Senior Research Associate - Horizon Scanning & Evidence Synthesis; Qualitative

Senior Research Associate – Horizon Scanning & Evidence Synthesis (Qualitative)

Salary: £47,389 to £50,253 per annum

Closing Date: 6 February 2026

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

The NIHR Innovation Observatory (IO) is a world‑leading health and care innovation horizon scanning research centre based at Newcastle University, with its academic home in the Population Health Sciences Institute. Our work supports government agencies, industry, regulators, charities, and researchers by delivering timely, actionable insights that inform strategic decision‑making, policy development, investment guidance, funding programmes and improve alignment across agencies. We work across the health, life sciences and wider care ecosystem to identify innovation, gaps and unmet needs, follow trends and signal potentially game‑changing innovations – ranging from medicines to medical devices to digital.

Our work fosters national and international collaboration supporting the growth of the UK health and life sciences sector. We are at the forefront of developing and applying approaches to identify and analyse emerging health and care technologies, ensuring the UK is prepared to leverage scientific breakthroughs that improve patient outcomes and support system readiness.

We are seeking a highly motivated and methodologically skilled Senior Research Associate with a strong interest in Sustainability (e.g. planetary health, circular economy, social sustainability) to lead and contribute to a dynamic portfolio of horizon scanning and foresight projects. This is a key leadership role, offering the opportunity to shape and advance innovative methods in a rapidly evolving field (Horizon Scanning & Foresight).

You will lead multidisciplinary, cross‑sector projects in priority areas, ensuring timely delivery within scope and resource, and producing high‑quality, tailored outputs that meet the needs of diverse stakeholders.

The successful candidate will play a central role in developing approaches that translate early signals into timely, relevant, and actionable outputs for policymakers, practitioners, and innovation stakeholders. This includes ensuring methodological rigour, clarity, and strategic value in all outputs, with a particular focus on generating actionable insights to inform strategic policy decision making around the regulation and adoption of new technologies.

You will work closely with other project and programme leads to foster cross‑programme collaboration, support capacity building, and promote a culture of transparent, inclusive working. You will also be responsible for project governance, including risk, resource, and quality management, and will provide mentoring and line management to early career research colleagues, supporting their development and contributing to a positive, high‑performing team environment.

The Post Holder has a responsibility for promoting the values of the NIHR Innovation Observatory through appropriate and visible leadership behaviours and actions. They will have a particular responsibility to:

• Teamwork:
  Collaborate with kindness, value and respect everyone, offering help and support. Actively promote an open flow of information and seek to partner with external interest‑holders/stakeholders in all our activities.
• Courage and Ambition:
  Operate at the top of your game, valuing and actively seeking out learning and development opportunities. Give and receive feedback with honesty and reflect on your approaches.
• Curiosity and Open‑mindedness:
  Embrace creativity and value originality, seize opportunities to learn and innovate.
• Integrity and Quality:
  Walk the talk and be well‑prepared and robust in your approach, delivering high‑quality timely outputs, and managing your time and resources effectively.

The post is full‑time, fixed‑term until 31 March 2031.

To apply for this role, please submit a CV and covering letter with your application.

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