Job overview

We are looking for a Research Assistant to support the NIHR-funded Improving Social Recovery in Psychosis (ISRIP) trial, a definitive RCT with an embedded process evaluation. The trial aims to test the clinical and cost-effectiveness of Social Recovery Therapy (SRT), a psychological intervention supporting people with psychosis to engage in more structured activities that they find meaningful.

This post is a 0.7 WTE (26.25 hours per week) Research Assistant position, which is funded between March 2026 and 1 March 2029. 

The post will be based at the Old Town Hall, Peterborough, and the expectation is that the postholder will travel independently to participants homes and clinical team bases when required.  

CPFT is one of the UK's top research active NHS Trusts, running high-quality, ground-breaking research into physical and mental health conditions and supporting innovation. We work to translate the latest discoveries into NHS services to improve care for people using our services and ensure they benefit from research. 

For an informal chat about this post, please contact Dr Karl Taylor, Clinical Psychologist and Principal Investigator.

It is recommended that you apply for the post as soon as possible as we will close the advert early if there are a high number of applicants.  Thank you.

Main duties of the job

You will be supporting the delivery of high quality NIHR-funded research. On a daily basis you will be responsible for all aspects of the research process including but not limited to: engaging with clinical teams, assessing participant suitability for the studies, screening and recruiting research participants, obtaining informed consent, performing study procedures, working with research teams and managing study data. A crucial aspect of the role is to provide a holistic and person-centred care approach to participants and their family supporters in a respectful, empowering way.

It is essential that you can independently plan and prioritise your workload to meet performance targets and deadlines. It is important that you have had experience of working in a clinical or research setting similar to the areas you will be working with in these studies. A high level of communication skills, both written and oral is essential as well as the ability to be competent in IT systems (e.g. Outlook, Word, clinical or other record systems relevant to the role).

Working for our organisation

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process. 

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk