Research Assistant 1A - Health and Environment (0.5FTE) (FTC until 31 Jan 2030)

Location: Glasgow Caledonian University Cowcaddens Road, G4 0BA

Salary: £38,249 – £44,128 per year pro rata

Contract Type: Temporary

Position Type: Part Time

Hours: 17.5 hours per week

Advert

This is a part time (0.5FTE)/fixed term contract until 31 January 2030

Glasgow Caledonian – the largest and leading modern university in Scotland – is a vibrant, values-led university with campuses in the heart of Glasgow and London. With a strong commitment to high quality research and education which supports the communities we serve, we have strong partnerships with universities and research institutes nationally and around the globe. Research is at the heart of Glasgow Caledonian’s mission as the University for the Common Good.

Our research focuses on three core areas – inclusive societies, healthy lives, and sustainable environments, aligned with our three Academic Schools – the Glasgow School for Business and Society, the School of Health and Life Sciences, and the School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment, and underpinned by an inter-sectoral approach to addressing the challenges posed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Our Research Excellence Framework (REF) performance is unsurpassed by any other Scottish modern university for our level of research, with a score of 72%, which is considered to be world-leading or internationally excellent. Our health research is surpassed only by King’s College London for outstanding impact.

In 2023 we rocketed into the top 40 universities in the UK in the highly regarded Guardian University Guide, were ranked the UK’s 2nd top performing modern university in the inaugural Daily Mail guide, and entered the top highly coveted 50 UK universities in the 2024 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide for the first time. We are the top performing modern University in Scotland in all three guides. We are the only Scottish university with EcoCampus Platinum accreditation and were ranked second in Scotland for sustainability in the most recent People and Planet league table.

This role is part of the project “The UK Hub for One Health Systems: Creating Sustainable Health and Social Care Pathways”, funded by UKRI, which is led by the University of Exeter and involves 20 partners, including NHS organisations, third sector organisations, pharmaceutical and medical devices industry, and entrepreneurs, investors and venture capitalists with particular interest in the Net Zero agenda. We define a \”patient journey\” as a specific segment of a health and social care pathway, focusing on areas with high potential for carbon reduction, such as community or primary care settings for mental health and secondary care settings for orthopaedic surgery. Our toolkit builds upon previous works on reducing carbon emissions and pharmaceutical pollution by co-applicants from the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) program, the Pharma Pollution Hub at the University of Exeter, and the One Health Breakthrough Partnership in Scotland. The project will involve mapping current carbon emissions and other pollutants, proposing emission reduction plans, and predicting their impact on environmental sustainability, financial aspects, patient health outcomes, efficiency, equity, and stakeholder acceptability. An iterative process involving stakeholders will refine and finalize the emissions reduction plans, followed by an implementation phase with regular monitoring and reporting. Our approach aligns with the \”One Health\” and \”Planetary Health\” concepts, considering the interconnectedness of human and natural systems to achieve health equity and environmental sustainability. By embedding environmental impact assessment into healthcare decision-making and research processes, our toolkit aims to foster a culture of environmental sustainability within the NHS.

Within this larger UK Hub, GCU will work on Work Package 1 (WP1), which comprises a deep-dive emission reduction in community and primary care and aims to take a transformative approach in re-imagining the mental healthcare pathway (MHCP). We will explore non-clinical options in demonstration sites in Scotland and co-create, test and evaluate the emissions reduction strategy for mental healthcare. Specifically, the project will evaluate the environmental impacts of traditional and transformative ‘pathways to mental health’, using an iterative approach. We will use Life Cycle Assessment for these environmental footprint calculations.

The GCU team connects two research groups within the University. The Water Research Group (WRG) have led ground-breaking national and international research work on pharmaceutical pollution, exploring both societal and technical solutions, in collaborations with the Scottish Government, the water industry, the NHS, and research institutions in Scotland, the UK and abroad. The Built Environment Asset Management (BEAM) Centre’s research focus is on maximising social, economic and environmental benefit through the effective development, use and revitalisation of the built environment and through engagement with the communities involved. A core focus is on the areas of life cycle assessment and carbon management in the built environment. The joint WRG-BEAM team will bring together their respective expertise in applying LCA methodologies to mental healthcare pathways, whereby the water environment could be particularly relevant.

The current position is for a Research Assistant on WP1 of the project Net Zero, specifically to support the LCA. The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Carry out literature review on topics relevant to the environmental impacts of mental health care and LCA methodologies
• Contribute to systems mapping and designing and implementing participatory processes to support LCA
• Plan the iterative approach to LCA within the context of the wider project
• Identify likely emissions hotspots in mental health care
• Determine the appropriate scope, functional unit and system boundaries of the LCA
• Use EcoInvent data and OpenLCA software to carry out LCAs for different ‘healthcare pathways’, using an iterative approach
• Analyse and interpret findings to co-design emission reductions and an implementation plan for transformative mental healthcare systems
• Draft reports for our funders
• Generate academic journal articles based on the research project

The successful candidate will be expected to work closely with team members both at GCU and at our partner universities elsewhere in the UK.

• Completed or almost completed a PhD in a relevant field
• Experience in planning and carrying out Life Cycle Assessment and awareness of relevant standards such as ISO14040
• Strong data handling and analytical skills
• The ability to work independently with minimal supervision and to a high standard
• A demonstrable interest in health systems, mental health, social care, health policy, pharmaceutical pollution, or related field
• Experience in working with stakeholders or using other participatory approaches in LCA
• Success in academic publication
• Excellent organisational skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including report writing
• Experience of LCA in a relevant field
• Experience in systems thinking approaches
• Specific experience in stakeholder-based LCA

Prospective candidates can request an informal conversation with the Project Lead:

As the University for the Common Good, we are committed to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as our values in everything that we do. As such, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates who demonstrate the GCU Values .

Glasgow Caledonian University is committed to a fair and transparent recruitment process that is free from bias so that we can attract and retain a high performing workforce which makes a critical contribution to our success.

The School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, and is one of only two such Schools in Scotland to hold the prestigious Athena SWANSilverAward for promoting gender equality andwomen’s careers in STEMM subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) and allied STEMM subjects (surveying, environment and management of all themes) in higher education.

The University holds the prestigious Athena SWAN Silver institution award, which recognises our significant record of activity and achievement in promoting gender equality across different disciplines.

As a Disability Confident \’Committed\’ employer, we are striving to ensure thatour recruitment process is inclusive and accessibleto disabled people.Although the Disability Confident\’Committed\’ level does not guarantee an interview for disabled applicants, wewill make reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants during therecruitment process.

The University also holds the Carer Positive‘Engaged’employer award, which recognises our commitment to supporting staff with caring responsibilities.

The University offers a range of benefits including opportunities for professional development, family friendly policies, cycle to work scheme and onsite childcare facilities.

Please note that the appointment will be made on the first point of the salary scale (unless by exception).

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