
 Relevant experience may be demonstrated through qualifications or
through work or voluntary experience
E = Essential
. Company number: 6010593
London SE1 0EH.
D = Desirable
Charity number: 1117336. Head office and registered office: 32-36 Loman Street,