Research Fellow; EpiCare; School of Psychology Grade 7

School of Psychology

Location:

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to April 2028

Closing date: 8th October 2026

UK travel may be required for this role

The EPICare Study is a major, multi-stage, and multi-site research programme funded by the NIHR and the Mental Health Mission, aimed at developing, implementing, and evaluating a national digital registry and embedded Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) for Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services across England.

We are seeking a Research Fellow (Postdoctoral) 1 FTE, Grade 7 to join the team from Autumn 2025 to support the implementation process evaluation of the EPICare programme. The initial contract will be for 12 months, with a further 24 months of funding expected, subject to satisfactory performance and achievement of key study milestones. This role forms part of a four-year NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research, running across five NHS Trust demonstrator sites, with potential expansion.

The EPICare programme is delivered through seven interrelated work packages, including scientific evaluation (registry, CDSS, and implementation), alongside public and patient involvement, data integrity, programme management, dissemination, and capacity development.

The post holder will play a pivotal role in evaluating the implementation of the EPICare platform, including:

• Using implementation research frameworks to understand the local context-specific barriers to adoption of EPICare, and the strategies to overcomes these
• Assessing the feasibility and fidelity of collecting core demographic, treatment, and outcome data via the digital registry.
• Investigating the utility of real-world data in identifying:
  • Variation in psychosis incidence by person and place.
  • Inequities in the provision and outcomes of NICE-recommended care.
  • The effectiveness of different treatments across diverse populations.
• Evaluating whether EPICare's CDSS comprising a clinician-facing dashboard and patient-facing app reduces missing data and enhances care quality by improving adherence to NICE standards.
• Appraising the implementation of the EPICare platform into demonstrator sites using established implementation framework to understand the interaction of context, innovation adoption and use, and outcomes.
• Contributing to a cost-effectiveness analysis of EPICare compared to current practice.

applications from candidates with a PhD (or near completion) in health services research, implementation science, medical sociology, public health, or a related discipline with expertise in qualitative methods and/or implementation evaluation.

This role may require occasional travel to participating NHS Trust sites. We are committed to flexible working arrangements.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge mental health research and support national innovation in the digital transformation of EIP services.

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Research Fellow (Postdoctoral) to join a major programme of work evaluating the implementation of the EPICare digital platform across five NHS Trusts. This role will play a central part in the Implementation Process Evaluation workstream, led by Professor Justin Waring, and conducted in close collaboration with Work Packages 1-3, our Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG), and local implementation teams at all five participating NHS Trusts.

The Fellow will lead the day-to-day coordination, delivery, and analysis of two rounds of implementation evaluation. These evaluations…