At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead impactful mental health research and analyse data to improve young people's outcomes.
- Company: Join a dedicated team at Body, focused on mental health innovation.
- Benefits: Gain valuable experience, collaborate with experts, and contribute to meaningful change.
- Other info: Opportunity to co-author research and present at global conferences.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in the lives of young people from marginalised communities.
- Qualifications: Strong qualitative analysis skills and experience in mental health research.
The predicted salary is between 35000 - 45000 £ per year.
Reporting To: Co-Director of Body
This project speaks to a significant gap in the academic literature, and the findings will have important clinical implications. We have already conducted a pilot study with 30 participants which has indicated promising results.
Purpose of the Role:
- To play a leading role in Body strong qualitative analysis skills and experience with mixed-methods designs.
- A strong command of the relevant mental health research literature, and the ability to identify gaps and frame research questions that would make novel, publishable contributions.
- Experience conducting research with vulnerable or marginalised populations, and a working understanding of the ethical and safeguarding considerations this involves.
- Familiarity with research ethics approval processes and data protection (GDPR) requirements.
- A track record of academic writing and publication, or clear evidence of the ability to produce publishable work.
- Experience working within or collaborating with service delivery organisations, ideally in the charity sector, and experience working with organisational databases.
- Experience supervising or mentoring junior researchers (desirable).
- Knowledge of suicidality, self-harm, trauma, or DBT-informed approaches (desirable, not essential — the wider team holds this expertise).
Personal Qualities and Attributes:
- Responsible and committed: Holds their responsibility for this project with care and commitment, maintaining awareness that it is a project with and for a vulnerable and complex population.
- Relational: Willing to work collaboratively and relationally with a multi-disciplinary team.
- Exceptional organisation and time-management: Manages the leadership of a long-term project, keeping to timelines and coordinating competing demands across the two years.
- Clear communication: Communicates clearly and sensitively with colleagues, research participants, and in academic writing.
- Humility: Openness and curiosity to learn from those speaking from different disciplines to you.
- Proactive: Takes initiative to solve problems in creative and collaborative ways.
- Measured: Responds calmly and competently in high-pressure situations.
- Awareness of power, positionality and privilege: Committed to working in an anti-racist environment which holds awareness of systemic power structures.
Unique Opportunity:
- To work with a rich longitudinal dataset tracking young people through and beyond therapeutic intervention, combining validated clinical outcome measures, service-use data, and lived-experience narratives, a combination rarely available in suicide-prevention research.
- To conduct research with and for young people from marginalised communities who are often not represented in the wider research field.
- To co-author the research and share it at global mental health conferences.
- To learn from and work alongside experts in the mental health field.
Additional Requirements:
- Commitment to the 2-year research project, and working collaboratively to allocate days throughout the year to reflect the varying demands of the project.
- Commitment to the values, aims, and ethos of Body.
Mental Health Researcher employer: Body & Soul Charity
Body & Soul Charity is an exceptional employer dedicated to making a meaningful impact in the community, particularly in preventing suicide and enhancing wellbeing. With a supportive work culture that fosters professional growth, this role offers invaluable experience in strategic funding development, allowing you to thrive early in your fundraising career while contributing to a vital cause. Located in England, employees benefit from a collaborative environment that prioritises personal development and community engagement.
