Postdoctoral Fellow

Direct message the job poster from Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)

Job Title: Postdoctoral Fellow (Qualitative)

Department: School of Population Health

Reporting to: Prof. Breda Smyth

Location: RCSI, Dublin 2

Contract/Duration: Specified purpose, up to 12 months (with option to extend to 18 months)

Remuneration: Post will be appointed on the Post-Doctoral (PD1) Salary Scales, commensurate with experience

Closing Date: 25 September 2025

Summary of Post

We have a full-time post-doctoral position at RCSI, suitable for a health services researcher, psychologist, sociologist, social scientist, anthropologist or related discipline. The successful candidate will be employed on a Dublin North East Inner City (DNEIC) Task force funded partnership with RCSI to deliver a comprehensive Population Health Needs Assessment (PHNA) for the population of the DNEIC population. The present position has a qualitative focus, with the successful candidate joining a team including one other postdoctoral researcher (quantitative focus) and a research assistant on the DNEIC PHNA. The position is based in the School of Population Health, RCSI, Dublin 2, but remote working will be considered for some of the duties. The Dublin North East Inner City (DNEIC) faces significant health and socio-economic challenges. The area has a growing and diverse population, with high levels of deprivation, significant health inequalities, and barriers to healthcare access. A Health Needs Assessment (HNA) is required to systematically identify health needs, prioritize interventions, and inform service planning to improve health outcomes and ensure health equity. This Population Health Needs Assessment will be delivered through 6 work packages (WP). These WPs outline the methodology, SMART deliverables, outputs, timelines/ milestones.

Aim: To deliver a comprehensive Population Health Needs Assessment for the population of the DNEIC.

Objectives:

• To build a sustainable coalition of inter-sectoral stakeholders, experts and citizens to inform current and future needs of the population
• Deliver an evidence synthesis and gap analysis on existing evidence relation to the health needs of the population
• Create a data-lake of all datasets which inform the populations health needs including the data relating to the wider determinants of health
• Develop multilevel modelling on secondary dataset
• Increase the cultural and behavioural insights on the impacts of living in the DNEIC
• Deliver a comprehensive report on the health needs of the population and recommendations for action

Specifically, the duties of the post are:

• To work closely with the Principal Investigator (PI) and research team to ensure all project deliverables are met
• Prepare research ethics / data impact assessment applications and study protocols
• Carry out Evidence Synthesis and Gap Analysis
• Create a datalake of required dataset, clean and prepare for analysis
• Deliver qualitative and quantitative multilevel modelling on relevant secondary datasets
• Build a coalition of interested parties, citizens, institutions, organisations and experts to inform current and future needs of the population
• Develop and Facilitate Community and professional Dialogues
• Analyse qualitative data from dialogues
• Elicit consensus on the key priorities of the hierarchy of needs and wants of the community agreed at a multilevel stakeholder event
• Develop final report with recommendations
• Co-ordination of own day-to-day work to support ongoing projects
• Contribute to dissemination of research findings including conference presentations, peer-reviewed articles, Social Media content, and policy briefs
• Academic supervision of students and staff as required
• Assist with drafting grant applications for forthcoming relevant grant calls

Qualifications – (Essential):

• A PhD degree or equivalent in health services research, epidemiology, public health, psychology, sociology or related discipline.

Knowledge & Experience – (Essential):

• Documented research experience with epidemiology, public health and health services research
• Strong Qualitative or mixed methods experience
• Evidence of the ability to work independently and efficiently, including excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent organisational, interpersonal, report writing and IT skills.
• Excellent quantitative analytical and modelling experience.
• Willingness and experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams and in a multi-cultural environment
• Experience with Health Needs Assessment
• Experience of working with local communities, participatory methods or with community development
• Evidence of experience with public-patient involvement and stakeholder engagement
• Track record in scientific publication and dissemination
• Experience with Machine Learning Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence approach
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary research team in a multi-cultural environment
• Experience of a broad group of stakeholders
• Experience of health services research
• Excellent written, oral, and presentation skills
• Attention to detail and deadlines
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team

We are all too aware that imposter syndrome and the confidence gap can sometimes stop fantastic candidates putting themselves forward, so please do submit an application — we'd love to hear from you.

Seniority level: Associate

Employment type: Contract

Job function: Research

Industries: Higher Education