Senior Research Associate (Qualitative)

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North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) are working towards merging as one organisation from July 2026. This will create an exciting future that brings together the best of both organisations. As a single, strong and sustainable organisation, we will not only be able to deliver better outcomes for our patients and fairer care for our population, but it will also provide greater opportunities for our people. Should you join NBT as an employee prior to our organisations merging, your employment will be automatically transferred across to UHBW. Should your employment begin after our two Trusts merge, you will be employed directly by UHBW and therefore UHBW terms and conditions of service will apply.

Our job adverts may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Considering this, if you are interested in this role, please do apply as soon as you can.

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Job Overview

This is a fixed-term post (9 months) to work on the NIHR RfPB funded study: Maximising Impact of Speech and Language Therapy for Children with Speech Sound Disorder (MISLToe-SSD)-Phase 2 England. The Study Comprises Three Work Packages (WP)

• WP1: Establish the process for collection Core Outcome Set data through SystmOne, an electronic patient record system
• WP2: Identify the barriers and enablers to implementation of COS data collection in SLT services and determine approaches to mitigation of barriers
• WP3: Carry out a feasibility and pilot study to determine potential for participant recruitment and COS data collection in a full-scale study

Main duties of the job

Development of Research Programme

• Support the PI in obtaining relevant ethical permissions, including completing IRAS/MHRA and local ethics submission.
• Assist PI in preparation of new NIHR and other relevant grant applications for follow-on work
• Liaise with the NBT R&I office to develop research proposals and identify funding streams.

Delivery of Research

• Support research team and take initiative in assembly of necessary material for obtaining and maintaining Research Ethics Committee approval, and Trust Research approval
• Set up, organize and carry out the research ensuring that Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Research Governance Framework (RGF) and legal standards are adhered to.
• Interpret on a first-line basis the results of tests for which he/she is responsible, recording results on worksheets or databases and taking appropriate corrective action when unexpected results are obtained.
• Ensure appropriate training and documentation of training for all staff involved.
• Support participating NHS sites in data collection using MISLToe_SSD protocol.
• Support PPI leads in panning and delivering PPI activities as required.
• Act in the best interests of the research participants to ensure their rights are upheld.
• Support the PI in ensuring all reporting to regulatory bodies and research networks (if applicable) is done in a timely manner.

Working for our organisation

North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities and we are part of the Bristol NHS Group. Recognised as the Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff at the Nursing Times Workforce Summit and Awards 2025, our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.

North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

The post holder will work closely with the PI for the MISLToe_SSD study, the Director of Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit (BSLTRU) and with workstream leads to carry out work across all three workstreams. This will include working with the research team to plan and conduct focus groups with clinicians and collect qualitative data for analysis and interpretation. This role is central to the delivery of NIHR Portfolio research carried out in BSLTRU and North Bristol NHS Trust. The post holder will be responsible for undertaking NIHR portfolio research in accordance with local, national and international legislation. It will be the post holder’s responsibility to ensure studies are delivered in line with agreed targets with BSLTRU. Their research skills will ensure a well-informed, coordinated support mechanism is provided to researchers and clinicians in the research team. The post holder is expected to work with the wider BSLTRU team and collaborators on the study to contribute to data analysis and interpretation, writing of papers, development of the impact pathway and contributing to new grant applications.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Degree in Speech Language Therapy (or equivalent)

Desirable criteria

• HCPC Registered SLT

Work Experience

Essential criteria

• Evidence of further education/professional development
• Effective personal time and workload management
• Extensive experience in planning and conducting qualitative research studies in a health services environment.
• Evidence of organisational and project management skills within a research environment.

Desirable criteria

• Ability to work across both NHS and non-NHS organisations
• Supervisory experience of junior members of staff

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

Essential criteria

• Interest in and enthusiasm for research in speech and language therapy
• Advanced communication skills, verbal & written, to include report writing and record keeping.
• Excellent cross disciplinary communication skills and ability to facilitate collaborative working relationships
• Understanding of the application of research within clinical and research governance
• Ability to disseminate research findings in written form for peer review journals and other publications
• Ability to disseminate research findings verbally in a variety of contexts
• Well-developed IT skills, knowledge of Microsoft packages
• Excellent interpersonal skills with patients, carers, clinical staff and multidisciplinary team.
• Evidence of working knowledge of qualitative research methodology

Desirable criteria

• Demonstrates an appreciation of how the Trust Organisational Objectives are underpinned by research.

Please note that if you apply for a position with North Bristol NHS Trust, you may be contacted via TRAC or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your TRAC Account and email accounts including junk and spam folders. If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance.

If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel 0117 414 1151.

North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.

At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT’s workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.

Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.