Research Assistant

Grade 6: £35,681 - £41,636 per annum

The University of Oxford is a stimulating work environment which enjoys an international reputation as a world-class centre of excellence. Our research plays a key role in tackling many global challenges, from reducing our carbon emissions to developing vaccines during a pandemic. The Department of Experimental Psychology is located on South Parks Road at the new, purpose-built Life and Mind Building, a multidisciplinary research and teaching facility that opened in the summer of 2025.

We are seeking a motivated and experienced part-time Research Assistant to support a Wellcome-funded project focused on improving help-seeking for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) among UK-based ethnic minority adolescents. The project is led by Dr Nina Higson-Sweeney within the Oxford Centre for Emerging Minds Research.

The successful applicant will support the day-to-day delivery of the project. This will include assisting with recruitment, data collection and qualitative analysis; contributing to screening, data extraction, quality appraisal and synthesis for a mixed-methods systematic review; supporting patient and public involvement activities; and contributing to research publications, presentations and other research outputs.

You will be based within Dr Polly Waite’s PANDA research group (Psychological interventions for ANxiety and related Disorders in Adolescence) and will contribute to the wider intellectual activities of the group and Centre, including research meetings, lab meetings, journal clubs and workshops.

The successful candidate will hold an undergraduate degree in Psychology or a related discipline, together with relevant experience of research with ethnic minority young people in a UK context. You will have experience of completing qualitative research with UK-based young people, including semi-structured interviews, focus groups and reflexive thematic analysis, and experience of mixed-methods systematic reviews. You will also have experience of co-production or participatory research with young people and relevant stakeholders. Excellent communication, organisation, record-keeping and IT skills are essential, together with the ability to manage your own research and administrative activities and work effectively as part of a team.

The post is part time (0.2 FTE) and is fixed-term until 31 January 2028. The role is available on a remote basis, with flexibility for occasional on-site working.

What We Offer

As an employer, we genuinely care about your happiness and wellbeing at work and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:

An excellent contributory pension scheme

38 days annual leave (pro rata)

A comprehensive range of childcare services

Family leave schemes

Cycle loan scheme

Discounted bus travel and Season Ticket travel loans

* Membership to a variety of social and sports clubs

The University of Oxford is committed to equal opportunity, and to being an inclusive institution where everyone belongs and is supported to succeed. We recognise how the diversity of our community enriches our ability to deliver on our academic mission. We welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds, including those under-represented within higher education. No applicant or members of staff shall be unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Applications for this vacancy are to be made online. You will be required to upload a supporting statement detailing how you meet the selection criteria, your CV, and the contact details of two referees as part of your application. For further details please refer to the “How to apply” section of the job description.

The closing date for applications is midday on 4 November 2026 and only applications received by this date will be considered.