Research Assistant in the Department of Psychological Medicine

The post holder will join The Psychoactive Trials Group at the Centre for Affective Disorders, King's College London, led by Professor Allan Young and Dr James Rucker. The post holder will be part of a team of research assistants working across a number of clinical trials investigating the potential therapeutic use of psychedelic and related substances in mental health care.

The post holder will work closely with and be supervised by Catherine Bird (Clinical Trials Manager) and Dr James Rucker (Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Centre for Affective Disorders.)

The Psychoactive Trials group is a multidisciplinary research group based at King's College London, collaborating with South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and King's College Hospital NHS Trust. You will work across various locations including The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, The Centre for Mental Health Research and Innovation and the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility at King's College Hospital.

This post will be offered on a full-time, fixed-term contract for 12 months.

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

Essential criteria

1. First degree in a relevant subject

2. Experience in the management or co-ordination of clinical trials or academic research studies

3. Experience of research interviewing, including psychological measures and clinical assessments in patient groups

4. Knowledge of ethics and research governance procedures

5. Recent experience of recruiting research participants and evidence of high levels of participant retention into studies

6. High level of organisational skills, problem solving and planning abilities

7. Ability to work as part of a team with excellent collaborative skills and an ability to organize others

Desirable criteria

1. Masters degree in a relevant subject

2. GCP training and Human Tissue Act and Informed Consent training

3. Experience of report / paper-writing and/or data analysis using statistical software

4. Experience of recruiting participants from SLaM/NHS community teams, C4C, or IAPTs

5. Demonstrate flair, enthusiasm, innovation and leadership when faced with challenges

The Department of Psychological Medicine focuses on the interface between psychiatry and medicine, psychiatry and occupation, psychiatry and the military, and psychiatry in different settings. The disorders of interest are those of the common mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, perinatal psychiatry, psychological oncology, eating disorders and stress related disorders.

The Centre for Affective Disorders (CfAD) focuses on mood and anxiety disorders, common disorders which cause great suffering for many people.The CfAD is a centre of excellence for understanding the science related to these illnesses and uses this knowledge to help develop new treatments of all types including psychological and pharmacological., We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.