Workforce Research Programme Manager

NHS - Band 7 – up to 36 months

A three-year action-oriented research programme has been funded to investigate workforce development, relational practice and underpinning theory of change to support health and criminal justice staff in prisons, hospital and community settings who are working to provide psychologically informed services to offenders with complex needs and personality difficulties.

The Research Programme will be undertaken as a collaboration between Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Manchester Health and Justice Research Network and the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway Programme. The programme will link with the newly established GMMH Forensic Research Unit.

It will examine workforce issues in the NHS HMPPS Offender Personality Disorder Pathway which aims to provide a network of psychologically informed services for a highly complex group of people who have offended, are likely to satisfy the criteria for personality disorder and who pose a high risk of harm to others or of reoffending in a harmful way.

The programme will investigate key workforce practice issues in light of theory of change and other relevant research to identify which factors are shown to have most impact on planned outcomes.

This is a fixed-term full-time post and subject to suitable progress, is available for a period of three years.

The post-holder will play a key role managing the workforce development research programme which is a collaboration between Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Manchester Health and Justice Research Network and the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway Programme. 

This will involve liaising with, and building effective relationships with academics, criminal justice employees, clinicians, policy colleagues, people in prison, probation and community settings, and experts by experience to design and deliver research projects throughout the lifecycle of the programme.

The post-holder will ensure that the workforce research is conducted in line with relevant health and criminal justice regulatory and governance requirements.

The role requires a skilled research professional with substantial knowledge and experience of research in prison, probation, health, and community settings including familiarity with the regulatory and governance requirements relevant to research in criminal justice and health settings.