Invitation for Applicants to Position of Post-Doctoral Researcher – Social Care for 2019-2020

To support evidence-informed decision making, The Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative is recruiting an external Post-doctoral researcher – social care for secondment to the Department of Health 2019-2020.

Post Status: Minimum 12 months with possible extension to 18 months, fixed-term, full-time.

Closing Date and Time: 5pm, 25 November 2019.

Location

The successful candidate will receive a contract of employment from Middlequarter Ltd, one of the HAPAI partners, but will work alongside staff in the Research Services and Policy Unit of the Department of Health, based at Block 1, Miesian Plaza, 50-58 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, D02 XW14.

Hours:

37 hours/week

Salary

Appointment will be made on the IUA Salary scale at a point in line with experience – Post Doctoral Researcher Irish University Association Pay scale, Level 2.

Reports to:

Dr Sarah Gibney, Research Service and Policy Unit, Department of Health

Essential criteria

Doctoral level qualification in a social policy, health or social care discipline. Experience with quantitative and qualitative analysis using appropriate software. Publications (research reports, journal articles etc) commensurate with experience. Strong communication skills. Ability to manage complex research projects and work effectively as part of a team.

Desirable criteria

Prior experience in applied social care research settings involving interaction with policy-makers, representative bodies and interest groups.

Application Procedure

Please email your Curriculum Vitae and a cover letter outlining your suitability for the post to: ResearchServicesUnit@health.gov.ie or by

POST: HaPAI C/O Research Services & Policy Unit, Department of Health, Block 1, Miesian Plaza, 50-58 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, D02 XW14

Interviews are scheduled for the week commencing 2nd December 2019.

Note: Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Ireland.

Project Background

Ireland’s population is living longer than ever before, and this represents the achievements of society in general and specifically how as a health and social care system we are succeeding in adding years to life. Our goal is to provide care and support at the lowest level of complexity, as close to home as possible supporting people to live independently in their own community for as long as possible. Consideration of adding life to those years gained means that we need to focus on systematically introducing effective early interventions and supports.

The current policy scope for social care in Ireland encompasses home care, residential care, palliative care and community supports for older people and those with a disability. In addition to recognising the general population ageing profile it should be noted that the age profile of those with a disability is changing with the number those over 55 years with an intellectual disability having increased by 173% since 2002. Disability increases with an ageing population and the HaPAI indicators demonstrate that almost 50% of the population at age 75 will have a disability.

Achieving the Sláintecare vision for healthcare will require significant change, both in terms of designing models of care that can meet the holistic needs of different groups of people, as well as changing the way that care is delivered in all settings – at home, in the community and in hospital. It requires a system that is integrated in terms of all stages of an individual’s life.

This role is supported by The Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative; a co-funded project between The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Department of Health, The Health Service Executive (Health and Wellbeing Division), and Middlequarter Ltd. HaPAI is a jointly funded programme of research, monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge management.

The purpose of the Initiative is to fulfil one of the objectives of the National Positive Ageing Strategy (NPAS), which is to

The NPAS is in turn linked to the Healthy Ireland initiative launched in 2013 which provides a framework and set of actions across all agencies and NGOs, recognising the need to view health and wellbeing as a continuum across the life course. Full details about the Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative can be found at www.hapai.net

Post Description

This HaPAI supported role focuses on research and evidence for the advancement of social care in Ireland and will involve working across disciplinary boundaries. The successful candidate will receive a contract of employment from Middlequarter Ltd, one of the HAPAI partners, but will work alongside staff in the Research Services and Policy Unit of the Department of Health, based at Block 1, Miesian Plaza, 50-58 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, D02 XW14. The post-holder will work under the supervision of the Assistant Principal Officer, Dr Sarah Gibney and will work closely with staff from the Social Care Division.

The successful candidate will gain experience in an applied research setting with opportunities for further training. The successful candidate will be familiar with methodologies and analytic techniques required to deliver high quality evidence to inform decision making for policy and strategies. The successful candidate will have excellent organisational, interpersonal, and analytical and writing skills and be able to successfully project manage and deliver high quality output for diverse audiences and knowledge users. This post will suit an inter-disciplinary researcher. We particularly encourage those with a experience of research in ageing to apply, although we also welcome applicants from other research backgrounds.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

• Undertake or coordinate the designated quantitative and qualitative research projects relating to social care and positive ageing; research design, data analysis, and preparing reports identified in the business plan.
• Provide research support to policy units and policy development:
• Advise on research design and identify suitable methodologies for policy project proposals and plans;
• Advise on the design and assist with delivery and outputs of stakeholder engagements;
• Advise on the development of evaluation and outcomes frameworks;
• Survey and administrative data scoping, analysis, and reporting;
• Produce thematic research and policy briefs;
• Visualisation of national data for different policy areas.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Dissemination events: contribute to the organisation of events or activities aimed at communicating and disseminating Initiative outputs;
• Knowledge Management: Actively engage in the promotion of all research activity and communicate research insights and experiences with project partners e.g. through meetings and seminars and the development of learning and development (L&D) materials.

Qualification (essential)

• A post-graduate (PhD) qualification in relevant health or social care discipline. Candidates who have not yet completed their PhD will not be considered. This is a full-time role that does not allow for completion of a PhD in parallel with this post.

Knowledge and Experience (essential)

• A demonstrated understanding of the Irish health and social care system, particularly in relation to population ageing;
• Mixed methods research design for policy and research project management;
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative research skills using appropriate software (e.g. Stata, SPSS, R, MaxQDA) and be able to demonstrate these:
• Excellent organisational, communication, interpersonal and presentation skills;
• Ability to disseminate research findings in accessible formats for different audiences;
• Research project management;
• Experience of cross-sectoral research collaboration with the ability to form effective channels of communication.

Knowledge and Experience (desirable)

• Experience of interacting with interest groups and policy makers;
• Experience of organising events (conferences, seminars, focus groups and similar);
• Experience in data visualisation.

Further information and informal enquiries

The Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative is an equal opportunities employer. The contract is for a minimum of 12 months based on a 37 hour week. Unsociable hours may occasionally be required.

Informal enquiries to: ResearchServicesUnit@health.gov.ie