Hi all
I recently got a job that I can move into when my PhD is done, but I'm unsure if I've bitten off more than I can chew! It's a SENIOR research fellowship, and I'd be moving into it as soon as I've submitted my thesis. I've had no experience of research apart from my PhD and wondered what your opinions were on whether I should take the job or not. Great for the career, maybe not on the stress levels...any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated!

I'm not sure what a 'senior research fellowship' involves or means to be honest, but I imagine that having a PhD will make you qualified to do research at a 'senior' level. I mean, research fellowships are given to PhD students, so a senior one is just a way of distinguishing them from that, or am I wrong?
Either way, well done on being offered the job. I am sure that they have offered you it because you have what it takes. I think any job you take is going to be stressful and I would go for it!

Clementine,

Congratulations for your landing a job before even reaching the finish line of your PhD. This is a dream come true in these hard economic times.
To help you with your concerns and aprehension about your future job and title, you may want to read two books about "Excellence" for early
career scientists. You cannot miss them at http://bit.ly/KYax74 because they are Open Access (free legal download).
I wish you all the best.

In my field/unis I've been based...
Research assistant = pre-PhD + higher
Research associate/fellow = post doc + higher
Senior research associate/fellow = experienced post doc + higher

I would kind of assume that a senior research associate/fellow would have, in addition to their research plan, teaching duties and PhD supervision duties. I would strongly recommend re-checking the job description and seeing the what the expectations are in this regard. If they are vague then seek clarification. If you don't receive clarification, be suspicious.

Presumably if they offered you the post then your qualifications/experience ticked the boxes. On one hand it could be a fabulous oopportunity to have a lot of independence and responsibility. On the other hand it may involve too much being dumped on you too soon. You'll have to figure out how much you trust the department to be looking out for your needs on top of what they hope to get from you.