- Job Title: Research Officer
- Salary: Competitive
- Contract: Contract
Location: Bristol, London or Sheffield Office with occasional working from home. Travel to other offices on occasions.
Hours: 35 hours per week
Contract: Fixed term, 12-month contract – November 2019 to November 2020
Salary: £30,000 per annum for a full-time role (£33,500 if based in our London Office)
Reports to: Head of Research & Policy
Direct reports: One intern
Deadline for applications: 10am on 16th September 2019.
Interviews to be held: 25th and 26th September 2019.
This role will appeal to you if you enjoy managing a diverse portfolio of commissioned research projects. Our research is delivered by academics, think tank-ers, and community researchers, and we ensure quality and coherence across the research programme. You’ll be liaising with our researchers, helping to get their work published and communicated, and drawing out insights from the whole body of our research to support learning within the organisation as well as our policy development and advocacy work.
Research and evidence are held in high regard at Power to Change, which is why 5% of our endowment is dedicated to research and evaluation. It’s a great environment to work in, contributing knowledge in a genuinely interesting and under-researched area. You’ll be part of a small team – the Research Institute comprises 5 staff – and will have plenty of opportunity to contribute to the future development of our work.
You will be working closely with other like-minded passionate professionals in our organisation to build the profile of a movement that will change the face of the country.
Power to Change is an independent charitable trust that supports community businesses in England, endowed by the National Lottery Community Fund. Our vision is better places through community business. We want to back people to build successful community businesses for the benefit of their local places.
Role purpose:
To support the Head of Research with the management of our research programme and to carry out discrete research or analysis activities
Stakeholders:
- Power to Change colleagues
- Commissioned researchers and research grantees
- Research Associates delivering specific pieces of work for us
- Academics, community business leaders, and others (from e.g. think tanks, central and local government) via our Research Advisory Panel
Key responsibilities:
Project and portfolio management:
- Across our large research programme, support the Head of Research with day-to-day contract and project management
- Commissioning new research projects and overseeing the award of new research grants
- Support the Head of Research with overall portfolio management, such as monitoring spend or arranging research publication schedules
- Ensure projects comply with PtC administrative procedures and carry out administrative tasks such as updating contracts registers and CRM systems
Communication:
- Plan and deliver research dissemination activities, including writing summaries and blogs, presenting findings at conferences or events
Line management:
- Line manage one policy & research intern (Bristol-based)
- Provide ad-hoc assistance to other team members as required.
This job description is issued as a guideline to assist you in your duties, it is not exhaustive. Because of the evolving nature and changing demands of our work this job description may be subject to change. You may, on occasions, be required to undertake additional or other duties within the context of this job description.
Person specification:
What we’re looking for:
- Experience of research management in social or policy research
- 3+ years postgraduate experience
- BA qualification in relevant discipline
- Experience of Microsoft Excel
- Flexible, “can do” attitude
Desired experience:
- MA in social research or related discipline
- An interest in the community or voluntary sector
- Experience of managing budgets
- Experience of using statistical analysis tools
- Experience of Salesforce (Customer Relationship Management system)
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all candidates irrespective of race, age, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or marital or civil partnership status. We will assess all applications against the requirements for this post as detailed in the job description and person specification and ask for names and education history to be removed from applications.
We are Disability Confident Committed, we welcome and respond positively to applications from disabled people. We will meet individual needs throughout the recruitment process, including making any appropriate reasonable adjustments during the interview stage and to our workplace if selected into post to support colleagues with any form of disability. If you meet the minimum requirements for the role and would like a guaranteed interview please email nicolaf@powertochange.org.uk, you do not need to share any details about your disability at this stage.
As a Mindful Employer we recognise that in the UK, people experiencing mental ill health continue to report stigma and discrimination. We are committed to creating a supportive and open culture, where colleagues are able to talk about mental health. We are also committed to ensuring that our employees feel safe in disclosing any mental health conditions and confident that they will be properly supported and offered reasonable adjustments when required.
If you have any questions about how Power to Change is an equal opportunities employer please contact our Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, Edward on edwardw@powertochange.org.uk
