Job Description

The School of Psychology at Queens University, recently funded by the Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland, aims to drive health innovation by applying psychology and systems science that maximises the contribution of various government departments, community stakeholders and academics to the primary prevention of, and reduction in obesity in two council areas of northern Ireland. The co-investigators come from psychology, public health and systems science across QUB, as well as a range of non-academic stakeholders. The post-holder will liaise with the investigators and researchers based at Queens University Belfast, and the Public Health Agency. The Research Assistant will work closely with the project partners.
We are interested in adding to our team a Research Assistant with experience and skills in developing and interpreting system maps of public health interventions that target obesity. The selected candidate will support the designing and delivery of participatory system mapping workshops that will inform the Northern Irelands whole-systems strategy to tackle obesity, as well as the interpretation, writing up and dissemination of the outputs of these workshops.
About the person:
The successful candidate must have, and your application should clearly demonstrate that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Education and Qualifications Primary degree in a relevant discipline, e.g., psychology, public health, social science or equivalent discipline.
• Research and Associated Activities Experience in the use of system mapping methods in the context of psychology, public health, social science or relevant subject area.
• Experience in undertaking systems mapping of an issue of public health relevance.
• Experience in writing a research project report that used system mapping methods.

To be successful at shortlisting stage, please ensure you clearly evidence in your application how you meet the essential and, where applicable, desirable criteria listed in the Candidate Information.
This is a part-time post (0.6FTE), available for 9 months. Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding.
What we offer:
Beyond a competitive salary, the University offers an attractive benefits package including a holiday entitlement of up to 8.4 weeks a year, pension schemes and development opportunities. We support staff wellbeing with flexible working options, work-life balance initiatives and support for physical and mental health. You can find more detail on all of this and more at
Queen's University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to all. We subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as the Diversity Charter Mark NI and Athena Swan and have established staff networks such as iRise (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network) and PRISM (LGBTQ+) which help us progress equality. For further information on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, please visit
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