Research Assistant

Research Assistant - SUPPORTive Leaders Online & ESRC Workplace Well-being Project

We are seeking a part-time Research Assistant to support the SUPPORTive Leaders Online project?an initiative focused on developing a digital leadership training programme to promote mental health and well-being in the workplace.

This project builds on our GBP1.6 million ESRC-funded research, conducted in collaboration with the Enterprise Research Centre, Warwick Business School, University College Cork, and the University of Nottingham, exploring the relationship between workplace well-being and productivity. The Research Assistant?s time will be divided between this new initiative and supporting the broader ESRC-funded research, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge work on workplace mental health and productivity.

This role is ideal for candidates looking to gain hands-on research experience in work psychology, human resource management, and organisational behaviour. The position focuses on translating academic research into practical applications for business leaders and organisations.

Key Responsibilities

The Research Assistant will work closely with the project team to support the development and implementation of the digital training programme. Key responsibilities include:

• Engaging with advisory groups, including business leaders and mental health professionals.
• Assisting in content development for the digital platform (e.g., Xerte).
• Uploading and managing training materials within the digital system.
• Coordinating pilot activities, including participant recruitment and scheduling.
• Collecting and analysing feedback through surveys and interviews.
• Contributing to research dissemination, including reports and publications.

• Essential: An undergraduate degree in psychology, business management, organisational behaviour, human resource management, public health, or a related field.
• Preferred: A Master's degree (completed or in progress) in a relevant discipline.

We are looking for candidates who:
✔ Have an interest in work psychology, leadership, and workplace well-being research.
✔ Have experience or a strong interest in qualitative and/or quantitative research methods.
✔ Possess strong written and verbal communication skills.
✔ Can work independently and manage their workload effectively.
✔ Have experience with digital learning platforms (beneficial but not essential).

Job description for QWork Assignment

• Research Assistant in Management (up to a maximum of 4 hours per week for 30 weeks)
• This part-time role (up to a maximum of 4 hours per week for 30 weeks) will support Dr Sara Melo, Senior Lecturer in Management, in her leading impact project. Supporting the design, implementation, continuous improvement, and effective use of Business Intelligence systems in decision-making at Portuguese NHS hospitals.

The Research Assistant will be responsible for:

• Searching the Internet for examples of toolkits targeted at practitioners in general, and toolkits directly related with the design and implementation of Business Intelligence (BI) systems
• Preliminary scoping literature review on the models used to evaluate the readiness of hospitals to implement BI systems
• Collaborate in the graphical design of the paper-based versions of a toolkit (draft and final versions) to be targeted at hospital practitioners to support them in the design, implementation and continuous improvement of a hospital BI system.
• Identification of examples of activities that could be implemented at the different stages of the creation of a national network/community of practice of hospital staff
• Identification of examples of questionnaires to measure the impact of research dissemination workshops with practitioners

Applicants must be currently studying towards a PhD.  

• Applicants who have an interest in communicating research to non-academic stakeholders.
• This part-time role is intended for an individual who is currently a PhD student.
• Good written and verbal communication skills are essential. There is no need to know Portuguese as all the Research Assistant work will be in English.

Overview of the role

To assist in the project Mapping Bilingual Student Talk in NI Mainstream Classrooms. The project under the lead of Dr. Sultan Turkan (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work) and in conjunction with external partners seeks to conduct classroom-based research on teacher-bilingual student talk. 

This role offers the opportunity to work with primary teachers and their bilingual students in linguistically and culturally diverse mainstream classrooms. 

None

Essential Criteria 

• Classroom teaching experience 
• PGCE in teaching a subject matter
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team 
• Ability to work to deadlines 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills 
• Excellent communication skills to non-academic audience.

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge of NI schooling systems and operations
• Experience in writing for publication
• Experience in leadership activities