Research Fellow (EpiCare) - School of Psychology - 106429 - Grade 7

Position Details

School Of Psychology

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

• Grade: 7
• Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to November 2026
• Closing date: 19th October 2025
• UK travel may be required for this role

Background

The EPICare Study is a major, multi-stage, and multi-site research programme funded by the NIHR and the Mental Health Mission, aimed at developing, implementing, and evaluating a national digital registry and embedded Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) for Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services across England.

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow 1 FTE, Grade 7 to join the team from Autumn 2025 to support the implementation process evaluation of the EPICare programme. The initial contract will be for 12 months, with a further 24 months of funding expected, subject to satisfactory performance and achievement of key study milestones. This role forms part of a four-year NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research, running across five NHS Trust demonstrator sites, with potential expansion.

The EPICare programme is delivered through seven interrelated work packages, including scientific evaluation (registry, CDSS, and implementation), alongside public and patient involvement, data integrity, programme management, dissemination, and capacity development.

The post holder will play a pivotal role in evaluating the implementation of the EPICare platform, including:

• Using implementation research frameworks to understand the local context-specific barriers to adoption of EPICare, and the strategies to overcomes these
• Assessing the feasibility and fidelity of collecting core demographic, treatment, and outcome data via the digital registry.
• Investigating the utility of real-world data in identifying:
• Variation in psychosis incidence by person and place.
• Inequities in the provision and outcomes of NICE-recommended care.
• The effectiveness of different treatments across diverse populations.
• Evaluating whether EPICare’s CDSS—comprising a clinician-facing dashboard and patient-facing app—reduces missing data and enhances care quality by improving adherence to NICE standards.
• Appraising the implementation of the EPICare platform into demonstrator sites using established implementation framework to understand the interaction of context, innovation adoption and use, and outcomes.
• Contributing to a cost-effectiveness analysis of EPICare compared to current practice.
• Variation in psychosis incidence by person and place.
• Inequities in the provision and outcomes of NICE-recommended care.
• The effectiveness of different treatments across diverse populations.

This role is embedded within Work Package 3: Implementation Process Evaluation, which is led by Professor Justin Waring and works closely with service stakeholders, LEAG members, and the programme’s clinical and technical leads. The research will apply implementation science frameworks (e.g. CFIR and ERIC), and use qualitative interviews, focus groups, ethnographic observations, and iterative toolkit development to support the scale-up of EPICare.

Who We're Looking For: applications from candidates with a PhD (or near completion) in health services research, implementation science, medical sociology, public health, or a related discipline with expertise in qualitative methods and/or implementation evaluation.

This role may require occasional travel to participating NHS Trust sites. We are committed to flexible working arrangements.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge mental health research and support national innovation in the digital transformation of EIP services.

Role Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join a major programme of work evaluating the implementation of the EPICare digital platform across five NHS Trusts. This role will play a central part in the Implementation Process Evaluation workstream, led by Professor Justin Waring, and conducted in close collaboration with Work Packages 1–3, our Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG), and local implementation teams at all five participating NHS Trusts.

The Fellow will lead the day-to-day coordination, delivery, and analysis of two rounds of implementation evaluation. These evaluations will identify the contextual barriers and facilitators to implementation, the strategies used to overcome these barriers, and the acceptability and satisfaction of EPICare among patients, clinicians, and EIP teams. Insights will inform the iterative development and refinement of an implementation toolkit, aimed at supporting local adoption and enabling future national rollout.

Working closely with the Chief Investigator, Prof. James Kirkbride (UCL), and Deputy Chief Investigators, Prof. Rachel Upthegrove (Oxford) and Dr. Lowri Griffiths (Birmingham), the Research Fellow will:

• Apply established frameworks—namely the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC)—to guide data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• Conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders including service leaders, platform developers, clinicians, service users, IT teams, and patient representatives.
• Perform structured ethnographic observations of key implementation activities across the five Trusts.
• Collaborate with WP3 to assess data quality and engagement with EPICare's digital components (e.g., dashboards, CareLoop app).
• Integrate findings into the iterative co-development of a practical, evidence-based implementation toolkit.
• Work with local partners to apply quality improvement techniques (e.g., Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles) to refine implementation strategies.
• Contribute to dissemination activities, including engagement with policy stakeholders and national EIP networks.

This position is ideally suited for candidates with a background in implementation science, health services research, medical sociology, or applied qualitative methods. Experience working with the NHS or in digital health innovation is highly desirable.

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Analyse and interpret data
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods 
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture

Person Specification

• PhD (or near completion) in implementation science, health services research, medical sociology, public health, psychology, or a related discipline 
• Ideally, experience conducting applied health or mental health research, particularly in NHS or clinical settings
• Experience in applying implementation research frameworks (e.g. CFIR and ERIC) and models to the study of clinical or health service innovation, including technological innovations
• Demonstrable experience in designing and conducting qualitative research (e.g., interviews, focus groups, ethnographic observation)
• Experience working in multi-site and multi-disciplinary research collaborations
• Excellent qualitative data analysis skills, including use of NVivo or similar software
• Excellent communication skills, including writing for publication
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team 
• Ability to engage with a wide range of stakeholders including clinicians, patients, and IT professionals
• Desirably, knowledge of digital health tools and their integration into NHS services
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively 
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly
• Requirement for DBS, Occupational Health Check and awareness of the Data Protection Act (DPA)

OH and DBS required

The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Occupational Health and DBS clearance prior to appointment.

Informal enquiries to Shahara Choudhry, email: s.h.choudhry@bham.ac.uk 

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.