King's College London

About us 

In January 2025, researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) and the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at King’s College London in collaboration with Black Thrive Global and two international partners in the United States and Sweden received funding for a new study aiming to advance race equity in health and social care structures. This bold research programme, titled Collective Action for Race Equity in Health and Social Care (CARE-HSC), aims to address and dismantle structural factors that perpetuate racial discrimination and harassment within care systems. 

About the role

We are seeking an enthusiastic Research Assistant with a background in social science, participatory action research and creative methodologies, and an interest in social theory to join the cross-cutting theme entitled ‘Co-creating Concepts of Care.’  

The cross-cutting theme focusses on co-producing innovative understandings of racialised inequality in care to understand the conceptual underpinnings and wider academic, public and activist discourses on racism in care in the UK. Our team is interdisciplinary and works across epidemiological, clinical, experiential, social, cultural, and digital approaches using mutual learning, inclusive theory-development and creative methodologies (e.g. filmmaking, VR technologies)

The successful candidate will support the Co-Investigator in co-producing priorities with our team and partner organisations, such as Black Thrive Global; by assisting with literature reviews on racialized inequality in care; by conducting qualitative research (incl. interviews, participatory creative workshops, data analysis, writing of academic publications). They will also support event coordination and the maintenance of project records and bibliographic databases. 

The successful candidate will also have the opportunity and be expected to develop and conduct their own PhD research on how racism creates epistemic injustice and restricts formal and informal carers’ opportunities and agency, using qualitative and creative methods (e.g. “Theatre of the Oppressed” or others).

Please note - this position includes full funding for PhD tuition fees (UK rate) for a duration of four years, alongside a Research Assistant salary for the full period. Please note that we are only able to cover fees at the UK student rate.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract from 1st of August 2025 until 31st July 2030. The candidate is expected to start their PhD at the department for Global Health and Social Medicine, January 2026.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience: 

Essential criteria

1. ​Master's degree in a relevant area of the social sciences (e.g. sociology, anthropology, global health & social medicine, social policy, health systems research, global mental health) and intent to pursue a PhD using qualitative and creative methods for health equity research.  
2. ​Knowledge of and practical experience with participatory action research in diverse areas of health inequity  
3. ​Strong qualitative research skills (e.g. semi-structured interviews, ethnographic methods, arts-based methods, content analysis)  
4. ​Excellent writing and communication skills, with experience assisting writing publications for academic, public and stakeholder audiences  
5. ​Demonstrated interest and/or knowledge in social theory  
6. Demonstrated experience working effectively within interdisciplinary teams and with non-academic partners, including public health entities, people with lived experience and volunteer and community sector organisations  
7. Excellent organisational and time-management skills  
8. Experience working with peer-researchers/co-facilitators 

Desirable criteria

1. Understanding of data confidentiality and data security  
2. Experience working across policy, public health, voluntary sectors, or with people with lived experience. 
3. Experience delivering seminars or training to diverse audiences. 

Downloading a copy of our Job Description 

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community. 

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.