PenARC and the South West AHSN wish to recruit an applied mental health research and service improvement lead with an interest in research to work on evidence-based improvements to health and services as part of an exciting new Mental Health Research Initiative in the South West.

Role profile:

This new initiative, funded by NIHR, aims to increase capacity within the South West to deliver new high quality research in mental health which is of direct relevance to people experiencing mental health challenges whilst also supporting service delivery and improvements based on evidence. The role will be hosted in the South West AHSN, a team dedicated to discovering, developing and deploying new innovations and research focused on addressing identified unmet health equity needs and demands in the region.

Within this new programme we will work with local partners including those with lived experience, practitioners and organisations to identify key areas of unmet need which can be addressed either through the conduct of new applied health research or through the adaptation and advancement of evidence into services. The position will play a vital role in strengthening the partnership between PenARC and the South West AHSN in bridging the gap between health equity focused mental health research and implementation.

We anticipate conducting smaller projects within the programme and seeking further external funding and support to address major research questions. A further component of this will involve a training strand which will provide an opportunity for part-time secondments for external staff to develop their implementation, service improvement and research skills. The aim of this training strand is to create a number of Mental Health Associates (MHAs) who can be supported to address some of the important problems facing their own organisations.

 Key success factors

●    Successfully engage user groups, public collaborators and service partners what are the most pressing mental health issues they are facing in the South West region

●     Supporting research that addresses these issues in underserved geographies or populations

●     Feed back into the system to enact positive change

●     Identify individuals who have the interest and ability to develop into the Principal Investigators of the Future

●     Provide training and support for these people to build their research expertise

●     Increase the number of ‘evidence users’ in the region

  Responsibilities

●     Provide ‘on the ground’ implementation and improvement expertise and advice for new research & service improvement projects adopted by the initiative focused on health equity

●     To facilitate access to evaluation support and guidance to improvement projects that come through a joint new research, innovation and service improvement pipeline

●     Facilitate access where appropriate to teaching and training on new improvement and implementation to Mental Health Associates (MHAs) 

●     Mentor MHAs as they use their training to address mental health improvements and implementation questions directly related to their own services and organisations

●     Seek to identify, where appropriate, new research projects that support the development of the South West AHSN’s Health Equity Regional Programme focused on children and young people’s health.

●     Other grade appropriate responsibilities as, from time to time, instructed by the line manager.

●     Demonstrate the values of the organisation in all your work as impact led, improvement focused and collaborative. 

Person specification:

Experience we are looking for

●     Excellent working understanding of a range of services that support MH for children and young people and/or adults

●     Excellent working understanding of approaches to improvement and implementation in health, social care or local government.

●     Excellent working understanding of concepts and methods of promoting evidence-informed practice

●     Good working understanding of the application of quantitative and qualitative research methods to service improvement

●     Experience of undertaking applied health services research projects in a collaborative team environment

●     Experience of working with a range of stakeholders to co-develop services through all stages of production and implementation

●     A desire to effect continued and sustained evidence-based improvements to MH Services in the SW

●     An interest in innovative approaches to health and social care

●     Good qualitative and quantitative research skills, for example, knowledge of surveying, interviewing, analysing trends in system use over time

●     Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build mutually beneficial relationships

●     A working style grounded in empathy, curiosity and transdisciplinary

Experience and capabilities you will develop in the role

●     Supporting the development of regional programmes focused on health equity.

●      Managing a pipeline of research and innovation projects – assessing ideas for relevance and validity to identify high-value opportunities.

●     Building multi-partner collaborations that deliver impact across a large geography.

●     Working as part of a national network to transform lives through healthcare innovation.

●     Applying research, quality improvement and spread methodologies to the delivery of innovative practice.

Abilities and attributes

●     Ability to work independently but also as part of a team

●     Building and sustaining high quality standards

●     Comfortable working in a dynamic and changing environment

●     Excellent skills across all Microsoft applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)

●     Willingness to travel

●     A full UK driving license / Ability to travel long distances, independently.

Management

●     The role will be hosted and managed in the South West AHSN Programme Function

●     Supervision provided by PenARC

●     You will be a key part of both the PenARC Mental Health Initiative team and the South West AHSN’s Health Equity Regional Programme focused on children and young people’s health and invited to join PenARC implementation team meetings and South West AHSN meetings where appropriate

 Reporting to:

Programme Director