We are looking for a project manager and researcher to work on the KWF (Dutch Cancer Foundation) funded project “HitnRun: A mobile game to help youth quit smoking in a social peer context”. This project aims to further develop and test a mobile game (HitnRun) to support smoking cessation in adolescents and young adults (aged 16-25, hereafter referred to as youth). The game will target theoretical mechanisms of change underlying smoking behavior (i.e., inhibitory control, future orientation, peer processes, and monitoring) and will be further developed based on design thinking principles to amplify engagement processes. This entails that a participatory design approach will be employed with smoking youth, with a cross-disciplinary design process with scientists collaborating from the outset with stakeholders and gaming industry partners. This mobile game will represent the first “smoking cessation intervention in your pocket” that can be played when feeling the urge to smoke. Previous prototype versions of HitnRun have shown promising results by reducing smoking behavior in youth. The goal is to further develop and test HitnRun so that it is ready for widespread implementation after this project.

You will be embedded in the Communication Science section of The Technology, Human and Institutional Behaviour group (HIB) of the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences at the University of Twente (UT). The project will be conducted in close collaboration with the Developmental Psychopathology programme of the Behavioural Science Institute of the Radboud University (RU),  the department of Youth of the Trimbos Institute (TI) and the Games for Emotional and Mental Health (GEMH) Lab. The project will be supervised by dr. Maartje Luijten (RU), prof. Isabela Granic (RU; GEMH Lab), dr. Hanneke Scholten (UT; GEMH Lab), and prof. Marloes Kleinjan (TI). A PhD-student will also be appointed for the project at the RU. For the development of the game intervention you will collaborate closely with game developers, stakeholders and the target group of smoking youth.  

The challenge

In this position, you will

• Coordinate the project for the first 2,5 years. This will entail activities like 1) being the contact person for all collaborators and partners in this project; 2) setting up and preparing project meetings; 3) ethics, privacy procedures and data management; 4) acquiring additional funding.
• Develop – together the PhD student and the full team - the game intervention, in close collaboration with game developers, stakeholders and the target group of smoking youth.
• Be responsible for the creation and management of a large-scale network of partners, such as schools, implementation partners and other stakeholders.

Candidates we seek

• Are highly motivated, positive and, independent project managers and researchers with a PhD degree in psychology, behavioral sciences, health sciences, communication science, pedagogical and educational sciences, or any related discipline.
• Have demonstrable interest and/or experience in research project management tasks, such as coordinating large scale projects, creating and managing network of stakeholders, handling of ethics and data management procedures, etc. 
• Have demonstrable interest and/or experience in interdisciplinary collaboration between science, design, and end-users.
• Have an aptitude for developing new skills and knowledge base, i.e., game design, participatory design etc.
• Like to think creatively and out-of-the-box.
• Have good team spirit, excellent organizational skills and an interdisciplinary attitude.
• Have excellent social and communicative skills, both within academia and in relation to societal partners.
• Like to work in an internationally oriented environment where many cultures meet.
• Have excellent written and spoken proficiency in Dutch and English.
• Have interest and/or experience with intervention research or related areas.
• Experience with and positive attitude towards open and transparent science principles.

The UT provides a dynamic and international environment, combining the benefits of academic research with a topic of high industrial relevance, excellent working conditions, an exciting scientific environment and a green and lively campus. We offer:

• A post-doc position ‘project management & research’ (0,4 fte) for 2,5 years.
• Full status as an employee at the UT, including pension and health care benefits.
• Gross salary: ranging from € 3.746,- to € 5.127,- per month, plus holiday allowance (8%) and end-of-year bonus (8.3%).
• Excellent facilities for professional and personal development.
• Good secondary conditions, in accordance with the collective labour agreement CAO-NU for Dutch universities.
• A green campus with lots of sports facilities and an international scientific community.

The HIB-department is one of  four departments at the faculty. The department is committed to design, evaluation and implementation of and teaching about comprehensive technology-based solutions supporting people in behaviour that promotes their health, safety, resilience, connectedness and joy. The HIB-department comprises research groups of Communication Science; Psychology, Health & Technology; Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety; and Public Administration. For more information on these groups, see: https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/organization/departments-institutes/#department-clusters