Post Doctoral Research Fellow
About ARU:
ARU is a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. ARU holds a Gold award for the quality of its education, awarded through the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
ARU’s research institutes and four faculties bridge scientific, technical and creative fields. We deliver impactful research which tackles pressing issues and makes a real difference to our communities. Our academic excellence has been recognised by the UK’s Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 of our research areas assessed as world leading. We are the largest provider of Nursing, Midwifery, Health and Social Care students in the East of England, and we are also among the UK’s leading universities for degree apprenticeship provision, working with hundreds of employers across the UK.
About the Role:
Severe visual impairment/blindness impacts children’s development imposes limitations and diminishes potential, unless habilitative interventions are applied. Schools provide academic and social development, however, children with visual impairment often experience a degraded social experience due to difficulties with social skills, developing and maintaining friendships and emotional resilience, contributing to anxiety and poor mental wellbeing. This project will contribute to the design of social-skills intervention, to be piloted in schools. The postdoctoral research fellow will assist in developing a pilot study to test a social skills intervention with visually impaired children.
The school of Psychology, Sport and Sensory Science is seeking a high-calibre postdoctoral research fellow. You will contribute to a significant area of research, focusing on enhancements to social interaction and competence in children with visual impairment. You will be expected to help develop and pilot a social skills training programme for children with visual impairment. You will be responsible for conducting comprehensive literature reviews, collecting and analysing data, and providing support to the Principal Investigator, disseminating the work to stakeholders. You’ll be dedicated, with a PhD in developmental psychology (or related discipline), strong academic background, and excellent research skills. Applicants must be able to demonstrate interest and/or experience in the development and delivery of psychological interventions. Proficiency in both qualitative and quantitative research methods is desirable.
You will join our Child Development and Vision Lab. The supervisory team is led by Dr Elena Sakkalou (Senior Lecturer), who offers expertise in childhood visual impairment and developmental psychology. Other members of the team include Dr Louisa Haine (Lecturer and Orthoptist) who offers expertise in childhood visual impairment.
Informal enquiries can be made to Elena Sakkalou, at elena.sakkalou@aru.ac.uk
Find out more about working with us.
We have an agile working culture and offer an extensive range of benefits including generous holiday entitlement, occupational pension schemes, training and development opportunities, travel to work scheme and a competitive relocation package. Visit our benefits page for full details.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of our staff and students and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants should be aware that ARU will carry out online searches as part of the due diligence on short listed candidates.
We value diversity at ARU and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
We have a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Committed to being inclusive and open to discuss flexible working.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once we have received sufficient applications.