Position Details
College of Medicine and Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822
Grade: 7
Part Time (18.75 working hours per week)
Fixed Term contract up to December 2027
Closing date: 19th July 2026
Travel will be required for this role
This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.
Background
People with life ‑ limiting illnesses may be discharged from hospital, and it happens more often than many assume. Over one ‑ third return to community settings such as home when their needs or preferences change. Clear, accurate discharge communication with the patient and their wider care team is essential. When this communication works well, a person ’ s end ‑ of ‑ life wishes can be respected; when communication is poor, preventable problems can occur, including emergency readmission. Our research aims to identify barriers to discharge and develop principles for improving hospital discharge from specialist palliative care to community settings.
For this research, we will use ethnographic research methods (observations and rapid interviews) of specialist palliative care discharge from hospitals (in the West Midlands, UK) to home and we wish to appoint a researcher to support this work. You will observe clinical practice and communications of specialist palliative care teams, ward rounds and clinical interactions with patients and carers.
The appointed research fellow will work closely with Professor Cara Bailey and Dr Katharine Weetman at the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the wider research team in the College of Medicine and Health. This is an opportunity to join a vibrant multidisciplinary team of researchers with a passion for conducting high quality research in palliative care that will deliver important improvements to care for those with serious life-limiting illnesses.
We are looking for a qualitative researcher to join our growing team of palliative care researchers in the REACH team at University of Birmingham. See: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/research-in-nursing-and-midwifery/reach
Role Summary
- Recruitment of participants and co-ordinating recruitment activities at research sites
- Data collection (interviews, non-participant observations, ethnography, Delphi)
- Overseeing and checking transcription of interviews
- Administration
- Patient and public involvement
- Co-ordinate advisory group meetings and oversee minute taking/meeting record keeping
- Analyse and interpret research findings and results
- Draft and dissemination study outputs and contribute to impact activities
- Collaborate and co-ordinate with the appointed research assistant and wider research team to ensure the project objectives are met.
Main Duties
The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below:
- Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as ethnography and non-participant observations, and research interviews
- Analyse and interpret data using qualitative analysis methods
- Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
- Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
- Undertake management/administration arising from research
- Contribute to research-related administration
- Contribute to public engagement activities related to the project, under supervision of the project leader
- Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
- Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
- Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
- Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
Person Specification
- A PhD relevant to the research area (or near completion), or equivalent PhD level qualifications.
- Experience in qualitative research in healthcare settings including interviewing is essential
- High level analytical capability to interpret qualitative evidence using qualitative data analysis software (e.g. NVivo).
- Excellent communication skills and capacity to engage effectively with a range of stakeholder groups.
- Excellent time management and organisational skills in relation to research.
- Ability to communicate complex information clearly to a range of groups including public audiences
- Good IT skills (including MS Office, email, qualitative analysis software, Teams)
- Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
- Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
- Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader project management/administration processes
- Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
- Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
- Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly
- Able to travel to recruitment sites across West Midlands independently (travel expenses covered)
- A background and experience of ethnography is highly desirable as is experience in working with people in (potentially) vulnerable contexts.
- Evidence of research outputs (papers published in peer reviewed journals, conference presentations…) is preferable.
Experience of engaging directly in UK research governance and NHS ethical approval processes is desirable.
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DBS required
Pre-employment DBS
The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.
Further particulars can be found here
Informal enquiries to Katie Weetman [email protected]
View our staff values and behaviours here
Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .
