King's College London

About Us

The School of Life Course & Population Sciences is one of six Schools that make up the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine at King’s College London. The School unites over 400 experts in women and children’s health, nutritional sciences, population health and the molecular genetics of human disease. Our research links the causes of common health problems to life’s landmark stages, treating life, disease and healthcare as a continuum. We are interdisciplinary by nature and this innovative approach works: 91 per cent of our research submitted to the Subjects Allied to Medicine (Pharmacy, Nutritional Sciences and Women's Health cluster) for REF was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. We use this expertise to teach the next generation of health professionals and research scientists. Based across King’s Denmark Hill, Guy’s, St Thomas’ and Waterloo campuses, our academic programme of teaching, research and clinical practice is embedded across five Departments.  

About the role

We are seeking a motivated Research Assistant to join an exciting collaborative project between King’s College London, University of Reading, University of Bristol and the University Caterers Organisation (TUCO). The project is funded by BBSRC ORIC Consumer Lab. The project aims to establish a national network of university-based Living Laboratories to support research on dietary behaviour, health and sustainability in real-world food environments.

University catering systems provide unique opportunities to study how people make food choices in everyday settings and to evaluate interventions that can improve both health and environmental outcomes. Existing initiatives, including Root-to-Tip, Raising the Pulse and SNEAK, have demonstrated the potential of university Living Laboratories to test healthier menu reformulation, plant-forward approaches, food waste reduction strategies and behavioural interventions. However, there is currently no coordinated UK network or shared framework for conducting this research.

The Research Assistant will play a key role in delivering all stages of the project, including:

• Conducting a national survey of UK higher education institutions to map Living Laboratory activities, infrastructure and capabilities.
• Supporting recruitment and engagement with TUCO members and university stakeholders.
• Organising and conducting semi-structured interviews with university catering and academic leads.
• Managing qualitative and quantitative research data.
• Transcribing, coding and analysing qualitative interview data using thematic analysis.
• Supporting the development of case studies, toolkits and best-practice resources for universities wishing to establish Living Laboratories.
• Assisting with project reporting, dissemination activities and stakeholder engagement events.
• Working closely with academic researchers, catering professionals and external partners to establish a national Living Laboratory network.

The project will require some travel to other universities within the UK. The Research Assistant will report to Dr Rachel Gibson, King’s College London.

For this project has funder specified start and end dates. Candidate must be able to start on1st September 2026.

This is a part-time post (30 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 27/02/2027.

About You

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

Essential criteria

1. BSc or MSc in Nutrition, Dietetics Food Policy, Behavioural Science
2. Experience of qualitative research (e.g., focus groups, semi structure interviews)
3. Experience of qualitative data analyses and aware of theoretical underpinning of different approaches
4. Knowledge of UK food service, food supply or catering systems
5. Ability to work both independently and as part of a team on a project
6. Exceptional attention to detail and organisational skills
7. Experience of project management in a research setting

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of academic communication e.g., writing for publication and conferences
2. Experience of online questionnaire / survey development and data collection

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.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here.

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 on 17th August.