• School of Public Health
• Join a university ranked in the world’s top 50
• Belong to a vibrant community where your work genuinely makes an impact
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.
• This position is based at The Park Centre for Mental Health in Wacol, Queensland

Acknowledgment of Country

The University of Queensland (UQ) acknowledges the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which UQ operates. We pay our respects to their Ancestors and their descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society.

About UQ

As part of the UQ community, you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world, and within an environment where interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged.

As part of our commitment to research excellence, we are proud to provide our staff with access to world-class facilities and equipment, grant writing support, greater research funding opportunities, and post-fellowship contracts via our UQ Amplify initiative.

At the core of our teaching remains our students, and their experience with us sets a foundation for success far beyond graduation. Not only do we have one of the largest PhD enrolments in Australia, but we have also made a commitment to making education opportunities available for all Queenslanders, regardless of personal, financial, or geographical barriers.

About This Opportunity 

This is an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow/Research Fellow to join a program of nationally significant research designed to improve mental health services. The Mental Health Services Research Stream at Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, School of Public Health conducts applied research to understand the demand for and use of mental health services, evidence- based mental health service models, and how these findings can be used to improve mental health systems. We work closely with health system partners such as governments, Primary Health Networks, and community organisations to provide evidence and advice to support integrated regional and national mental health service planning.

The Postdoctoral Research Fellow/Research Fellow will undertake quantitative and mixed methods research on mental health service access and utilisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as part of an MRFF project, analysing large health survey and administrative datasets and coordinating stakeholder consultations. The position will also contribute to research and research translation relating to development and support for the National Mental Health Service Planning Framework (NMHSPF) and related national needs-based planning tools for mental health and suicide prevention services. These projects require strong quantitative and writing skills as well as knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency and ethics in the context of health services research. This position will be supervised by Dr Sandra Diminic with a formal reporting line to Professor Harvey Whiteford.

Key responsibilities will include: 

Level A

Research

• Produces quality research outputs consistent with discipline norms by publishing or exhibiting in high quality outlets.
• Contribute to progressing towards transfer of knowledge, technology and practices to research end users through translation.
• Work with colleagues in the development of joint research projects and applications for competitive research funding support and develop a coherent research program and an emerging research profile.

Supervision and Researcher Development

• Contribute to the effective supervision of Honours and Higher Degree by Research students (as appropriate).
• As appropriate, manage research support staff effectively throughout the employee lifecycle.

Citizenship and Service

• Contribute to internal and external service activities and begin to develop external links and partnerships by cultivating relationships with industry, government departments, professional bodies, and the wider community.

Level B (in addition to Level A)

Research

• Develop an independent and/or team research program to achieve national recognition and impact in the research area.
• Participate in or contribute as chief investigator role (often in conjunction with more experienced researchers) in applications for competitive research funding to support projects and activities, which includes actively seeking, obtaining and managing research funding.

Supervision and Researcher Development

• Demonstrate a track record of the effective supervision of Honours and Higher Degree by Research students and development of researcher capability and skil

Citizenship and Service

• Actively pursue and develop external links and partnerships.

This is a full-time, fixed-term, research focused position for up to 12 months. This opportunity is being offered at Academic Level A or Level B commensurate with the successful candidate’s skills, abilities and experience. Further information can be found by viewing UQ’s Criteria for Academic Performance.

At Level A, the full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $74,308 – $99,426, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $86,941 – $116,329 annually. 

At Level B, the full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $104,579- $124,187, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $122,358 – $145,299 annually. 

The greater benefits of joining the UQ community are broad:  from being part of a Group of Eight university, to recognition of prior service with other Australian universities, up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, 17.5% annual leave loading, flexible working arrangements including hybrid on site/WFH options and flexible start/finish times, and genuine career progression opportunities via the academic promotions process.

About You

Level A

• Completion or near completion of a PhD in public health, epidemiology, psychology/allied health, or a similar area.
• An emerging profile in research in the discipline area.
• Evidence of publications in reputed refereed journals and presenting at conferences.
• Evidence of contributions towards successfully obtaining external research funding.
• Some experience in meaningful internal service roles and contributions towards external activities

Level B (in addition to Level A)

• Completion of a PhD in public health, epidemiology, psychology/allied health, or a similar area.
• A developing reputation and track record of publications in reputed refereed journals and presenting at conferences.
• Evidence of successfully seeking, obtaining and managing external research funding.
• A growing record of supervision of Honours and Research Higher Degree students to successful completion.

In addition, the following mandatory requirements apply:

• Work Rights: You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment. 
• Mandatory Immunisations: It is a condition of employment for this role that you will be required to provide evidence of immunisation against certain vaccine preventable diseases.

Questions? 

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Dr Sandra Diminic, Mental Health Services Research Stream Lead, Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research at s.diminic@uq.edu.au. 

For application queries or for full job description please contact recruitment@uq.edu.au stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line. 
 

Want to Apply? 

All applicants must upload the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Resume
• Cover letter
• Responses to the ‘About You’ section

Please note that you will be asked to add all documents into the one upload box labelled ‘resume’, which is step one of the application form.
 

Other Information 

At UQ we know that our greatest strengths come from our diverse mix of colleagues, this is reflected in our ongoing commitment to creating an environment focused on equity, diversity and inclusion.  We ensure that we are always attracting, retaining and promoting colleagues who are representative of the diversity in our broader community, whether that be gender identity, LGBTQIA+, cultural and/or linguistic, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, or people with a disability. Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to recruitment@uq.edu.au 

If you are a current employee (including casual staff and HDR scholars) or hold an unpaid/affiliate appointment, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.

Applications close Wednesday 2nd August 2023 at 11.00pm AEST (R-27803). Please note that interviews have been tentatively scheduled for Monday 21st August 2023.