Research Director - Analysis
This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.
Research Director - Analysis
Application Deadline: 12 May 2024
Department: Public Policy & Global
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: London, UK
Description
Role: Research Director
Location: London (Hybrid/Flexible working)
Salary: GBP Dependant on Experience
Reporting to: Director of Analysis
Department: Public Policy & Global - Analysis
Contract: Full Time - Flexible Working on offer
Overview of the role:
Work in a fast-paced, high-profile position that is intellectually demanding, often politically sensitive and which involves securing and maintaining productive relationships with funders, clients (primarily government, third sector and media), delivery partners and colleagues across all organisational levels.
Direct the day-to-day management and delivery of projects assigned to you, displaying strong decision-making, interpersonal and project management skills. You will lead analysts specialising in inferential statistics or data science. The analysis is mainly of survey data, administrative data, or linked data, and involves analysis of patterns, trends, relationships, predictions, and segmentation.
Support our diversification and growth through identifying new analysis opportunities that align with our strategy ('Making Life Better: Having impact through social research'), and through leading on our response to invitations to tender and grant funding applications assigned to you.
Play a leading role in further developing and assuring the Analysis Unit's analytical capabilities and processes, through standard setting, quality assurance, line management, driving process improvement, through learning and supporting the learning of others.
Contribute to the strategic direction and profile of NatCen's Analysis Unit and selected NatCen-wide initiatives, raising the profile of NatCen as a leading provider of high-quality, data-driven insights that make sure the public's voice and experience help inform policy and change.
What you will do...
Project directorship
• Acting as project director for assigned analysis projects, navigating conflicting deadlines and ensuring that we deliver the specified analysis work within time and budget.
• Ensuring that we seek to continuously maximise the usefulness and impact of our work, while proactively anticipating and managing how it will be interpreted by policymakers and the media.
• Ensuring that NatCen's quality standards, information security standards and effective management of risk is upheld throughout our work.
Business development
• Lead on the research design, proposal writing, financial costing and staff resourcing for research grant applications and bids for commissioned work.
• Manage client and partner relationships, ensuring a thorough understanding of clients and partner needs and priorities throughout our work and proactively identifying further opportunities.
• Close working and networking with other analytical professions and non-analysts across a range of organisations, including Government bodies, academia and the third sector.
Research excellence
• Carry out quality assurance of analytical outputs, ensuring technical accuracy.
• Ensure that written reports, presentations, and pitches are of high quality and are delivered in a tone suitable for the intended audience, translating technical information into clear insights.
• Lead the enhancement of our methods expertise and track-record, through formal training, self-directed reading, and through occasional hands-on analysis.
Analysis Unit leadership
• Contribute to the leadership of the Analysis Unit through line management and through supporting the professional development of others through coaching and training.
• Deliver continual improvements of how we oversee and direct analysis projects, of how we create, store, and manage code across projects, and of our quality assurance processes.
• Contribute to the Analysis Unit's strategic direction and team culture.
To perform any other reasonable duties that NatCen may require that are consistent with the broad nature of the job.
What you will need...
Essential:
• Postgraduate degree focused on quantitative research methods, or equivalent experience.
• Substantial experience in the design and delivery of analysis of large survey data.
• Advanced skills in using R for analysis, or strong commitment to achieving advanced skills.
• Strong track-record of positive internal and external working relationships.
• Proven ability to lead teams in design and delivery of impactful, policy-relevant, research.
• A track-record of successfully navigating multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Evidence of excellent report-writing and presentation skills for a variety of audiences.
• Knowledge and expertise relating to two or more social policy areas.
• Thorough understanding of the relationship between research, policy and practice.
• Dedication to providing insights into the reality of people's lives and society in the UK.
• Commitment to continuous improvement and proactivity in own development.
Desirable:
• Demonstrable track record of winning grant funding and/or bids for commissioned research.
• Substantial experience in the design and delivery of analysis involving administrative data, smartphone data, wearable data, geodata, social media data and/or data linkage.
• Experience of management of risk (incl. safe use of data) and budget management.
• Advanced skills in SQL, Python, SPSS, Stata, and/or data visualisation software.
• Champion of processes that enable effective code reuse and management.
• Line management experience.
What you'll get...
As well as a competitive salary, an excellent working environment (including a home/office hybrid working environment), you will be working for the largest independent social research organisation in the UK. We are proud of the benefits we offer our employees which include:
- 25 days holiday (plus 8 bank holidays) and flexible working
- Generous company pension scheme
- Life insurance and health cash plan
- Cycle to Work scheme and season ticket loan
- Career development, professional subscriptions support and mentoring support from industry-leading experts.