Salary:

Reserach Assistant: £32,546 - £33,482

Reserach Associate: £35,116 - £45,413

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 18 August 2025

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) to join a Nuffield Foundation funded study to investigate the feasibility of delivering a preschool sleep intervention (SleepBoost) alongside a community language intervention (Chatterbox) to boost language outcomes in 2-3 year old children at risk of language difficulties.  

This study is led by Dr Vic Knowland with Dr Faye Smith, Professor Cristina McKean (Oxford University) and colleagues from the Children’s Public Health Service in North Tyneside Council. See the ECLS website for more information about the team and the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, including our Speech and Language Sciences subject area. 

The postholder should be a qualified SLT.  

The postholder will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing a targeted pre-school language intervention, Chatterbox, in collaboration with the Children’s Public Health Service in North Tyneside Council, collecting assessment data, and supporting engagement and dissemination activities as required. The postholder will work in close partnership with a second SleepBoost research associate/assistant.   

We are committed to building and maintaining a fair and inclusive working environment. We would be happy to discuss arrangements for flexible working, including a combination of working on campus and remotely, and flexibility around start and finish times, appropriate to the needs of the role. However, please note that responsibilities of this role, linked to overseeing the Chatterbox intervention within the community, will necessitate regular in-person sessions in North Tyneside, and local travel. The post holder will be required to hold/undergo an enhanced DBS check. 

Informal enquiries are welcome. Please contact Dr Vic Knowland ([email protected]) to discuss the role. To apply, please upload an up-to-date CV and letter of application outlining specific examples demonstrating how you meet the requirements set out in ‘The Person’ section below. 

Key Accountabilites

• Co-ordinating and overseeing a community targeted language intervention for 2-3 year old children, Chatterbox 

• Collecting assessment data with children and families  

• Data entry and management; ensuring data is reliable and complete  

• Conducting research-related administration to ensure ethical research procedures and security of data management 

• Working closely with external stakeholders in North Tyneside Council, and the second Research Assistant/Associate employed on the project  

• Writing and disseminating research outcomes as required 

• Undertaking appropriate training and career enhancement activities, including the development of skills relevant to wider responsibilities 

The Person (Essential/Desirable) 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience  

• Experience with a paediatric caseload including preschool children (E)  

• Ability to develop and maintain relationships with diverse groups of staff and families (E) 

• Completion of a research dissertation at undergraduate or postgraduate level (D) 

• Knowledge and experience of a range of assessment and intervention approaches relevant to preschool children with speech language and communication needs (SLCN) (E) 

• Awareness of and sensitivity to needs of research participants from diverse cultural backgrounds (E) 

• Experience of working with bilingual families (D) 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate complex information with varied stakeholders (E) 

Attributes and Behaviour 

• Ability to analyse and reflect on own performance, seeking advice where necessary (E) 

• Willingness to travel to research sites off Newcastle University campus (E) 

• A commitment to Newcastle University policy on Equality and Diversity (E) 

• Systematic approach to project planning, time-management, organisation and prioritisation, with the ability to set and update realistic goals (E) 

• Collegial contributions to project work as a part of an interdisciplinary team, and engagement with the wider project stakeholders (E) 

• Commitment to personal career development appropriate to the expectations and opportunities of the position (E) 

Qualifications 

• Qualification to practice as a speech and language therapist in the UK (2:1 or higher) 

• Health and Care Professions Council registration (E) 

• Completion of RCSLT NQP competencies (Essential for the Research Associate role) 

• Registered member of RCSLT (D) 

• In receipt of or working towards a PhD in Speech and Language Sciences, Education, Psychology, Linguistics or a closely related discipline (D) 

• Driving license (D) 

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 28371