Salary: £42,839 to £47,181 per annum pro rata
Grade: L
Contract Type: Fixed Term
Fixed Term Contract End Date: 31 December 2028
Vacancy Hours: 22.5 hours per week
Location: Northallerton, North Yorkshire
Health Determinants Research Collaboration - North Yorkshire
This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious candidate who wants to develop their Behaviour Science career at the interface of research, policy, and practice with a focus on tackling the determinants of health inequalities. The role is part of our National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC).
HDRC North Yorkshire is a collaboration with the Universities of Hull and York to develop the research culture of the Council and build Council-University partnerships to conduct and use research that improves health and wellbeing and reduces inequalities. For more information on the programme visit https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/?query=NIHR158758
The HDRC NY has four work packages, each co-led by Council staff and University academics:
Research infrastructure and governance, Research capacity and capability, Dissemination and impact, and learning & evaluation.
In addition, the HDRC NY has three cross-cutting themes:
Public Involvement and Community Engagement, Health Economics and Behavioural Science.
What is the job role?
The Behavioural Science Research Officer will lead a programme of work to achieve the ambition of developing and embedding a strong research culture across NYC. The postholder will work closely with North Yorkshire Council’s existing Behavioural Science Unit (BSU) which has been in place since August 2022.
Our work to date has defined behaviours we would see if we had a strong research culture in North Yorkshire Council and the roles, we would want to adopt these behaviours. The next stage in our work is selecting target behaviours and populations that will likely contribute most to achieving the desired outcome and developing and testing intervention approaches.
Who are we looking for?
- You will have knowledge of theoretical concepts in behavioural science, and the appropriate research and evaluation methods for understanding effectiveness of behaviour change interventions.
- You will be skilled in working collaboratively with a range of professionals and groups and managing projects to deadlines.
- You will have experience of developing, delivering and evaluating training.
- You will have knowledge and experience of evidence reviewing and synthesis including the use of peer-reviewed and grey literature.
- You will have experience of identifying and using of multiple sources of evidence (including qualitative and quantitative sources of evidence) to inform behaviour change interventions, ideally in a local government/public health context.
- You will hold a Masters in Health Psychology, Behaviour Change, Behavioural Science or related discipline and be able to show evidence of continuing professional development.
Locations: Hybrid homeworking / office base Northallerton (min 1 day a week, ideally Tuesday).
For an informal conversation about the role please contact Joanne Smithson at joanne.smithson@northyorks.gov.uk
Key Documents
Job Description Behaviour Science Research Officer Grade L.docx
Key Dates
Closing Date: Monday 06 April 2026
Shortlisting Date: Friday 10 April 2026
Interview Date: Thursday 30 April 2026
Venue for Interview: County Hall Campus, Boroughbridge Road, Northallerton DL7 8AN
NYC are committed to directly recruiting staff and will not accept applications nor services from agency suppliers in respect of our vacancies.
We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
North Yorkshire Councils’ purpose is to deliver services and facilities to the diverse residents and visitors of North Yorkshire. To ensure we deliver inclusive services we strive to have a diverse workforce where everybody can be themselves by respecting differences and embedding equality of opportunity. We celebrate diversity and recognise each other’s contributions; we therefore welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds.
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