Psychology Assistant

Please note that this job is open only to current members of staff of Cardiff University who are eligible for redeployment.

Psychology Assistant
Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health
Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience
Cardiff University School of Medicine
College of Biomedical and Life Sciences

The Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health based at Cardiff University is a £10 million research centre dedicated to understanding anxiety and depression in young people. We are looking to appoint a Psychology Assistant to work on the Centre workstream 'Interventions in Adolescents at High Familial Risk' - in particular, to work on a randomised controlled trial that aims to prevent the onset of depression in teenagers with elevated depressive symptoms. This is an exciting opportunity to join a successful team recruiting and assessing participants for the Centre.

Applicants should have a University degree (2.1 or above) in Psychology or related subject and will need to be reasonably flexible with working hours (as some assessments may take place outside of normal working hours during weekday evenings) and have excellent interpersonal skills. Experience in a mental health setting and in the use of standardised interviews and questionnaires would be an advantage.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), available from 1st December 2024 and fixed term until 30th June 2025.

Salary: £27,344 - £30,505 per annum (Grade 4)
Appointments to roles at Cardiff University are usually made at bottom of scale unless in exceptional circumstances.

This post is based between the Hadyn Ellis Building and SPARC Building, Cathays campus.

For informal queries please contact Laura Cook Wolfson Centre Manager (cookL5@cardiff.ac.uk)

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:

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 scheme

Closing date: Friday, 20 December 2024
Please 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.

Job Description

Job Purpose:
Providing comprehensive and professional support to the Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health (specifically the scientific workstream entitled 'Interventions in Adolescents at High Familial Risk'), providing support to the workstream's randomised controlled trial (the SWELL trial).

Duties and Responsibilities

1. To become familiar and proficient in research assessment methods (training provided).
2. To recruit parents with a history of major depressive disorder and their adolescent children for a randomised controlled trial that aims to prevent adolescent depression.
3. To undertake assessments of participants (parents and young people) primarily via videoconferencing but also on the phone or face to face as required. Some assessments may take place outside of normal working hours (during weekday evenings).
4. To understand and convey project information, which may need careful explanation or interpretation.
5. To input and store data in the relevant databases.
6. Establish productive relationships with key individuals (University colleagues and external contacts) to help improve the level of service the team provides to its customers.
7. To ensure that participant recruitment targets are met, maintain confidentiality and professional standards and work as an effective member of the overall team effort.
8. 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.
9. To liaise with NHS clinical teams to facilitate patient recruitment to the study.
10. To carry out administrative tasks such as data collection, recording and maintaining records and data as required for the proficient running of the project, with supervision.
11. To support and train others in the project team as required in the project procedures.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. To perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.

General Duties

1. Ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality is applied when undertaking all duties
2. Abide by University policies and undergo appropriate personal and professional development
3. Uphold the Professional Services Values & Behaviours or local equivalent.

Additional Information

IMPORTANT: Evidencing Criteria

It is the School of Medicine's policy to use the person specification as a key tool for short-listing. Candidates should evidence that they meet ALL of the essential criteria as well as, where relevant, the desirable. 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 your application profile you name it with the vacancy reference number, in this instance for this post, 19395BR

If candidates do not provide written evidence of meeting all of the essential criteria then their application will not be progressed. The School of Medicine welcomes the submission of CVs to accompany evidence of the job-based criteria.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

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

1. Specialist knowledge and understanding of the principles involved in the psychological assessment of humans and awareness of the major differences between mental illness and normal human behaviour
2. 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.

Communication and Team working

1. Ability to work well with your team, and to communicate specialist and complex information effectively, sensitively and professionally to a range of staff and members of the public with varying levels of understanding.

Planning, Analysis and Problem Solving

1. 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.
2. 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.

Desirable Criteria

1. Experience of recruiting patients to research studies and of administering psychological interviews and/or questionnaires.
2. Possession of a full valid driving licence
3. Fluency in Welsh, written and oral
4. A good understanding of confidentiality and data security.
5. Experience of working in a higher education environment