Research Assistant | Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust


Company:	Lancashire Care Foundation Trust
Salary:	£32,073 - £39,043 Per Annum
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Preston, PR2 8DW
Job type:	Contract
Posting date:	26 Oct 2026
Closing date:	25 Nov 2026

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Summary

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is on an exciting journey towards becoming a University Trust, strengthening our partnerships with leading academic institutions and expanding our research capability. Our Research & Development department plays a key role in achieving this ambition - driving innovation, collaboration and excellence across mental health research.

We are looking for a Research Assistant to join the Mental Health Research Group (MHRG), a five year NIHR funded initiative based at Lancaster University. The MHRG is focused on tackling complex mental health needs among under served and excluded communities, co designing creative and inclusive solutions that improve access to care and reduce inequalities.

The post holder will work within MHRG Research Theme 1, which focuses on co occurring mental health and drug or alcohol problems among people experiencing multiple disadvantages, such as substance use disorders, criminal justice involvement and other complex social challenges. These groups often face significant barriers to accessing mainstream services and are frequently excluded from traditional models of care. The research aims to understand their lived experiences, the difficulties they encounter when seeking support, and the opportunities for co designing more inclusive and effective mental health pathways.

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Explore our full wellbeing offer here:Keeping our workforce well

For more information about this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.

This advert closes on Monday 9 Nov 2026

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