The University of Southampton’s School of Health Sciences is hiring a part-time Research Fellow for a national study of what happens to families after a child dies suddenly and unexpectedly. The University of Southampton Research Fellow, School of Health Sciences job is fixed term and pays £37,369 to £41,885 a year pro rata. The work is mainly data analysis (qualitative and quantitative), writing papers and writing reports for the funder, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Applications close on 23 November 2026. The advert names Professor Anne-Sophie Darlington and Dr Katherine Hunt for informal enquiries. Below I cover the study, the duties, the criteria, what “pro rata” means for your actual pay, what the advert leaves out (hours, contract length and visa position), and how to write an application that fits a health services research post. Nurses, midwives, psychologists, public health graduates and allied health researchers should all read on.
University of Southampton Research Fellow, Health Sciences: key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employer | University of Southampton |
| School | School of Health Sciences |
| Job title | Research Fellow |
| Contract | Fixed term, part time (hours and end date not given in the THE listing) |
| Salary | £37,369 to £41,885 a year, pro rata |
| Funder | National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) |
| Study topic | Families’ experiences, needs and outcomes after sudden and unexpected death in infancy and childhood |
| Informal enquiries | Prof Anne-Sophie Darlington (A.Darlington@soton.ac.uk); Dr Katherine Hunt (K.J.Hunt@soton.ac.uk) |
| Visa sponsorship | Not mentioned |
| Advert posted | 28 October 2026 |
| Deadline | 23 November 2026 |
The study behind the job
The advert describes an NIHR-funded study, the first of its kind with national reach, into sudden and unexpected deaths in infancy and childhood. It looks at what bereaved families go through, what they need, and how they fare afterwards, and it will make recommendations for bereavement support and care that feed into national policy and service change.
That description matches QUINTET, a study Southampton announced in April 2025 alongside a BMJ editorial. The advert itself doesn’t name QUINTET, so confirm this with the contacts, but the people, funder and topic line up. According to Southampton’s news release:
- NIHR funded the study with £1.2 million over three years, with recommendations expected in 2027.
- Dr Katherine Hunt and Professor Anne-Sophie Darlington lead it at Southampton, with Dr Emily Cooper of the University of Central Lancashire as a co-investigator.
- Partners include the Universities of Central Lancashire, Birmingham and Surrey, Shooting Star Children’s Hospices, Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, and the charities 2Wish and SUDC UK.
- The methods include a national survey of bereaved parents (described as the largest in England), interviews with health professionals and other carers, and mapping of current support services.
- The background figures: about 3,000 children die each year in England and Wales, and around 30% of those deaths are sudden and unexpected.
If this is QUINTET, the new Research Fellow would be joining in its later stage, when survey and interview data need analysing and the papers and final report get written. That fits the duties in the advert.
Duties
- Qualitative data analysis (likely interview data)
- Quantitative data analysis (likely survey data)
- Writing papers for peer-reviewed journals
- Writing reports for the funder
The advert doesn’t mention recruiting participants or collecting data, which supports the view that this is an analysis and writing post. Bereavement research is emotionally heavy even at the analysis stage. Ask the team what supervision and support they give researchers working with this material.
Requirements
| Essential criteria (from the advert) | How to show it |
|---|---|
| Relevant research experience and/or a PhD or MSc | Name your degree, thesis topic and any research posts, with dates |
| Interest in health, including mental health and wellbeing | Link your past work to bereavement, child health, palliative care or mental health where honest |
| Experience of complex analyses | Name methods and software: e.g. thematic or framework analysis in NVivo, regression in R, SPSS or Stata |
| Experience of writing for publication | List papers, including any you co-wrote or have under review |
| Excellent organisation and communication skills | Give one example of delivering to a deadline in a team |
The THE listing gives no desirable criteria. Southampton publishes a full job description and person specification with each vacancy on its jobs site, so check that for extra criteria before you write.
The requirement is a PhD or MSc plus relevant experience. That opens the door to researchers who haven’t done a doctorate, such as a nurse or psychologist with a research master’s and some publications.
Salary: what pro rata means here
The advertised band, £37,369 to £41,885, is the full-time equivalent. Because the post is part time, you are paid the same share of that figure as your share of full-time hours. The THE listing doesn’t state the hours, so ask. To show how much the hours matter, here are the figures at three example levels (illustration only):
| Example hours (share of full time) | Annual pay at £37,369 FTE | Annual pay at £41,885 FTE |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 FTE | £18,685 | £20,943 |
| 0.6 FTE | £22,421 | £25,131 |
| 0.8 FTE | £29,895 | £33,508 |
For context, the top of the band (£41,885) matches point 32 of the UK higher education national pay spine at 2026/27 values with the employers’ recommended 2% uplift. Another Southampton Research Fellow advert this autumn, on a different project, uses the same £37,369 starting figure and calls the grade Level 4 in Southampton’s Education, Research and Enterprise structure. That is context only; check the grade on this job’s own description.
Visa sponsorship
The advert doesn’t mention visa sponsorship. UK work visa salary rules apply to the pay you actually receive, so a part-time, pro-rata salary can make sponsorship harder. If you need a visa, email the contacts or Southampton HR before you spend time on the application. Applicants who already have the right to work in the UK, including those on a Graduate visa or with settled status, can apply without that question.
About the University of Southampton
Southampton is a Russell Group university on England’s south coast. It was ranked 33rd in Europe in the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2026 and 39th in the world in TIME magazine’s first world university rankings in 2026, according to the university. The advert points to strong REF 2021 results and a top-10% UK position for research impact. It also says Southampton is a Disability Confident employer and holds Athena Swan recognition, and it encourages applications from Black and minority ethnic researchers and disabled people.
Southampton is a port city about an hour and a half by train from London. Rents are below London levels but have risen in recent years. A part-time salary will be tight on its own, so work out your budget before you accept.
How to apply
- Read the full job description: use the apply link on the THE Unijobs listing to reach Southampton’s jobs site, and download the job description and person specification.
- Email the contacts: ask Prof Darlington or Dr Hunt about hours, contract length, start date and whether the post is on the QUINTET study.
- Prepare your CV: put research posts, methods and publications first.
- Write a supporting statement: address each criterion in the person specification in turn.
- Have referee details ready: UK universities normally ask for two referees, one of them your most recent employer or supervisor.
- Submit online: apply on Southampton’s jobs site before the closing date. Southampton adverts usually close at 11:59pm UK time, so check the exact time on the job page.
Deadline
The closing date is 23 November 2026. With less than four weeks from posting to closing, contact the team in the first week if you have questions.
How to write the supporting statement
A UK research fellow application is scored against the person specification. Use the criteria as subheadings, in the same order, and give evidence under each one. A good statement for this job would cover:
- Opening: who you are, your qualification and why child bereavement or family health research matters to your work.
- Research experience: projects, your role and the size of the data sets.
- Analysis: one qualitative and one quantitative example, naming methods and software.
- Writing: papers published or submitted, and any reports written for funders or NHS bodies.
- Sensitivity: experience of research with bereaved, vulnerable or distressed participants, and how you handled it ethically.
- Organisation: an example of working part time or across a team to deadlines.
Sample opening, for illustration only: “I am a children’s nurse with an MSc in health research, and my dissertation used framework analysis on interviews with parents after a neonatal death.” Use your own background and results.
What the selection process looks like
Southampton hasn’t published interview dates for this post. Research fellow interviews in UK universities usually involve a panel of two or three people, often including the principal investigators, and sometimes a short presentation or a data analysis task. Expect questions on how you would analyse interview and survey data together and how you would look after yourself when working with distressing accounts.
Common mistakes
- Not asking about the hours: the actual pay depends on them, and the listing doesn’t say.
- A generic statement: answer the person specification point by point.
- Only one kind of analysis: the post asks for qualitative and quantitative work, so show both.
- No writing evidence: list papers or reports even if you were a co-author.
- Assuming sponsorship: the advert is silent; ask first.
- Ignoring the subject matter: say why this area of research matters to you, and say it plainly.
Who should apply and who shouldn’t
You should apply if you have a PhD, or an MSc plus solid research experience, in nursing, midwifery, psychology, public health, social work or a related field, and you can analyse both interview and survey data. It suits people who want part-time research work alongside clinical practice, study or caring responsibilities.
You probably shouldn’t apply if you need full-time pay to live on or a guaranteed visa, or if you have little analysis experience. Students who want to start a research career should look first at funded study; our guide to scholarships for African students lists funded master’s routes.
Similar health research jobs to compare
| Role | Institution and location | Contract | Salary as advertised | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Fellow, School of Health Sciences | University of Southampton, UK | Fixed term, part time | £37,369 to £41,885 pro rata | 23 November 2026 |
| Senior Research Fellow in AI Applied to Genomic Medicine | University of Southampton, UK | Fixed term, full time | £46,970 to £49,798 | 18 November 2026 |
| Post-Doctoral Associate, Public Health Research Center | NYU Abu Dhabi, UAE | Full time | Not stated | 12 November 2026 |
| Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine | University of Hong Kong | Temporary, full time | Competitive | 21 November 2026 |
FAQs about the Southampton Research Fellow, Health Sciences job
What is the salary for the Southampton Research Fellow in Health Sciences?
£37,369 to £41,885 a year pro rata. Because the job is part time, you receive a share of that figure in line with your hours.
Do I need a PhD for this research fellow job?
No. The advert asks for relevant research experience and/or a PhD or MSc, so a research master’s with strong experience can qualify.
When is the deadline for the University of Southampton Research Fellow job?
Applications close on 23 November 2026.
Does the University of Southampton sponsor visas for this post?
The advert doesn’t say. Ask the contacts or HR before applying, since visa salary rules look at your actual part-time pay.
Sources and updates
I checked this job on 29 October 2026 against the Times Higher Education Unijobs listing 417025, which gives the salary, duties, criteria, contacts and closing date. Study background comes from the University of Southampton’s April 2025 news release on QUINTET. Ranking figures come from Southampton’s January 2026 rankings news. The pay spine comparison uses 2026/27 spine values with the employers’ 2% recommendation, and the Level 4 note comes from a separate Southampton Research Fellow advert on jobs.ac.uk. The listing does not give the hours, contract end date, start date or visa position. If those are published or the deadline moves, I will update this page.
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