ARC GM | Internship - Service Users & Carers

Overview

We are delighted to be able to offer one paid internship within the NIHR ARC GM Mental Health theme. Our internship is specifically aimed at adult service users or informal carers living in the Greater Manchester locality who have an interest in exploring opportunities to become involved in research in the field of mental health.

About us

The NIHR ARC-GM supports applied health and care research that responds to, and meets the needs of local populations and local health and care systems. Our overarching goal is to improve the health of the GM population and the quality and sustainability of the health and social care they receive. We will achieve this by co-producing excellent research in prioritised areas and by enhancing its impact through supported implementation into policy and practice.

Within the Mental Health Theme we work closely with the University of Manchester Mental Health Research Group which has an award-winning track record for patient and public involvement. We are very enthusiastic about involving service users in our research and have run several research methods courses for adult service users and carers over the past few years. Some members of this course now advise on our research projects. We are looking to expand on this work and recruit two service user or informal carer interns to work with us flexibly over the next 18 months.

Practicalities of the internship

Internships are for 30-days (or 210 hours), to be used flexibly over the next 18 months to suit the needs of the intern’s work and life balance.
Our internships will be based at the University of Manchester and aim to be as inclusive as possible - teaching and meetings will be delivered using a hybrid model of both online and in person working depending on requirements. We will endeavour to work towards the intern’s needs and provide flexibility where required.
Internships are funded at £150 per day, in line with NIHR payment guidance and with a budget of £700 available for training needs.
Internships will begin in January 2023.

What does the internship involve?

Our internship programme will give an essential introduction to research and focus on the personal development needs of the intern. The internship will give candidates:

time to develop key skills which are relevant and useful for future goals
an understanding of how to formulate research questions and identify appropriate research designs
skills in which methods to use when searching and reviewing literature
tips on conducting research and understanding, analysing, and presenting findings
access to a whole host of resources including the University of Manchester library, online research resources and training opportunities
the opportunity to join activities across the wider NIHR ARC-GM Mental Health research theme and attend team and relevant project meetings

Key dates

Advertisement for applicants - Week beginning 24th October 22

Deadline for submission of application - 5th December 22

Shortlisting panel decisions - Week beginning 12th December 22

Interviews - Week beginning 9th January 23

Interview outcome - Week beginning 16th January 23

Internship start date (this is flexible) - 30th January 23

More information

How to apply

Eligibility criteria
The ARC-GM Mental Health Internships are open to applicants fulfilling the following criteria. Either:
1. A Mental Health Service User who has accessed services in Greater Manchester in the last 3-5 years
2. An informal carer for someone who has accessed Mental Health services in Greater Manchester
Eligible applications will be assessed by a shortlisting panel which will include at least 3 members of the Mental Health Research Theme. The following criteria will be used to assess suitability of candidates based on their application form and, for those short-listed, their performance at informal interview:
- The reasons the applicant is interested in pursuing an internship
- The applicants previous experience of research and interest in learning more
- The relevance and potential benefit to the applicant by undertaking an internship
The suitability and commitment of the applicant to pursuing an internship
Contact Information

For any further questions on the internship opportunity, the application form, or the process of applying please feel free to contact Alison Littlewood (ARC-GM Mental Health Programme Manager) who will be happy to help:

Alison Littlewood (ARC GM Mental Health Programme Manager)

alison.j.littlewood@manchester.ac.uk

Application Process

Application process:

If you are interested in applying for an internship with us, please complete the short application form on page 4 and send this back to arc-gm@manchester.ac.uk by midnight on Monday 5th December 2022. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an informal interview which will take place in the week beginning 9th January 2023. We will notify candidates of the outcome of interviews no later than Friday 20th January 2023.

We welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender, gender expression, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.
Application Form

Mental Health Theme Internship Application Form

Mental Health Theme Internship Information Pack & Application Form

Mental Health Internship Opportunity