A vacancy has arisen for a Research Assistant to join the Institute for Social Marketing, part of the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, to work on a number of projects focusing on tackling alcohol-related harm. This is a fixed term position for a period of eight months. The post-holder will be based at the University of Stirling, but much of the work can be completed remotely by agreement.
The postholder will assist in a Cancer Research UK funded project to assess the feasibility and value of a tool for analysing and monitoring politicians’ understanding of alcohol-related cancer-risks, alcohol problems and policy positions relating to alcohol.
He/she will support consultation with advocacy organisations working in the alcohol field, via small group or individual interviews. He/she will conduct a literature review of relevant methodology and of alcohol policy analysis and support the development of a draft analysis tool. The postholder will also be sourcing publicly available outputs from politicians relating to alcohol including speeches and parliamentary debates, and analysing them using the draft tool.
Other smaller projects with which the postholder will be involved include a scoping study of available data from Scottish health boards on remuneration for alcohol brief interventions funded by Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems and investigating gender differences in alcohol consumption and the effectiveness of alcohol policy funded by Glasgow Centre for Population Health.
This is an interesting and challenging post that will offer the postholder opportunities to work with academics from across the UK alcohol research community and to build their expertise in contemporary public health research. The person appointed to this post will need to be resourceful, committed and enthusiastic. Communication and interpersonal skills are critically important for success in liaising with advocacy and policy stakeholders and health board representatives. It is essential that the post-holder is organised and meticulous, and can communicate effectively and professionally with the research teams (involving representatives of the Alcohol Health Alliance, and the Universities of Sheffield, Newcastle and the West of England). Training will be given where appropriate.
