Post-Doctoral Research Fellow - ESRI Health Research Programme
The Health Research Programme at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is seeking to recruit a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow. The ESRI is now inviting applications from health economists; and health services researchers and researchers from related fields (epidemiology, quantitative social sciences), who have significant training in Health Economics.
The Institute wishes to appoint a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, who will join a project funded under the HRB’s Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement (ICE) Awards 2015. This postdoctoral fellowship scheme is aimed at building and attracting capacity into population health and health services research. The ICE fellow appointed to the ESRI will benefit from training and mentoring in contextual, methodological and other issues related to their work and will develop the skills and competencies required for successful interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral research in population health and health services research. The appointee will work on a project on modelling and modifying the consequences of stroke-related cognitive impairment through intervention, in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Trinity College Dublin.
The Institute
The Economic and Social Research Institute, founded in 1960, is located in Dublin’s South Docklands area. Its mission is to produce high quality research, relevant to Ireland’s economic and social development, with the aim of contributing to knowledge and informing policymaking and public debate. It has over 100 staff including economists, sociologists and other social scientists, in addition to support and technical staff.
Health Research
The Health Research Programme at the ESRI has three overall objectives: to examine the pattern of variation in health and well-being across the population and its relationship to factors such as socio-economic position; to analyse the structure and functioning of the Irish health-care system and its implications for the quality of individual care, economic efficiency and sustainability and the equity of health-care utilisation; and to analyse health and social spending: what drives spending, its macroeconomic effect on the national finances and the economy, and at a microeconomic level, the cost of disease and the cost effectiveness of treatment. As well as carrying out high-quality academic research in pursuit of these objectives, ESRI researchers also contribute to the development of public policy across a range of issues in health by contributing evidence which shapes national and international debates and through interaction and collaboration with policy makers and practitioners. The ESRI is involved in the development and collection of some of the key data sources in health in Ireland including the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) Study and The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).
The ESRI is now in the second year of a major programme of research funded by the Department of Health to support the Department’s reform programme. The programme will encompass a range of specific projects including: the economic assessment of different financing, organisational and eligibility models in terms of sustainability, efficiency, cost and effectiveness; and the development of models of the drivers of health and long-term care need and demand. This programme is a central plank of ESRI research in health. Two new Health Research Board (HRB) funded projects started in 2015 – one on the need for and the supply and utilisation of health and social services by area, which will analyse the effects of non-acute service supply on acute hospital utilisation; and the second on inequalities in access to GP care in Ireland, based on TILDA and GUI data.
Role Description – ICE Post-Doctoral Fellow
The successful candidate will have a background and experience in Health Economics and will have responsibility for the economic modelling of post-stroke cognitive impairment. The successful candidate will be facilitated to complete a training and development programme to acquire the specific skills required for this responsibility, which is likely to include attendance at short UK-based courses; and two one-month placements at Stroke Registries in France and the UK.
Position Specification:
•Leading on and contributing to the analysis of quantitative data
•Contributing to the design and supporting the delivery of primary and secondary data analysis
•Writing and contributing to academic papers and policy briefs arising from the research findings
•Communicating with key stakeholders and coordinating stakeholder events
ICE Post-Doctoral Fellow Skills, Qualifications and Experience
The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate the following:
Essential
•A PhD in Health Economics or with a significant Health Economics component and ideally with 2-3 years post-doctoral experience
•Skills and experience in quantitative research methods
•Strong computer skills including proven ability in using quantitative data analysis packages (e.g. use of STATA)
•Academic writing skills and experience
•Good communication skills
•Strong organisational and administrative skills with the ability to prioritise objectives
•The ability to work on one’s own initiative as well as in a team environment
•Willingness to undertake training and career development
Desirable
•Experience in conducting cost-effectiveness analysis
•Experience in undertaking economic modelling
•Research experience in a related field
•Peer-reviewed publications an advantage
The Post Doctoral Research Fellow appointment will be on a three-year fixed-term contract basis and salary will be in the range €38,554 - €42,838, commensurate with experience. The successful candidates will be based in offices in Dublin 2.
Application Procedure
The application form for this position is available to download below and must be submitted, along with a current CV and covering letter, to jobs@esri.ie by 5pm on Wednesday 14th October 2015. All applications will be acknowledged.
The ESRI is committed to equal opportunities and to selection on merit.