Position Details
College of Social Sciences
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049
Grade: 7
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to December 2027
Closing date: 8th July 2026
Background
IMPACT is the UK centre for implementing evidence in adult social care, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Health Foundation. IMPACT draws on knowledge from different types of research, the lived experience of people who draw on care and support and carers, and the practice knowledge of social care staff.
Its aims are to enable practical improvements on the ground, and make a crucial contribution to longer-term cultural change, by:
- Increasing the use of high-quality evidence, leading to better care practices, systems and outcomes
- Building capacity and skills in the adult social care workforce to work with evidence of different kinds to innovate and deliver better outcomes
- Developing relationships between a wide range of stakeholders across the sector, to improve outcomes for people who draw on services and their families
- Improving understanding of what elements of evidence implementation do and do not work in practice, and using this to overcome barriers
This role supports the delivery of IMPACT in Southern England and the West Midlands, and is based at the University of Birmingham. IMPACT began with a co-design phase (April – December 2021), during which it consulted on the needs of the sector, agreeing key priorities and designing subsequent delivery. The model developed during co-design was piloted in 2022, and IMPACT is just over half way through its delivery phase ending in December 2027. The post holder will play a vital role in supporting the delivery of IMPACT’s final cohort of delivery projects, contributing to the development of outputs and background research for future funding applications.
Role Summary
- Work as part of a team to contribute to IMPACT’s delivery
- Contribute to relationship building across Southern England and West Midlands
- Contribute to projects within IMPACT e.g. piloting IMPACT’s change model
- Supporting IMPACT’s Director and the Lived Experience Engagement Lead in delivering the aims of IMPACT
- Contribute to future funding applications
Main Duties
The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.
- Supporting IMPACT’s delivery models aimed at widespread use of evidence in adult social care
- Contributing to IMPACT’s stakeholder engagement, the development of its change model and its engagement with people with lived experience of receiving adult social care
- Organising a regional Assembly that meets twice yearly
- Contribute to writing bids for research funding
- Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
- Analyse and interpret data
- Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
- Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
- Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
- Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
- Undertake management/administration arising from research
- Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
- Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
- Contributing to background literature reviews, design meetings and external events
- Drafting policy and practice briefs
- Undertaking management/administration arising from the project
- Contributing to Departmental/School research-related activities and seminars
- Dealing with problems that may affect the achievement of centre objectives and deadlines
- Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
- 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*
- Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff
- Identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures
- Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity duties document.
Person Specification
Essential:
- A PhD relevant to the research area (or near completion), or equivalent PhD level qualifications.
- Experience of undertaking applied research in social care or health settings
- High level analytical capability
- Ability to communicate complex information clearly
- 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 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 and duties under the Equality Act 2010. Including fostering good relations and advancing the universities Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).
- Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity knowledge, skills and experience document.
Desirable:
- Experience of working with social care leaders, commissioners, providers and/or front-line staff
- Experience of research which influences policy, practice and people’s lives
- Experience of research which engages people with lived experience and their carers
Recognition of the very different policy and practice contexts in different parts of the UK
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Informal enquiries to Sheena Robertson, email: [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 .
