About the position

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences - Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences invites candidates to apply for a three-year scholarship position focused on research on service innovation in patient care for children and adolescents with autism. Depending on the department's needs, as well as the candidate's competence and wishes, the position can be converted into a four-year position with a 25% teaching obligation.

The purpose of the research fellowship position is that the person hired will complete a research training program leading to a completed doctoral degree. The candidate must apply for admission to the PhD program Innovation in Service Provision in the Public and Private Sectors (INTOP) within three months, and an agreement on admission to the PhD program must be in place within six months of commencement. The candidate is expected to actively participate in INTOP's activities.

The candidate will be affiliated with the Department of Psychology and the research group for clinical and developmental psychology. In addition to INTOP, these environments constitute a valuable resource for the PhD project.

The place of work is Campus Lillehammer.

Contact information:

• Principal lecturer Karin Boson, telephone: +47 62 43 00 55, e-mail: karin.boson@inn.no
• Head of INTOP Marit Engen, phone: +47 61 28 81 07, e-mail: marit.engen@inn.no

About the project

The PhD project will focus on service innovation in mental health care for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within Norwegian child and adolescent psychiatry (BUP). The main idea is to follow the further development of a model for deliberate practice for therapists working with children and adolescents with ASD and their families, based on an evidence-based, modular psychotherapy (SEBASTIEN) that is already being tested in Norway.

The project will follow a structured innovation process for health services, which includes needs assessment, co-creation and prototyping, testing and further development. There will be a particular focus on: 1) identifying and concretizing core skills that therapists need to work effectively with children and adolescents with ASD, and 2) further developing and piloting a training model for these skills based on targeted skills training and a neurodiversity-affirming value system. The goal is for therapists to systematically and purposefully practice key interpersonal skills in therapy with autistic children/adolescents and their families.

The project aims to contribute to a transformation of the services through user participation, skills focus and iterative prototyping of a new training program, which will eventually result in a scalable and sustainable model for therapist training in BUP. The project thus integrates clinical psychology and psychotherapy research with service innovation in the public sector. Thematically, the project is highly relevant for finding solutions to societal challenges related to the increasing prevalence of ASD, pressure on mental health services and the risk of long-term exclusion from education and work. Developing a feasible training model for therapists responds directly to policy goals of improving accessibility, quality and efficiency of mental health services for neurodivergent children and adolescents.

The project is academically important because it (1) addresses a clear knowledge gap in Norwegian BUP regarding the implementation of systematic skills training for therapists, (2) further develops knowledge about therapist competence in working with children and adolescents with ASD, and (3) further develops and pilots a deliberate practice-based training model in a neurodevelopmental context. The project is closely integrated with the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority funded RCT study "Empowering Autistic Youth with Personalized Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Empower Autistics)" at the University of Innlandet and Innlandet Hospital HF.

The overall aim of the study is to develop and test a service innovation by co-creating a skills training program for therapists working with autistic youth and their families within Norwegian BUP.

The sub-goals of the PhDproject are to:

• identify and describe core skills necessary for effective psychotherapy with children/adolescents with ASD
• create a neurodiversity-affirming, skills training program for therapists based on the core skills identified, and
• generate new knowledge about stakeholder perspectives and social acceptability of ASD-related treatment and training models for therapists and other health professionals in the public sector.

Both qualitative and quantitative methods are expected to be used in the project. The candidate will have the opportunity to influence the choice of methods, as well as theoretical and empirical approaches. We encourage candidates to describe this in more detail in the project outline to be attached to the application. We are looking for candidates who are highly motivated for research in clinical psychology, psychotherapy, innovation and targeted skills training.

Qualifications

The appointee must qualify for admission to the university's Ph.program Innovation in Service Provision in the Public and Private Sectors (INTOP).

You must have the following qualifications:

• A master's degree or equivalent education in psychology, (special) education, mental health or family therapy relevant to the position and the project described above.
• The master's degree should normally amount to 120 credits, including a master's thesis of at least 30 credits.
• Strong academic background from previous studies. The average grade should normally be B or better from the master's program or equivalent education.
• It is an advantage if applicants have a background in clinical psychology (cand.psychol) and/or have relevant experience from therapeutic work with children and adolescents with ASD.

If you have education from abroad, you must attach documentation of recognition of foreign higher education from Direktoratet for høyere utdanning og kompetanse. If the requested documentation cannot be provided by the application deadline, a similar assessment can be made by the University of Inland Norway in connection with the recruitment process.

Further emphasis will be placed on the applicant's:

• professional and personal prerequisites for completing a doctoral education within the employment period
• ability to collaborate on research, publishing and any teaching tasks, as well as to work independently and purposefully
  ability to work in a structured manner and have a high work capacity
• documented solid theoretical understanding and interest

Language:

• Good oral and written skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language equivalent to a minimum of B2 competence is a requirement, as the fellow will meet Norwegian children and adolescents with autism and their families, as well as develop a therapist skills program in a Norwegian context.
• Good oral and written skills in English are necessary, as the articles in the doctoral thesis can advantageously be written in English for publication in international journals and presentations in an international context. Applicants from non-English speaking countries must document their English language skills in accordance with the Additional Regulations for Admission to the PhD Program at INN University.program at INN University.

When assessing and ranking qualified applicants, emphasis will be placed on:

• the quality of the project description
• documented independent research and development work or experience relevant to the project

It is mandatory to attach a project proposal of 2000 words (see section "How to apply" below).

The assessment of which candidate is best qualified will be a comprehensive assessment of education, experience and personal suitability, as well as motivation and other qualification requirements as formulated in the advertisement text.

The position and work tasks must be carried out in accordance with applicable laws and regulations for government employees, including the Act on Control of Exports of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology, etc. Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, come into conflict with the criteria in the latter Act, may not take up the position. Necessary approvals must be maintained throughout the employment relationship.

We offer

• Supportive working environment at a developing university.
• Opportunity for professional development in an exciting academic research environment.
• Salary in position code 1017 scholarship holder according to the Norwegian National Salary Regulations.
• Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (https://www.spk.no/), including good pension and insurance schemes.

For more information about INN as an employer, see here.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0FVnszhpJY

How to apply

Relevant applications will be reviewed by a review committee. The application and all attachments should be submitted electronically and should include:

• The applicant must submit a project outline with a progress plan (max. 2000 words) explaining how the research work will be carried out, highlighting academic relevance, challenges and opportunities within the project. The project outline is an important part of the evaluation of the applicant and the applicant must demonstrate how the project will lead to a completed PhD degree within three/four years. The project outline must be written in Norwegian. The successful candidate will, in collaboration with the supervisor, create a complete project outline that will form the basis for assessment of admission to the PhD program.
• Letter of application with a brief overview of the applicant's research interests and motivation for applying for the position.
• CV with an overview of education and experience (to be completed in Jobbnorge's application form).
• Transcripts and diplomas (A certified English translation of all educational documents is required unless the documents are in Norwegian.) Norwegian applicants are requested to upload via the diploma portal, choose to show study results for degrees and courses.
• Copy of the master's thesis (in pdf)
• Other work that is considered relevant to the application.
• Names and contact information for two references.

Attachments should be uploaded as separate files. If the attachments exceed 30 MB in total, they must be compressed before uploading. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all attachments are uploaded. Documents submitted after the application deadline will not be taken into account in the evaluation.

Information about you may be made public even if you have requested not to be included in the applicant list. If your request is not granted, you will be notified accordingly.

Diversity and affirmative action

INN believes that inclusion and diversity are a strength. We want employees with different skills, professional combinations, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving. We will make arrangements for employees who need it. Relevant adaptations may, for example, be technical aids, adaptation of furniture or changes to routines, work tasks and working hours.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, gaps in their CVs or immigrant backgrounds, we will invite at least one applicant in each of these groups to an interview. You must meet certain requirements to be given preferential treatment in this way. You can read more at the employer portal.

We encourage you to check in the job applicant portal if you have a disability, gaps in your CV or an immigrant background. The checkboxes in the job seeker portal form the basis for anonymized statistics that all government agencies report in their annual reports.