Founded in 1853, the University of Melbourne is Australia’s #1 university and is consistently ranked amongst the leading universities in the world. We are proud of our people, our commitment to research and teaching excellence, and our global engagement.

About the Centre for Youth Mental Health

In January 2009 the University of Melbourne established a new Centre for Youth Mental Health (CYMH) within the Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences, where the academic and professional staff who are provided to Orygen are now based.  All NHMRC and ARC Grants to be used for Orygen activities are managed within CYMH. 

Orygen delivers cutting-edge research, policy development, innovative clinical services, and evidence-based training and education for the mental health workforce to ensure that there is continuous improvement in the treatments and care provided to young people experiencing mental ill-health.

About the Role

A Research Assistant is required to work on the Guanfacine extended-release Randomised controlled trial for Adolescents with problematic Cannabis use Experiences (GRACE) study. The GRACE study aims to explore the effectiveness of a medication called guanfacine extended-release (guanfacine XR) in reducing cannabis use in young people with cannabis use disorder, compared with placebo.

In a typical week at work, you may:

• Liaise with YSAS clinical staff, and with young people and their families to recruit participants into the GRACE study.
• Interview participants using a battery of standardised clinical assessment instruments.
• Assist with the implementation of the study at YSAS services across Melbourne.

An exciting opportunity to build competence and confidence in presenting the projects, study methods, analysis and results to academic and community audiences.

About You

You are a confident communicator with an ability to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders and work collaboratively with a research team. You are highly organised with excellent time management skills, and can simultaneously work on multiple tasks independently and be flexible and responsive to changing priorities.

Ideally, you will further have:

• An undergraduate degree with honours in the behavioural or social sciences and/or related discipline, with subsequent experience.
• A strong interest in youth-onset mental health and substance use disorders and interventions and an understanding of psychiatric diagnoses and disorders. 
• Demonstrated ability to conduct interviews and interact with young people with mental health and substance use problems.

To ensure the University continues to provide a safe environment for everyone, this position requires the incumbent to hold a current and valid Working with Children Check.

Benefits of Working with Us

In addition to having the opportunity to grow and be challenged, and to be part of a vibrant campus life, our people enjoy a range of rewarding benefits:

• Flexible working arrangements and generous personal, parental and cultural leave.
• Competitive remuneration, 17% super, salary packaging and leave loading.
• Free and subsidised health and wellbeing services, and access to fitness and cultural clubs.
• Discounts on a wide range of products and services including Myki cards and Qantas Club.
• Career development opportunities and 25% off graduate courses for staff and their immediate families.

To find out more, please visit https://about.unimelb.edu.au/careers/staff-benefits.

Be Yourself

At UoM, we value the unique backgrounds, experiences and contributions that each person brings to our community, and we encourage and celebrate diversity. Indigenous Australians, those identifying as LGBTQIA+, females, people of all ages and culturally diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply for our roles. Our aim is to create a workforce that reflects the community in which we live.

Join Us!

If you feel this role is right for you, please submit your application including a brief cover letter, your resume and your responses against the selection criteria* (found in the Position Description attached) for the role.

*For information to help you with compiling short statements to answer the selection criteria and competencies, please go to http://about.unimelb.edu.au/careers/selection-criteria

Should you require any reasonable adjustments with the recruitment process, please contact the Talent Acquisition team at [email protected] using the subject line: Research Assistant - GRACE Study enquiry via EthicalJobs.

Due to the impacts of COVID-19, we are currently prioritising applications with current valid working rights in Australia and candidates who are not affected by travel restrictions. Please see the latest updates to Australia's immigration and border arrangements: https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/