Role:  Research Assistant – Families: Together We Move Study

Department: School of Health Sciences

Grade: Research Grade 6 (£33,020 per annum)

Responsible to: Principal Investigator

Location: Derry~Londonderry

Fixed-Term for 10 months until 31st August 2027 / Full-time

Job Purpose:

Families: Together We Move is a novel family-centred programme co-designed with families to support enjoyable, affordable, and inclusive physical activity opportunities across the Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC) area. This project is funded by HSC R&D as an Enabling Research Award.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to an innovative public health research project that aims to improve family physical activity and wellbeing in underserved communities.

The post holder will play a central role in delivering a feasibility cluster-randomised controlled trial designed to test the acceptability and practicality of implementing the Families: Together We Move intervention over a 12-week period. Working closely with academic researchers, community partners from DCSDC, the Research Assistant will support participant recruitment, obtaining informed consent, data collection across three timepoints, accelerometer distribution and retrieval, data management, and communication with partner organisations. The postholder will also contribute to qualitative interviews and support data analysis under supervision.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone interested in physical activity, public health, behavioural research, community engagement, and health inequalities to gain hands-on experience in the delivery of a randomised controlled trial in the community.

Closing Date: 7th September 2026 at 23.30

Guidance regarding applications can be found here:  https://recruitment.ulster.ac.uk/information-for-applicants/what-to-expect-from-the-application-and-interview-process. If you are still having issues, please contact Suzanne McFarlane on sj.mcfarlane@ulster.ac.uk stating the vacancy reference number.

Click on the links below for any relevant documents – Please note, these documents will not be available after the job advert closes. Please ensure that you download and save these.

Candidate Briefing Document - 043466

Salary Scales

Please be advised that due to the minimum salary thresholds imposed by the UKVI, this post will not qualify for university sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. Please check your options here:  https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa

This role involves work in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The successful candidate must have, or be eligible to obtain, the necessary right to work permissions for both jurisdictions.

If you have any specific queries regarding eligibility to work in the UK, the Resourcing Compliance team may be able to assist: Resourcing-compliance@ulster.ac.uk

Please note that Ulster University does not currently offer reimbursement for any costs associated with visa applications, including the Immigration Health Surcharge.

If you have any specific queries regarding this post, please contact the named email address for the vacancy, as listed on the main current vacancies landing page.

We may create a 12-month waiting list for same or similar roles within the Department / Faculty.  The University reserves the right to extend the waiting list across the University if required for certain posts.

Ulster University recognises the potential benefits that Generative AI tools (for example Chat GPT) may bring to some candidates during the application process. In particular, we recognise the positive impact such tools may have with regard to equality, diversity and inclusion. When using AI, however, we encourage candidates to use the technology responsibly, ensuring that submitted applications provide an accurate representation of your skills, abilities and experience. Our selection activities are designed to robustly test and evaluate the extent to which candidates meet the selection criteria outlined for each role. This includes the use of interviews, presentations, written exercises and other additional selection activities as appropriate for each role.

The School of Health Sciences holds a Bronze Athena SWAN Award in recognition of our commitment to advancing Gender equality in higher education. You can read more about what this means at  https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/equality-charters/transformed-uk-athena-swan-charter and on our University website  https://www.ulster.ac.uk/peopleandculture/employee-benefits/equality-diversity/athena-swan.The University has a range of initiatives to support a family friendly working environment, including flexible working.