Embedded Researcher/Senior Research Fellow – Building Healthy and Sustainable Communities at Leeds Beckett University

Part-time (0.8fte), fixed-term (24 months) 

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council (WMDC) Public Health team and Leeds Beckett University (LBU) are on an exciting journey together to develop research capacity in the local authority, our VCSE partners, and local communities. Wakefield’s ‘Big Conversation’ in summer 2022 was an ambitious project using appreciative inquiry techniques to understand what was most important to our citizens. 

WMDC has recently launched the ‘Building Healthy and Sustainable Communities’ programme, which will work on a hyper-local level with seven of our local communities experiencing the greatest inequalities in health. Through working together with all stakeholders, the role can build on harnessing local knowledge and experience from people in communities to change things for the better. 

To help us achieve these aims, we are now looking for an experienced Research Fellow who can help us to develop innovative research and evaluation methods and build research networks in and with local communities and VCSE organisations. While you will have freedom to develop your own specific projects, we are seeking someone whose research interests relate to health and wellbeing in local communities, and especially to building research capacity in communities and the VCSE sector. 

The post holder will facilitate local networking and engagement to support activities that contribute to the research and will disseminate research results to create an impact in the local region and influence decision making and policy formulation. It is expected that the successful candidate will have a thorough knowledge of a range of research methodologies and will understand how to adapt and apply these to community or health and care settings. 

The Embedded Research Fellow will be supported by colleagues in the Centre for Health Promotion Research at LBU and will have opportunity to develop their skills through formal and informal research training. However, they will also be ‘embedded’ in WMDC and the WMDC community. They will be an integral part of the Wakefield Public Health team. 

For further information, please contact Dr James Woodall j.woodall@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. 

Closing date: Monday 3 July 2023 (23:59) 

For further information and to apply please click the ‘Apply’ button above.

Working here means you’ll also have access to a wide range of benefits including our generous pension schemes, excellent holiday entitlements, flexible working, reduced study fees, subsidised fitness facilities and a lot more.

We welcome applications from all individuals and particularly from black and minority ethnic candidates as members of these groups are currently under-represented at this level of post. All appointments will be based on merit.