Job summary
- Main area
- Research
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- 18 months (Fixed term for 18 months)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 351-CS2968-SRP
- Employer
- Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Lantern Centre / Spectrum Centre
- Town
- Preston
- Salary
- £32,073 - £39,043 Per Annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 09/11/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Research Assistant
Band 5
Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.
As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:
- Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
- Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
- Extensive community physical health and well-being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term condition management.
The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.
For more information visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT.
Job overview
Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is on an exciting journey towards becoming a University Trust, strengthening our partnerships with leading academic institutions and expanding our research capability. Our Research & Development department plays a key role in achieving this ambition - driving innovation, collaboration and excellence across mental health research.
We are looking for a Research Assistant to join the Mental Health Research Group (MHRG), a five year NIHR funded initiative based at Lancaster University. The MHRG is focused on tackling complex mental health needs among under served and excluded communities, co designing creative and inclusive solutions that improve access to care and reduce inequalities.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will work within MHRG Research Theme 1, which focuses on co occurring mental health and drug or alcohol problems among people experiencing multiple disadvantages, such as substance use disorders, criminal justice involvement and other complex social challenges. These groups often face significant barriers to accessing mainstream services and are frequently excluded from traditional models of care. The research aims to understand their lived experiences, the difficulties they encounter when seeking support, and the opportunities for co designing more inclusive and effective mental health pathways.
Working for our organisation
LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.
Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.
We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.
LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.
The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.
Explore our full wellbeing offer here: Keeping our workforce well
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For more information about this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Undergraduate degree in Psychology, Sociology, or related subject (eg. public health or social sciences).
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Understanding of qualitative research principles and methods.
- Understanding of research governance and ethics.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience conducting mental health and/or addiction research.
- Experience conducting research with people with lived experience of severe mental illness and/or alcohol or substance use problems.
- Experience conducting qualitative research (e.g., experience conducting interviews, analysing qualitative data).
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Polly Bidwell
- Job title
- Senior Clinical Studies Officer
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
For further information, please contact:
Polly Bidwell | Senior Clinical Studies Officer
List jobs with Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust in Administrative Services or all sectors