Research Fellow – KCL INKLUDE

Job id: 087255. Salary: £51,974 - £61,201 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.

Posted: 03 April 2024. Closing date: 08 May 2024.

Business unit: Research Management & Innovation. Department: Research Governance, Ethics & Integrity.

Contact details:Tim Newton. [email protected]

Location: Guy's Campus. Category: Research.

Inclusion as a Norm at King's - Leadership, Understanding the issues, Developing individuals, Enacting change (INKLUDE) is a Wellcome funded 24 month project which seeks to implement and evaluate innovative approaches to significantly improve the inclusion of individuals from under-represented groups in research careers, initially focusing on women and those from minoritized ethnic groups. The project was funded through the Wellcome Trust Institutional Funding for Research Culture grant scheme.

The project is led by President & Principal of King’s College London, Professor Shitij Kapur, with co-applicants drawn from across the university on the basis of their knowledge, experience and skills in the area.

The INKLUDE project is underpinned by three core values:

Cultural Humility: The process of self-reflection and understanding one’s own implicit and explicit biases and how these biases may influence service provision and delivery.

Cultural Safety: Creating a safe environment where there is no assault, challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are and what they need. Establishing shared respect, meaning, knowledge, living and working together with dignity and truly listening.

Cultural Competency/Culturally Adapted: Taking account of people’s cultural beliefs, needs and behaviours in service provision and in staff interactions.

The programme of work comprises 5 Work Packages (WP):

• WP1:  Understand the issues through exploring the current systemic barriers to this goal. This work package will involve the commissioning of an independent review of KCL promotion and retention processes, and analysis of survey data from the 2023 KCL All Staff Survey.
• WP2: Leaders of research at all levels will be given the skills to create a positive and supportive research culture through optimising inclusive practices.
• WP3: Develop individuals in order to mitigate current barriers to inclusion through the delivery of both a course of individual development and sponsorship to women and people from minoritised ethnic groups (THRIVE@KCL), and a course for those who will act as allies for to women and people from minoritised ethnic groups (ALLIANCETHRIVE@KCL).
• WP4: Enact change through a range of institutional commitments including improved data capture on the characteristics of staff, a five year strategy to continue work towards our goal, and the allocation of academic and professional services staff in support of the mission.
• WP5: Co-production of the resources, interventions, evaluation and dissemination of the programme.

Central to our delivery of this ambitious project will the appointment of a Post Doctoral Research Fellow to co-ordinate the evalution and dissemination of activity across all five work packages. The postholder will have primary responsibility for coordinating data collection and analysis across the various work streams as well as preparation of reports on progress and outcomes.

Please note that shortlisting will be based on adequate demonstration within the personal statement of how essential and desirable criteria are met.

This position will be employed as part of the Multi-faculty Wellcome funded project INKLUDE. The postholder will work across a number of faculties and Directorates. Some Hybrid working.

This post will be offered on a 24 month fixed term contract.

This is a full-time  post - 100% full time equivalent.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with the project team to fully develop the evaluation plan, plan reporting framework and dissemination plan for each Work Package.
• Work with the research team in the development of toolkits and training for research leaders to provide support for researcher development.
• Design, implement, collate and analyses measures of the experience and outcomes of training as part of Work Packages 2 and 3.
• Preparation of reports 3 times per year on activities (noting progress targets and projected timelines) for the Partnership & Advisory group
• To lead on dissemination strategy for the project, both within and beyond academia.
• To have oversight of the establishment of any committees or working groups to support research culture, ensuring that these have appropriate representation to function effectively.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

Tim Newton, Dean of Research Culture. [email protected]