Psychology Assistant

Job title:

Psychology Assistant

Company

Cardiff University

Job description

School / DirectorateSchool of MedicineAdvertPsychology Assistant
Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences
School of Medicine
College of Biomedical and Life SciencesBased at the University’s flagship Hadyn Ellis Building on the Cathay’s campus, you will be part of a team of researchers working on an MRC funded project “IMAGINE-2: Stratifying Genomic Causes of Intellectual Disability by Mental Health Outcomes in Childhood and Adolescence”.Your primary remit will be to recruit and assess children and young people with an intellectual disability caused by a genetic deletion or duplication. You will be required to conduct psychiatric interviews, assess neurocognitive function and obtain saliva samples from participants. You will be required to travel UK-wide to assess patients in their own homes which will require overnight stays and work outside of normal office hours.You should have a degree in Psychology or related subject, supported by experience of working with individuals who have a history of mental illness and/ or neurodevelopmental conditions. An understanding of the principles of conducting, interpreting and scoring psychiatric interviews would be highly desirable, as would experience of conducting neurocognitive assessments.For informal enquiries please contact Dr Samuel Chawner, Research Fellow, on ChawnerSJ@Cardiff.ac.ukThis post is full-time (35 hours per week), available from 1st August 2024 and fixed term until 30th April 2025Salary: £26,444 – £29,605 per annum (Grade 4). Appointments to roles at Cardiff University are usually made at bottom of scale unless in exceptional circumstances.The majority of roles at Cardiff University are currently operating under “blended working” arrangements, with staff having the flexibility to work partly from home and partly from the University campus depending on specific business requirements. Discussions around these arrangements can take place after the successful candidate has been appointed.Cardiff University offers many excellent benefits, including 40 days annual leave (incl bank holidays), local pension scheme, a cycle to work scheme and other travel initiatives, annual increments within the pay scale, and more. It is an exciting and vibrant place to work, with many different challenges and is a proud Living Wage supporter.How we will support you in performing in this role –There are some things that you must have before you can start this role (see ‘Essential Criteria’), but other things can be developed either through training, or just by general on-the-job experience. We want to support and develop you once you have started in the role using a combination of the following to get the best out of you:1. Regular one-to-ones with your manager
2. An experienced and supportive team around you
3. Supporting you through job-relevant training and development that you may require
4. A mentoring schemeDate Advertised: 29 July 2024Closing date: 12 August 2024Please be aware that Cardiff University reserves the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We therefore welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at:Post Reference Number18792BRJob DescriptionJob Purpose
Providing comprehensive and professional support to the Division of Psychological Medicine & Clinical Neurosciences, providing support and guidance on MRC funded project: IMAGINE-2: Stratifying Genomic Causes of Intellectual Disability by Mental Health Outcomes in Childhood and Adolescence.Duties and Responsibilities
Key Duties

• To become familiar and proficient in research assessment methods (training provided).
• To recruit individuals with intellectual disability or other neurodevelopmental conditions caused by a genetic deletion or duplication and to maintain involvement of the participants.
• To undertake assessments of participants in their own homes and to collect samples. This can require long distance travel/driving, consecutive overnight stays away from home and some assessments will take place outside of normal working hours.
• To understand and convey project information, which may need careful explanation or interpretation.
• To establish productive relationships with key individuals (University colleagues and external contacts) to help improve the level of service the team provides to participants and stakeholders.
• To ensure that participant recruitment targets are met, maintain confidentiality and professional standards and work as an effective member of the overall team effort.
• To participate in the regular team meetings by presenting progress updates (including, for example, numbers recruited, problems encountered) and contributing ideas to the recruitment strategy.
• To carry out administrative tasks such as data collection, recording and maintaining records and data as required for the proficient running on the project, with supervision.
• To support and train others in the project team as required in the project procedures.
• To ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in respect of equality and diversity, data protection, copyright and licensing, security, financial and other University policies, procedures and codes as appropriate.
• To work flexibly as part of a team to achieve the study objectives, adapting to new procedures, taking on new tasks consistent with the role, and facilitating the development of the study.
• To perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.
• To gather and analyse data (e.g. psychiatric interviews and neuropsychological assessment) so that informed decisions can be made, establishing basic trends and patterns in the data and providing research reports and recommendations for stakeholders.

General Duties

• Ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality is applied when undertaking all duties
• Abide by University policies and undergo appropriate personal and professional development
• Perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role
• Uphold the Professional Services Values & Behaviours or local equivalent.

Salary Range Max.29,605GradeGrade 4Salary Range Min.26,444Job CategoryHealth, Medical & Dental, TechnicalAdditional InformationIMPORTANT: Evidencing Criteria
Candidates should evidence that they meet ALL of the essential criteria as well as, where relevant, the desirable criteria.As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide this evidence via a supporting statement. Please ensure when submitting this document / attaching it to you application profile you name it with the vacancy reference number, in this instance, 18792BRCareer PathwayTechnicalPerson SpecificationEssential Criteria
Qualifications and Education
1. A degree (2.1 or above) in Psychology or related subject and/or experience.
2. Proficiency in IT, including experience of using Email, Internet, Microsoft Office, SPSS (data entry and analysis)Knowledge, Skills and Experience
3. Specialist knowledge of: child & adolescent mental health and rare genetic conditions.
4. Experience of working in an administrative role or environment and ability to set up standard office systems and procedures, making improvements to these as appropriate.
5. Demonstrable experience in:
a. Conducting and organising research projects.
b. Working with people with learning disabilities, neurodevelopmental issues or mental health problems.
c. Working with children.Communication and Team working
6. Ability to communicate specialist and complex information effectively and professionally to a range of customers with varying levels of understanding.Planning, Analysis and Problem Solving
7. Proven ability to work on own initiative and unsupervised to strict deadlines, planning, organising and setting priorities for own work appropriately and demonstrating accuracy and attention to detail at all times, proposing practical solutions.
8. Evidence of ability to solve problems using initiative and creativity; identify and propose practical solutions and to resolve problems where there are a range of potential options available monitoring priorities.Other
9. A willingness to travel across the UK and to be flexible regarding working hours to meet the needs of participants.Desirable Criteria
1. Possession of a full valid driving licence.
2. Good understanding of the principles of conducting, interpreting and scoring psychiatric interviews and neuropsychological assessments.
3. Experience taking biological samples from participants (blood/saliva).
4. Knowledge of and experience of using the REDCap database software.
5. Fluency in Welsh, written and oral

Expected salary

£26444 – 29605 per year

Location

United Kingdom

Job date

Sun, 21 Jul 2024 02:15:19 GMT

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