"Research Associate"

University of Birmingham - College of Social Sciences - School of Social Policy

Location:	Birmingham
Salary:	£33,002 to £35,608 Grade 6
Hours:	Part Time
Contract Type:	Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On: 25th March 2026
Closes: 15th April 2026
Job Ref: 106889

Salary: Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608, with potential progression once in post to £39,906

Hours: Part time. 0.2 FTE

Research Associate will be hired to work on an NIHR funded research project - Digital support for siblings of children with learning disabilities: Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial of the serious game ‘Broodles’.

This project examines whether a serious game (Broodles) can be delivered successfully to siblings of children with learning disabilities, and whether it would be feasible to conduct a later definitive randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Broodles.

Siblings in families of children with learning disabilities at increased risk of mental health problems and often have care responsibilities for their disabled brothers and sisters. There are no evidence-based supports for young siblings. Despite an expectation that local authorities support siblings, few supports are available in practice.

Feasibility questions focus on: recruitment pathways and rates for families, parents’ support for siblings completing Broodles, siblings’ experiences of Broodles, research design acceptability, intervention adherence, retention of siblings and parents at 12-month follow-up, differences between Broodles and Usual Support (US), collection of outcome data, and economic methods for future trials.

The post is situated in the Intellectual Disabilities Research Institute (IDRIS) in the School of Social Policy and Society. IDRIS staff are engaged mainly in research on interventions and services to support individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Summary of Role

• Work within the specified research project ‘Digital support for siblings of children with learning disabilities: Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial of the serious game ‘Broodles’
• Operate within area of specialism focusing primarily on data collection for the study
• Contribute to publications

Main Duties

• Collect research data from parents via online survey, online/telephone data collection with the researcher, or in-person in the family home
• Collect research data from young siblings in online structured interviews/questionnaires and in-person with the sibling at home
• Support participant recruitment and data collection from young siblings of children with learning disabilities and their parents including obtaining consent from parents and obtaining and checking consent from young siblings
• Complete eligibility checks with parents interested in their family taking part, including administration of the Vineland 3 adaptive behaviour assessment with a parent about their child with learning disabilities
• Entry and cleaning of research data in preparation for analysis
• Contribute to the preparation of research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example for seminars and as posters
• Develop or adapt techniques, models and methods
• Provide support as required to staff and any students who may be assisting with research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research project objectives or deadlines
• Carry out administrative tasks related directly to the delivery of the research project
• Promote equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture

Informal enquiries can be made to Alexander White at a.white.2@bham.ac.uk

To download the full job description and details of this position and submit an electronic application online please click on the 'Apply' button above.

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We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working