King's College London

About us:

The Addictions Department.  The emphasis of our research is on ‘what works’ in the prevention and treatment of substance misuse: the Addictions Department represents a network of clinicians, researchers and clinical teachers who have a shared commitment to excellence in prevention and treatment work, and to supporting and strengthening national and international endeavours in this field. Over the last 30 years, our staff have developed a body of research evidence that has informed the development of new treatment services for alcohol, smoking and drug problems in the UK. This work ranges from trials of new therapies and preventative treatments to studies seeking to understand the genetic and biological basis of addictive behaviour.

The Addictions Department is one of the most productive addictions research groups in Europe. We represent an important area of health-related study as the Addictions Clinical Academic Group (CAG) within King’s Health Partners, and form one of the core areas of the Academic Health Science Centre that brings together university partners King’s College London with the NHS from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital, and Guy’s and St Thomas’. RAND Europe rated our work on Substance Abuse Research as leading in the field. Substance Use Disorders is one of the main themes of the NIHR Maudsley BRC which is based at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN).

About the role:

The post holder will play a key role in the delivery of the NIHR-funded MEDCO trial, a large multi-site randomised controlled trial designed to determine whether a prescription stimulant (lisdexamfetamine) and an atypical anti-depressant (mirtazapine) can achieve a greater number of cocaine-abstinent days compared with placebo in people with cocaine use disorder over a 24-week period. The post-holder will be a member of staff at the Addictions Dept (school of academic psychiatry, Institute of psychiatry, psychology & neuroscience, King’s College London) and also based at Lorraine Hewitt House (LHH, specialist NHS treatment provider for addictions operated by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust). The post Holder will report to the head of department for addictions and support the trial chief investigator at LHH.

The role will involve working across all aspects of the research study as part of a multi-disciplinary team, including but not limited to screening and enrolling new participants, scheduling and conducting trial visits, collecting research data in line with study protocols, entry of research data into an online electronic case report form, maintaining accurate study records and liaising with the neuroimaging centre to organise MRI scans for participants. The post holder will work closely with the senior investigators and the central research team to ensure the trial is delivered in accordance with the approved protocol, regulatory requirements, and Good Clinical Practice, contributing to high-quality data collection and the smooth day-to-day running of the trial.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 30th September 2029.

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. MSc/MA awarded in a relevant discipline (e.g. mental health, psychology, psychiatry, or related field).
2. Experience of conducting quantitative research with human participants, including structured or semi-structured interviews and/or questionnaires.
3. Experience of working on clinical or applied health research studies, ideally within mental health, addiction, or related settings.
4. Experience of collecting research data in line with study protocols, including accurate data entry and adherence to standard operating procedures.
5. Certified Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training, or willingness to complete GCP training prior to undertaking study activities.
6. Experience handling sensitive or confidential information, with a clear understanding of data protection, confidentiality, and ethical research practice.
7. Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks, work to deadlines, and maintain accurate study records.
8. Good communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly and sensitively with research participants and multidisciplinary teams.

Desirable criteria

1. Experience working with people with substance use disorders or complex mental health needs.
2. Experience working on large multi-centre studies and/or randomised controlled trials.
3. Familiarity with electronic data capture systems (e.g. Medrio, or similar research databases).

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

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

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 person specification section of the job description. 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.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

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

Interviews are due to be held 2 weeks after ad closure date.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and Occupational Health clearances.