Postdoctoral Research Associate (Mental Health and Younger Generations)

KINGS COLLEGE LONDON; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK research institution is seeking two Research Associates to support the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health. The roles involve statistical analysis of data and contributing to research on younger generations' mental health, requiring a PhD in a relevant area. The positions are full-time with a two-year contract, offering a salary of £45,031 to £46,189 per year. A supportive team environment emphasizes career development and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Benefits

Professional development entitlements

Qualifications

• PhD (awarded or pending results) in relevant subject area.
• Advanced knowledge of mental health.
• Excellent knowledge of statistics, including statistical analyses of longitudinal data.
• Experience in working with longitudinal data sets.
• Ability to work collaboratively.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Experience of preparing and publishing papers.
• Knowledge of advanced statistical methods.
• Experience of working with young people.

Responsibilities

• Undertake statistical analysis of quantitative data.
• Contribute to teaching and supervising student dissertations.
• Support the development of a schools health research network.

Skills

PhD in relevant subject area

Advanced knowledge of mental health

Excellent knowledge of statistics

Experience with longitudinal data sets

Collaborative skills

Excellent organisational skills

Experience of publishing papers

Knowledge of advanced statistical methods

Experience with young people

Education

PhD (awarded or pending)

Job description

Organisation/Company KINGS COLLEGE LONDON Research Field Sociology Ethics in health sciences Psychological sciences Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Established Researcher (R3) Country United Kingdom Application Deadline 1 Dec 2025 - 00:00 (UTC) Type of Contract Other Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

About us:

Our ESR Centre for Society and Mental Health is a cross‑Faculty initiative between the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy (SSPP) and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN).

The centre aims to better understand the complex interrelationships between society and mental health, with a commitment to:

• Ensure that the impact of social context is central to how we understand mental health;
• Work in partnership with affected communities.

To help us complete this work, we are looking for 2x Research Associates to help ensure we meet our commitments.

About the role

We are looking for two highly motivated and talented postdoctoral researchers to work with Prof Craig Morgan and team on the exciting next phase of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health Younger Generations Programme.

You will work with a friendly, supportive, passionate, and hard‑working group to undertake statistical analysis of quantitative data to test hypothesis on various aspects of mental health and younger generations. We are multi‑disciplinary and place great value on working with young people from diverse backgrounds to deliver relevant, engaging, inclusive, and impactful research.

The overall aims of the next phase of our Younger Generations Programme are to maximise outputs from the first phase, consolidate and extend ongoing research, and establish a schools health research network. Core activities to deliver these aims include analysing data and producing outputs from our ongoing REACH programme, conducting comparative analyses with other regional and national data sets, and supporting the development of a south London schools health research network, with the King’s Maudsley Partnership for Children and Young People.

The two post‑doctoral Associates will work on all aspects of the programme, but with differences in emphasis.

• One post holder will primarily lead on analyses of REACH data, including comparative analyses with other regional and national data sets. REACH is a south London based cohort study of around 4,500 young people initially aged 11–14 years with extension data on mental health at 7 time points.
• One post holder will both lead analyses of REACH data (~ 40%) and lead on supporting the development of the schools health research network (~ 40%).

Both post‑holders will contribute ~ 20% of their time to the delivery of teaching at the IoPPN. This may include teaching on a module and supervising student dissertations.

In addition, we are keen to support post holders with career development and there is an expectation that each will develop independent research, including fellowship applications, with the support of the Centre. We will support this with personalised training, support, and development plans.

We are looking for two highly motivated and ambitious post‑docs with relevant expertise in working with and analysing quantitative data and / or with experience of project coordination, building partnerships, and working with schools. Training as necessary will be provided.

These are full‑time posts (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a two‑year fixed‑term contract in the first instance, with a view to extend subject to funding.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro‑rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

• PhD (awarded or pending results) in relevant subject area (e.g., epidemiology, population health, quantitative social science, statistics, psychology)
• Advanced knowledge of mental health
• Excellent knowledge of statistics, including statistical analyses of longitudinal data
• Experience in working with longitudinal data sets
• Ability to work collaboratively with interdisciplinary research teams and non‑academic partners, including excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent organisational and time management skills and ability to work independently and to deadlines
• Experience of preparing and publishing papers in refereed journals and presenting at conferences
• Knowledge of advanced statistical methods for analysis of longitudinal data (e.g., growth models)
• Experiencing of working with young people, schools, and / or people with mental health problems

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

*Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Further information

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages

Grade and Salary

£45,031 – £46,189 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance
Job ID:129786
Close Date:01-Dec-2025
Contact Person:Prof Craig Morgan
Contact Details:[e-mail]