Senior Research Fellow / Designer in Residence

About the collaboration
Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CFT) and Falmouth University are partnering on an innovative participatory research project exploring how embedded creative practice can build organisational capacity for innovation in NHS mental health settings. This role sits at the intersection of design, healthcare innovation, and participatory research, and offers a unique opportunity to generate real world impact while advancing scholarly knowledge.

The opportunity
Working across CFT’s community mental health services and Falmouth University’s research facilities, you will facilitate co design activities with NHS staff and service users while conducting rigorous participatory research into how creative capacity develops in healthcare environments. The post combines hands on design practice (making, prototyping, facilitation) with scholarly inquiry (documentation, analysis, dissemination), contributing to immediate service improvement and longer term evidence for creative approaches to care delivery. The role aligns with CFT’s Clinical Strategy 2025–2030 commitment to integrating creativity and delivering care in non traditional spaces, and with Falmouth University’s mission to deliver experimental, environmental and societal impact through the fusion of creativity and technology.

What you’ll do

We are looking for a designer researcher with excellent design and making skills and a strong grasp of participatory methods. You’re motivated by healthcare innovation, comfortable navigating complex organisations, and confident working with diverse stakeholders—clinicians, researchers, managers and service users. You document practice with care and curiosity and communicate findings clearly to academic and non academic audiences.

Essential experience & skills

 

For further details on the skills/experience required for this role, please see the full job description above.

This is a fixed term position to 31 July 2026, full-time, 35 hours per week. Due to it being a time limited position an immediate start is preferred.

The position will involve working across CFT sites and Falmouth University facilities in Cornwall.  

To apply we are looking to receive a CV and supporting statement plus a portfolio or research dossier highlighting relevant co-design and practice by Sunday 18 January 2026.  

In return for your hard work and commitment, we offer the successful candidate for this role a range of benefits, including:

  

Full details on our employee benefits can be found on our careers page www.falmouth.ac.uk/jobs. Alongside these benefits we offer a first class working environment across our campuses with all the facilities you would expect from a leading University.

 

A successful external candidate for this position would be employed by Falmouth Staffing Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Falmouth University. Employees of Falmouth Staffing Ltd work alongside Falmouth University colleagues in the delivery of Falmouth’s strategic vision and will adopt Falmouth University’s HR policies and procedures in full.

Falmouth University welcomes and encourages job applications from people of all identities and backgrounds, particularly those under-represented and/or marginalised, as it is important we have a diverse range of candidates to consider.