Qualitative Research Associate

King's College London; London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Join King's College London as a Qualitative Research Associate on a groundbreaking study aimed at advancing race equity in health and social care. This full-time role involves exploring the experiences of informal carers from racially minoritised backgrounds. You’ll bring your expertise in qualitative research, work in an interdisciplinary team, and contribute to impactful research outputs against discrimination and inequity in care systems.

Benefits

At least 10 days per year for professional development.

Qualifications

• PhD (awarded or thesis submitted) in a relevant discipline with strong qualitative research experience.
• Advanced knowledge of qualitative research methods including participatory approaches.
• Track record of academic publications on racial and ethnic inequities.

Responsibilities

• Qualitatively explore experiences of informal carers regarding racism and discrimination.
• Contribute to data collection, analysis, publications, and support training.
• Work closely with CARE-HSC colleagues and stakeholders.

Skills

Qualitative Research

Data Analysis

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Organisational Skills

Public Speaking

Education

PhD in Sociology, Psychology, or related field

Job description

About us:

In January 2025, researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) and the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at King's College London in collaboration with Black Thrive Global and two international partners in the United States and Sweden received funding for a new study aiming to advance race equity in health and social care structures.

This bold research programme, titled Collective Action for Race Equity in Health and Social Care (CARE-HSC), aims to address and dismantle structural factors that perpetuate racial discrimination and harassment within care systems.

About the role:

We are seeking an enthusiastic Qualitative Research Associate to join CARE-HSC, specifically working on 'Workstream 2: Informal Carers' co-led by Dr Juliana Onwumere and Cllr Dr Jacqui Dyer (Black Thrive Global).

This workstream focusses on Integrating qualitative and quantitative methods with peer researchers to better understand how racially minoritised informal carers are impacted by and resist inequities, addressing key theoretical gaps and co-develop culturally safe tools and models of integrated health and social care.

The successful candidate will qualitatively explore experiences of informal carers, across different life stages (i.e., young carers, working and older aged carers) about racism, discrimination and coping linked to caregiving roles, including care pathways and provision and psycho-social impacts on service experiences.

The postholder will contribute to data collection, analysis, publications, and dissemination, and support training and supervision within the team. They will work closely with CARE-HSC colleagues and stakeholders to produce meaningful, inclusive research and contribute to the overall coordination of the programme.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract from 1st October 2025 until 31st December 2031.

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:

Essential criteria

1. PhD (awarded or thesis submitted) in a relevant discipline, such as Sociology, Psychology, Health Inequalities, Population Health, Race and Ethnicity Studies, Occupational Health or a related field, with strong qualitative research experience and a focus on race and ethnicity at the intersection of other social identities, and health and/or social care systems.
2. Advanced knowledge about a range of qualitative research methods, including participatory approaches, interviews and focus groups and analytic approaches.
3. Track record of academic publications examining racial and ethnic inequities in discrimination, mental health, occupational health, and health care services.
4. Demonstrated ability to analyse data and interpret results of qualitative research.
5. Demonstrable experience in preparing ethical, research and development, and research governance applications, with a strong working knowledge of data confidentiality and security practices.
6. Proven ability to manage time effectively and organise workload across competing priorities, demonstrating excellent organisational and time-management skills.
7. Strong ability to present complex information clearly to academic, policy, and public audiences, with clear examples from previous roles.
8. Demonstrated experience working effectively within interdisciplinary teams and with non-academic partners, including public health entities, people with lived experience and volunteer and community sector organisations.

Desirable criteria

1. Experience engaging with wider audiences through accessible and creative outputs (e.g. blogs, community events).
2. Experience with co-production or participatory methods in research and engagement.
3. Experience supervising researchers or students and delivering seminars or training to diverse audiences.

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.

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.

Interviews are due to be held W/C 28th July 2025.