King's College London

About us:

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) has been fundamentally changing and shaping how we understand, prevent and treat mental illness and other conditions that affect the brain.  The legacy, ethos and drive of the IoPPN has ensured its position at the forefront of mental health care, redefining mental illness, its treatment and its place in society.   

The IoPPN is divided into 14 academic departments across three major academic Schools: Academic Psychiatry, Mental Health & Psychological Sciences, and Neuroscience.

The Department of Psychological Medicine, part of the School of Academic Psychiatry, focuses on the interface between psychiatry and medicine, psychiatry and occupation, psychiatry and the military, and psychiatry in different settings.

Within the Department of Psychological Medicine, the Centre for Affective Disorders (CfAD) is a vibrant centre of expertise dedicated to research into affective disorders, primarily depression and bipolar illnesses. CfAD is a centre of excellence for both understanding the science related to these illnesses, and application of this knowledge to help develop new treatments of all types including psychological and pharmacological.  We are based in Denmark Hill, South London.

CfAD brings together world-leading clinician scientists, based at King's College London including Professors Anthony Cleare, Roland Zahn, Carmine Pariante, and Allan Young.

Affective disorders overlap with many other areas of psychiatry and medicine, so the Centre works with colleagues throughout King’s College London and more widely.

About the role:

The postholder will be embedded within the Mental Health Mission (MHM) Mood Disorders workstream at the Centre for Affective Disorders (CfAD), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London. MHM is a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded initiative aimed at improving access to novel treatments for people affected by depression and bipolar disorder.

The postholder will play a key role in coordinating and supporting the delivery and development of the CfAD Mood Disorders research portfolio, encompassing a diverse range of commercial and non-commercial clinical studies and collaborations with academic, NHS and industry partners. Working closely with principal investigators, clinicians, research staff and professional services teams, the postholder will oversee portfolio-level research activities, support study teams, optimise recruitment and research delivery processes, and contribute to the effective financial and operational management of the portfolio.

The role will involve coordinating research activity across multiple projects, monitoring progress and resources, supporting compliance with funder and institutional requirements, and contributing to portfolio reporting and strategic planning. Alongside these responsibilities, the postholder will undertake academic research activities, including secondary data analysis, scientific publication and dissemination, and the development of research proposals and independent research ideas. There will also be opportunities to supervise student research projects and contribute to the development of junior research staff. Line management responsibilities may be included, depending on the successful candidate’s experience.

This is a full time position, and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 12 months.

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. * PhD qualified in Affective Disorders or relevant subject area (or pending results)
2. Experience managing or coordinating clinical trials or clinical research studies, preferably within a UK higher education setting
3. Experience coordinating multiple projects, teams or collaborators, with the ability to organise competing priorities and meet deadlines and objectives
4. Experience contributing to the financial or operational management of research projects, including resource planning, reporting or compliance with funder and sponsor requirements
5. Demonstrable active contribution to scientific publications in quality peer-reviewed journals, including with significant authorship contribution (e.g. first author)
6. Demonstrable ability to work independently and take initiative
7. Experience of analysing and interpreting research data using appropriate statistical methods and software, and communicating findings
8. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to support colleagues, build effective working relationships and communicate complex information to different audiences

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of line management, supervision or providing day-to-day guidance and support to research staff or students
2. Experience of working with people with affective disorders
3. Good understanding of the UK higher education and clinical research environment, including NHS research governance, ethics and regulatory processes
4. GCP certification

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.

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

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.

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 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 in November 2026.

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