Researcher in Psychology

College of Health, Psychology and Social Care

We are excited to be able to advertise this role for a researcher who will contribute to the development of innovative research that takes place within the Health Aging and Mental Health Wellbeing Research Centre, in particular the lab based research in the area of Psychology.

Job details

Responsible to

Head of School of Psychology

Closing date

Sunday 6 April 2025

Salary

£29,179 to £44,128 per annum

Job grade

Researcher

Reference

0556-24

Contract type

Fixed term contract for 36 months

Post type

Full-time

Adaptive working type

Onsite
This role will be based on site, primarily in the named location.

We have one simple promise – to make a positive impact. Through our ground-breaking research, teaching excellence and commitment to sustainable living, we are changing lives for the better.

The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region.

We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 – making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.

Financially strong and seriously ambitious we offer our employees an inclusive culture that centres itself around staff wellbeing, where you can be confident you will receive all the help and encouragement you need to build a rewarding career with lots of opportunities to enhance your skills.

The School of Psychology is situated within the College of Health, Psychology and Social Care. The School is home to our two Discipline areas of Psychological and Behavioural Sciences (PBS) and Professional Psychological Practice (PPP). We foster a culture of continual growth and improvement and seek to hold equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing as a central pillar to all activity. Our research is articulated through several research groups (which feed into the University Themes and Research Centres) that address a diversity of areal of psychological research including nature connectedness and wellbeing, emotional regulation, cognitive control performance, pain perception and management, and the promotion of pro-social behaviour and wellbeing in educational settings to mention just a few.

The Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Theme promotes and supports healthier living, ageing and wellbeing while providing solutions to chronic conditions and global health challenges such as cancer, diabetes and dementia. We work holistically across biomedical scientists, psychologists and healthcare practitioners to understand the individual and their health conditions.

The Healthy Ageing and Mental Wellbeing Research Centre is a community of researchers from the College of Science and Engineering and the College of Health, Psychology and Social Care. Researchers in the centre conduct research ranging from lab-based biomedical research to community-based behavioural and experiential research. This enables us to approach ageing and wellbeing issues in a very holistic way. It also enables us to firstly develop new knowledge and understanding, but then also to translate this knowledge into effective applications that can make a difference to people’s lives.  

We are excited to be able to advertise this role for a researcher who will contribute to the development of innovative research that takes place within the Health Aging and Mental Health Wellbeing Research Centre, in particular the lab based research in the area of Psychology. We have identified a number of ongoing projects that would benefit from the input of a researcher to complete experimental series conducing to research outcomes suitable for the REF 2029 submission (likely to be rated 3* or 4*). Examples of these research areas include (but do not limit to):

  • Emotional regulation from nature connectedness;
  • Emotional regulation interventions to promote pro-social behaviour and wellbeing in schools;
  • Group singing and heart rate variability as an index of emotion regulation;
  • Cross-modal correspondence and working memory performance;
  • Mental representations and cognition in deaf and hearing individuals;
  • Spatial training transfer to mathematics performance;
  • Maths anxiety and mathematics performance and;
  • Pain perception and management. 

The anticipated interview date is W/C Monday 28th April 2025.

We are seeking an experienced post-doctoral researcher with specific expertise in any relevant areas of experimental psychology. The post-holder should be able to contribute to the design and completion of behavioural lab-based and online experiments, and should have expertise and experience in one or more of the following: psychophysiological recordings (Heart Rate Variability; blood pressure; skin conductivity...); eye tracking technology; lab-based observation of parent-child interaction; online questionnaire surveys (e.g., Qualtrics); experimental online data collection (e.g., PsychoPy or similar).

  1. Under the direction of the Head of School and the lead researchers for each project involved, contribute to the development of new knowledge and techniques to the relevant research project(s).
  2. Contribute to the determination of appropriate research methodologies for the project(s).
  3. Engage in data collection through a variety of setting e.g. in the lab, online and/or in applied settings.
  4. Analyse research findings and determine the need for further investigation.
  5. Contribute to the writing up of research findings and dissemination through publications or seminar and conference presentations.
  6. Assist with the preparation of proposals and applications to both external and/or internal bodies for funding, contractual or accreditation purposes.
  7. Assist in the development of student research skills, for example as part of a postgraduate supervision team.
  8. Where opportunities exist, plan and manage own research activity and initiate research relevant to the discipline or research project(s).
  9. Where opportunities exist within the research project(s), support the development and delivery of business engagement activities, developing entrepreneurial links with external organisations.
  10. Contribute to the writing of collective bids for funding, and, where funders permit, write individual bids for funding with appropriate support.
  11. Undertake appropriate training and staff development.

Other

  1. Provide guidance as required to other colleagues working on related research project(s).
  2. Assist and help informally students working in the same research discipline.
  3. Develop internal and external contacts with other academic staff to form collaborative relationships and assist with their research project(s).
  4. Understand own development needs and formulate a personal development plan.
  5. Observe and implement University policies and procedures.
  6. Closely work with the post holder and immediate team.

Essential Criteria

Qualifications

  • Completed PhD or near completion (expectation is Thesis submitted by the posted advert closing date) in a relevant discipline

Experience

  • Evidence of sufficient breadth or depth of research methodologies and techniques to work in research area
  • Familiarity of working with at least one of the following: Heart Rate Variability (HRV), haemodynamic activity, eye tracking, biomedical markers, and lab-based observation of parent-child interaction
  • Experience of collecting and analysing quantitative experimental data using PsychoPy or similar
  • Evidence of engagement in high-quality research activity
  • Experience of writing publications for journals and presenting research at conferences
  • Experience of assisting with grant applications

Skills, knowledge and abilities

  • Developing research skills, with the ability to creatively apply relevant research approaches, models, techniques and methods
  • Ability to work with psychophysiological data
  • Ability to recruit human participants and work with them in a variety of settings
  • Knowledge of advanced research methods (e.g. MANOVA, MLM, SEM) and relevant statistical packages (e.g. SPSS, R).
  • Ability to communicate complex information clearly both in writing and presentations
  • Analytical ability to facilitate conceptual thinking, innovation and creativity
  • Ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with colleagues, internally and externally
  • Ability to use initiative and creativity to solve problems in a research context
  • Self-motivated and able to work independently and as part of a team
  • Innovative and creative

Business requirements

  • Demonstrate competences, core behaviours and supplementary behaviours that support and promote the University’s core value
  • Flexible to the needs of others
  • Committed to ensuring a high-quality student experience
  • Committed to a high-performance culture, fostering continuous improvement and driving quality
  • Able to take a flexible approach to work
    • Travel to various local locations and occasionally overseas for work
    • Some evening and occasional weekend work
  • Willingness and flexibility to travel and work between University and external sites in a cost effective and timely manner.

Desirable Criteria

Experience

  • Experience of generating research or knowledge exchange income

 Skills, knowledge and abilities

  • Experience of analysing psychophysiological and/or complex datasets.
  • Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team.
  • Ability to programme and code to design and analyse laboratory studies using, for example, Matlab, Python, Inquisit, experiment builder etc.
  • Knowledge of psychological interventions that focus on emotion regulation including compassion, mindfulness, acceptance and nature-based interventions.

Business Requirements

  • Valid DBS or willingness to undertake relevant screening
  • Valid driving licence
  • Generous annual leave entitlement of 47 days inclusive of bank holidays and concessionary days (pro rata)
  • Teacher’s Pension Scheme
  • Suite of holistic wellbeing benefits and support including family-friendly policies, generous sick pay provision and comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
  • Access to a variety of staff discounts at high street retailers
  • Discounted onsite gym
  • Discounted access to Devonshire Spa
  • Cycle to Work scheme
  • A flexible working environment
  • A commitment to personal and professional development

Find out more about rewards and benefitsFind out more about rewards and benefits

For further information and informal enquiries regarding the role, please contact Professor Jose Prados, Head of School of Psychology via j.prados@derby.ac.uk

For enquiries regarding your application and for sponsorship eligibility, please contact the recruitment team via recruitment@derby.ac.uk.

Visa Sponsorship Eligibility

This role is eligible for sponsorship by the University, however, your individual circumstances must meet the criteria set out by UKVI; this includes meeting the English Language requirement and earning a salary that meets the highest of either the going rate for the SOC code or the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker route (£38,700 per annum).

If the role is eligible, but the offered salary is less that the going rate for the role, you may still be able to apply for a Skilled Worker visa if:

  • Your job is on the Immigration Salary List

  • You’re under 26, studying or a recent graduate, or in professional training

  • You have a PhD level qualification that’s relevant to your job

  • The role you are applying for is a postdoctoral position

Please note that the University cannot confirm your eligibility for sponsorship until an offer is made and your individual circumstances have been considered.

For more information, visit Applying from Overseas.

 

DBS check

If you are successful, you will be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Any information you provide will be treated in confidence and only used when considering your suitability for the post.

To enable us to process your DBS check please ensure you are able to supply the documentation listed on the DBS website at interview stage.

 

Equity, diversity and inclusion

The University of Derby is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, regardless of age, disability, trans status, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief (or none), sex and sexual orientation.

We are Disability Confident Employers, demonstrating our commitment to disability inclusion, and invite applicants to highlight adjustments they may require to ensure equitable participation in our recruitment processes.

Further, we are committed to ensuring an environment which is trans and non-binary-inclusive for all our staff, students, partners, and visitors, and continuously review our policies, guidance and training.

When applying to join the University, you can choose your preferred title, including the gender-neutral title 'Mx'. We also ask our candidates if they would like to share their preferred pronouns. This is voluntary but demonstrates our commitment to inclusivity for trans and non-binary candidates. Once employed, you can add pronouns and preferred names onto our system.

The University of Derby undertakes anonymised shortlisting during the staff recruitment process. This means that, when shortlisting, panel members will not be able to see an applicant’s name and will see an applicant number instead. This demonstrates the practical steps we are taking to remove barriers to recruitment by minimising the possible impact of our unconscious bias.

However you identify, we actively celebrate the knowledge, experience and talents each person brings. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds; therefore we are particularly interested to hear from applicants who will help our leaders and teams be more reflective of our student population.

For more information on equity, diversity and inclusion at the University of Derby, please visit our website.

 

A university that celebrates you

Environmental Sustainability

At the University of Derby, we are passionate about embedding sustainability into everything that we do. We aim to bring environmental sustainability into all aspects of the University, including teaching, research and operational activities. In line with the University's strategic framework, we expect all our staff to embed sustainability into their working practices and support the University's objective to reach net zero carbon by 2040.

 

Environment and sustainability

Apply today to invest in your career with University of Derby.

How to apply

You can apply by submitting an online application. Once you have signed in or registered with us you will be able to begin your application. If you are creating an account for the first time, please ensure you provide an email address that you access regularly as this will be our main means of contacting you regarding your application.

The University reserves the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

If you require any assistance, including the provision of any documentation in an alternative format, please contact the Recruitment team at recruitment@derby.ac.uk.

Please note all applications must be submitted online by Midnight GMT on the closing date of the vacancy.

Further details

Download Researcher in Psychology job descriptionDownload Researcher in Psychology job description

The University of Derby is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our staff, students and children. At the University of Derby, safeguarding is everybody's concern.

Please find our Safeguarding pages including our Safeguarding Policy.