Research Fellow, Health Services & Population Research

King's College London; London; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 59,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious university in London is seeking a Researcher in Implementation Science to lead and coordinate research projects that improve health services. This full-time role requires a PhD in health-related fields and experience in mixed-methods research. Candidates must have excellent communication skills and a record of peer-reviewed publications. The position offers a competitive salary and professional development opportunities.

Benefits

At least 10 days per year for professional development

Competitive salary with London Weighting Allowance

Qualifications

• Post-Doctoral level training in applied health research methods.
• Experience of conducting evidence syntheses.
• Experience supervising others and staff management.

Responsibilities

• Planning and executing implementation science research projects.
• Collaborating with stakeholders to deliver research.
• Delivering teaching and training.

Skills

Data collection and analysis

Experience conducting mixed-methods research

Excellent interpersonal skills

Ability to manage a varied workload

Publication record

Education

PhD in behavioural, social, management or health sciences

Upper second or first degree (BA, BSc or equivalent)

Job description

About Us

The post will be based in the Centre for Mental Health Policy and Evaluation (CMHPE) at King’s College London. The Centre is home to a team of expert implementation and improvement science researchers, including health economists and statisticians. This team investigates how best to ‘implement’ evidence-based practice and clinical research within health services in south London, nationally and internationally. The team studies the role of healthcare professionals, managers, commissioners of health services and policymakers as well as organisational structures and processes to try to understand why health services don’t always offer the safest, most effective treatments and ways of working.

CMHPE is based in the Department of Health Service & Population Research (HSPR) whose main goal is to conduct world-leading research and education using the social and health sciences to better understand and to improve health outcomes, systems, and care, both locally and globally, particularly in disadvantaged and marginalised populations.

About The Role

The postholder will take a lead role in delivering King’s Implementation Science (KIS) research and evaluation projects within the Centre for Mental Health Policy and Evaluation (CMHPE), utilising their mixed methods their mixed-methods (ideally qualitative and quantitative) expertise.

The role includes planning, coordinating, executing, and reporting on evaluation and improvement/implementation science research projects in health and social care settings, and delivering teaching and training.

The postholder will work alongside members of the KIS team and under the guidance of the KIS Programme Manager and KIS Principal Investigator. The post-holder will also work collaboratively with funders, NHS staff, public members and other stakeholders to plan and deliver high-quality, applied research aimed at improving health or social care services.

The current portfolio of KIS research includes (but is not limited to) an evaluation of a King’s Health Partners (KHP) wide staff supports and wellbeing programme and an evaluation of the feasibility and acceptability of a novel remote monitoring model in rheumatoid arthritis outpatient services across south-east London. The post-holder will be required to take a leading role across multiple projects, with support from other members of the team. Project topics are agreed with the funders in accordance with their priorities.

KIS is a KHP supported research programme aimed at enhancing how quality improvement activity is carried out across major south London health care providers. Established in 2013, KIS comprises an interdisciplinary team of researchers with expertise in improvement and implementation sciences, evaluation, patient and public involvement (PPI), and economics, and a core team of managers and communication professionals. For information about the first phase of KIS work (2013–2018) please see: http://www.kingsimprovementscience.org

The KIS programme is supported by KHP (£2.5M in total) and aligned to the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London as co-funded research infrastructure. The KIS programme will continue to support scalable projects and programmes that improve care delivery and outcomes across KHP organisations, as well as develop methodological research to further advance the sciences of improvement and implementation and thus achieve better patient experience and outcomes of care more rapidly within the NHS.

The KIS programme is one of the funded research programmes hosted within the Centre for Mental Health Policy and Evaluation (CMHPE). For further information please see: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/cmhpe

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31.03.2026.

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

• Upper second or first degree (BA, BSc or equivalent) and PhD in behavioural, social, management or health sciences, or in a discipline with a health-related orientation.
• Post-Doctoral level training in applied health research methods, excellent data collection and analysis skills, and experience of conducting and reporting mixed-methods research or evaluation projects
• Experience of conducting evidence syntheses (e.g. systematic reviews, meta-analyses) and evidence appraisal
• Experience of carrying out improvement or implementation research studies in health or social care services (as a healthcare professional or researcher) and working collaboratively with healthcare professionals and patients / service users / family members
• A good peer-reviewed publication record, commensurate with level of experience
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with proven ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships both within and across organisational boundaries, report writing and presentation skills
• Ability to work independently, proactively and flexibly, using own judgement, initiative and discretion where necessary
• Excellent organisation skills and ability to manage a varied workload, comfortable with changing agendas and re-prioritisation of workloads whilst meeting performance targets and milestones
• Experience of supervising others and research/staff management
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience of evaluation, quality improvement, or change programmes within healthcare provider organisations
• Previous work experience in the fields of improvement science research or implementation science research
• Involvement in successful funding applications
  
  

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 on Friday 26th September 2025.

Grade and Salary: £53,947 - £58,426 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance

Job ID: 121805

Close Date: 18-Aug-2025

Contact Person: Manuela Russo

Contact Details: [e-mail]