UK-PHRST Research Fellow in Mental Health
The UK-Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) is co-led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Public Health England (PHE), funded by UK government Overseas Development Aid with a triple remit of response, research and capacity development for outbreaks in low and middle income countries.
The main purpose of the post is to support the implementation and continued development of the UK-PHRST’s emerging mental health programme. To do this, the post holder will work with UK-PHRST colleagues, the Centre for Global Mental Health at LSHTM, and colleagues in Global Mental Health at Public Health England.
The post-holder’s work will focus on the research and capacity development remits of the UK-PHRST. Key responsibilities will include coordination and delivery of a capacity development programme for mental health in outbreaks for focal points in African ministries of health, including evaluation and capture of learning from this project. The post-holder will also develop and support future mental health research and capacity development proposals and implementation. Though based at LSHTM, the post may involve some travel to support operational research and capacity development.
The successful candidate will have a postgraduate degree, ideally a doctoral degree, in a relevant field and relevant experience in mental health research around infectious diseases and/or humanitarian settings. Further details are included in the job description.
The post is full time and fixed-term until 31 March 2022.
The salary will be on the Professional salary scale Grade 6 in the range £40,011 - £45,437 per annum (inclusive of London Weighting). The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year, pro rata for part time staff. In addition to this there are discretionary “Director’s Days”. Membership of the Pension Scheme is available. The post is based in London at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team
Launched in 2016, the UK-PHRST is an innovative government-academic partnership co-led by LSHTM and PHE, with a consortium of academic and implementing partners in the UK and internationally. It is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of public health professionals and researchers with a novel integrated triple-remit of outbreak response, research and capacity development to prevent and control epidemics of infectious diseases in countries eligible for UK Official Development Assistance. UK-PHRST has the following objectives:
The Director of the UK-PHRST is Professor Daniel Bausch.
The Centre for Global Mental Health (CGMH) is a collaboration between LSHTM and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London which last year celebrated its 10th anniversary. In that time, CGMH has been at the forefront of research and thought leadership in the field of global mental health, guiding policy and practice in many countries, and in the development and research sectors. The Centre’s research includes work with an extensive network of partners across over 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as work within Europe and the UK. It also houses the Mental Health Innovation Network, the leading information and knowledge exchange hub for Global Mental Health with over 6,000 active members. MHIN is a collaboration with WHO, and also closely works with MHPSS.net, which coordinates much of the networking for MHPSS globally, and is the platform holding much of the key information for IASC and other humanitarian response bodies.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.
Founded in 1899, the School has expanded in recent years at its two main sites on Keppel Street and Tavistock Place. Our staff, students and alumni work in more than 150 countries in government, academia, international agencies and health services.
Research income has grown to more than £180 million per year from national and international funding sources including UK government and research councils, the European Union, the Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation and other philanthropic sources.
Our diverse research talents, skills and experience, underpin our position as a leader in public and global health. These range from the molecular to the global, the theoretical to the applied, the analytical to the political. Our staff are conducting research in more than 100 countries.
We have 3,300 staff based all around the world with core hubs in London and at the MRC Units in The Gambia and Uganda, which joined LSHTM in February 2018. Our outstanding, diverse and committed staff make an impact where it is most needed - deploying research in real time in response to crises, developing innovative programmes for major health threats, or training the next generations of public and global health leaders and researchers.
Working in partnership is central to achieving our mission. Our strategic collaborations in the UK and across high-, middle- and low-income countries deliver health and socioeconomic benefits across the world, especially in the most disadvantaged communities.
LSHTM is also a member of the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers, Universities and National Academies, the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region, and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health.
We deliver research-led educational programmes to future health leaders, managers and researchers across the world. We have more than 1,200 face-to-face Master's and Doctoral students, 3,000 studying by distance learning, and 1,000 each year on short courses and continuous professional development. Our free online courses are studied by more than 70,000 participants globally.
LSHTM performs strongly in various global university league tables. In the 2019 CWTS Leiden Ranking LSHTM is ranked the UK’s top university for the proportion of academic research with women listed as authors, first in Europe for publishing open access research, and first in Europe and eighth in the world for research impact in sciences (for the proportion of its total publications ranking in the top 10% of most cited research).
In the US News Best Global Universities Ranking 2019, we ranked ninth in the UK overall and 13th in the world in the fields of social sciences and public health. We ranked 27th for medicine in the 2019 QS World University Rankings.
In 2017, the inaugural Center for World University Rankings by Subject placed LSHTM first in the world for tropical medicine research, second for parasitology and seventh for infectious diseases, public, environment and occupational health, and social sciences and biomedical.
LSHTM was named University of the Year 2016 by Times Higher Education and awarded a Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2017 in recognition of our response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. LSHTM does not appear in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as universities are excluded if they do not teach undergraduates.
We seek to foster and sustain a creative and supportive working environment based upon an ethos of respect and rigorous scientific enquiry. We embrace and value the diversity of our staff and student population and seek to promote equality as an essential element in contribution to improving health worldwide.
LSHTM is one of around 20 specialist institutions that receive institution specific funding from the Office for Students (OfS). This funding recognises the additional costs that LSHTM incurs because of its unique range of teaching, specialist facilities, and the scale of its contributions to national and international agencies.
FACULTY INFORMATION
The Faculty of Epidemiology & Population Health (EPH) houses a large group of epidemiologists, demographers, statisticians and nutritionists working on issues of major public health importance in the UK and globally. EPH has approximately 400 staff members organised into four research departments:
· Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology
· Department of Medical Statistics
· Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology
· Department of Population Health
The Faculty has a teaching programme consisting of ten MSc courses: Epidemiology, Demography and Health, Medical Statistics, Public Health in Developing Countries (run jointly with the Faculties of Infectious & Tropical Diseases and Public Health & Policy), Nutrition for Global Health, Reproductive & Sexual Health Research, Veterinary Epidemiology (run jointly with the Royal Veterinary College), Global Mental Health (run jointly with Kings College London - Institute of Psychiatry) and the Distance Learning courses in Epidemiology and Clinical Trials. The Faculty also has approximately 120 research students studying for an MPhil, PhD or DrPH degree.
The Dean of Faculty is Professor Liam Smeeth.
DEPARTMENT INFORMATION
The Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (IDE) conducts research on the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases of public health importance. It also conducts research on maternal and neonatal health. Work is carried out in low, middle and high-income countries, including the United Kingdom. Research ranges from ecological studies of variations in disease frequency in different populations, through observational case-control and cohort studies to define risk factors for disease, to randomized controlled trials to test the impact of specific preventive and curative interventions.
The Heads of Department are Professor Katherine Fielding and Professor Richard White.
The portfolio of duties outlined below will vary in accordance with the detailed expectations of the role (attached), which may be varied from time to time, and agreed at your annual Performance and Development Review (PDR).
PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND
Public Health England (PHE) exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. It does this through world-leading science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and the delivery of specialist public health services. It is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and a distinct delivery organisation with operational autonomy. It provides government, local government, the NHS, Parliament, industry and the public with evidence-based professional, scientific and delivery expertise and support.
PHE also plays a significant role in the global health arena. Its work in this area is guided by PHE’s Global Health Strategy launched in September 2014. Key elements of that work include improving global health security, responding to international disease outbreak and other significant events with health impacts (e.g. humanitarian emergencies), and building public health capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (e.g. in supporting implementation of the International Health Regulations). PHE accomplishes this by drawing on the deep and wide ranging public health expertise of its staff and by working with and through other long-standing global health partners, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), European Union (EU) and International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI).
On 18 August 2020, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced plans to establish the National Institute of Health Protection and consult on the best future options for strengthening health improvement and other public health functions in the wider system. Public Health England and its employees will be in scope for transition to new organisation in Spring 2021.
The portfolio of duties outlined below will vary in accordance with the detailed expectations of the role (attached), which may be varied from time to time, and agreed at your annual Performance and Development Review (PDR).
JOB DESCRIPTION
KNOWLEDGE GENERATION
To undertake high quality research & scholarship, including contributing to drafting major grant proposals and/or leading on drafting small grant proposals;
To contribute to peer-reviewed publications, including as lead author;
To make a contribution to research degree student supervision, as appropriate to qualifications and experience;
To manage small grants or elements of larger grants, ensuring compliance with good practice in relation to the conduct of research, the ethics policy and other relevant School policies.
To work with the UK-PHRST team and collaborators to develop mental health and psychosocial activities within the work of UK-PHRST, including research, capacity development and response to outbreaks.
To collaborate across the School to provide technical expertise to relevant work. The School aims to foster such collaboration, including through its Centres, such as the Centre for Global Mental Health and Health in Humanitarian Crises Centre.
EDUCATION
To contribute to the delivery of high quality, research-informed teaching and assessment in relation to your specific subject and within the broader area covered by your department and disciplinary field;
To contribute to the improvement of the quality of the School’s education, by participating in the development of new and updated learning and teaching materials or approaches.
Contribute to the UK-PHRST’s capacity development remit, through partnership working and support for educational and training activities.
Teach on relevant MSc and other courses, for example the MSc in Global Mental Health and undertake MSc student thesis supervision and tutoring.
INTERNAL CONTRIBUTION
To undertake activities that support the Department, Faculty or the School;
To participate in the School’s PDR process.
Actively engage with internal and external colleagues (meetings, problem solving, sharing knowledge/information, etc.).
EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTION
Develop and nurture key relationships with a wide range of individuals and stakeholders to promote all aspects of the role;
Contribute to building regional and in-country capacity and capability through training and coaching, in line with International Health Regulations and Global Health Security Agenda requirements
Maintain active participation within the UK-PHRST consortium, key stakeholders and academic and other relevant networks.
To demonstrate good external citizenship by contributing to learned society/conference events, journal and grant reviews.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING
To keep up to date with the latest research/thinking in your academic field and with changes to pedagogic practice within the School and more generally;
Where the length and nature of the position permits, to apply for and, if accepted, undertake a doctoral degree (if not already acquired);
To undertake and successfully complete the mandatory training required by the School appropriate to the role.
Maintain own professional development including reflecting on own practice, and training as appropriate.
GENERAL
All academic staff are free within the law to question and test received wisdom, and put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions, to enable the School to engage in research and promote learning to the highest possible standards.
All staff at LSHTM are also expected to:
Act at all times in the School’s best interests;
Treat School staff, students and visitors with courtesy and respect at all times;
Comply fully with School policies, procedures and administrative processes relevant to the role, including when acting as Principal Investigator, accepting academic, managerial, financing and ethical responsibility for a project
Uphold and support the School’s values (as set out in the School Strategy document);
Act as ambassadors for the School when hosting visitors or attending external events.
The above list of duties is not exclusive or exhaustive and the role holder will be required to undertake such tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the role.
Role descriptions should be regularly reviewed to ensure they are an accurate representation of the role.
This vacancy is archived.