Senior Strategy Advisor

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

UK CORI Senior Strategy Advisor

Salary: £43,116
Grade: Band E
Hours: Full time, job share or part time (minimum 0.8 FTE)
Contract Type: Fixed Term, 12 months
Location: Polaris House, Swindon (Hybrid working available which will include travel to the office at least once a week)

Close date: 6 May

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of work that will have a wide, system level impact on research in the UK. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is hiring a senior strategy advisor for the UK Committee on Research Integrity (UK CORI). UK CORI operates independently of UKRI, working across the research system to promote and drive research integrity. However, the UK CORI secretariat is based within the UKRI strategy team focusing on research culture and environment.

About the role

You will provide strategic and committee support to UK CORI, reporting to the Policy & Committee Lead, and working closely with committee members to help ensure the committee fulfils its role. Offering a mix of opportunities, this role will appeal to someone with both committee and policy experience. We work with people at all levels of seniority and across a spectrum of roles, all of whom are committed to maintaining and improving honesty, transparency, rigour, accountability, care and respect in research. Further information on the committee is available at ukcori.org

Purpose

Working with the rest of the team, the postholder will support the committee to meet its objectives. Current priorities include: delivering the committee's annual statement on research integrity, supporting a cross-sector working group on preventing poor research practice and misconduct, and developing potential indicators of research integrity.

Research integrity is fundamental to all research, so the postholder will need to be responsive to emerging and changing priorities. You will also work closely with teams across UKRI to cultivate a dynamic, diverse and all-encompassing system of R&I that is an integral part of society, giving everyone the opportunity to participate and to benefit.

Key responsibilities

You will:

• Be the main point of contact for committee members, providing information and support for them regarding their roles, advice on procedural and other matters, and contributing to the delivery of their work plan.
• Manage committee responsibilities related to formal and informal meetings, including the shaping and preparation of agendas, papers, and chair's briefs, as well as drafting minutes and progressing actions.
• Build and maintain relationships with committee members, individuals, and groups across the research system, leading defined activities to help gather information and/or inform the committee's work.
• Support planning and project management within the team, taking responsibility for management of specific project areas, and supporting successful delivery of the committee.
• Contribute to the collation and analysis of evidence, and lead defined activities within this, for example to support working groups or development of the committee's annual statement.
• Support senior leadership within the committee and team, for example by writing briefings and contributing to speeches.
• Line manage the UK CORI Strategy Advisor.

Key criteria for shortlisting and interview

Essential

• Policy experience: Experience working in research and innovation policy, strategy, and/or a funding landscape, and an ability to draw together and present reasonable conclusions from a wide range of evidence and data.
• Committee experience: Previous experience working for a committee, board, or similar entity, including drafting agendas, chair's briefs, minutes, as well as keeping and progressing actions.
• Project management: Experience of managing projects with the ability to work independently and lead on specific pieces of work, demonstrating good organisational skills and attention to detail. Organised, able to deliver to deadline but flexible to changing priorities while still driving things forward.
• Stakeholder management: Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with colleagues at all levels to achieve progress on objectives and shared interests. Experience of leading defined activities, and supporting wider and/or larger scale programmes, such as convening sector-wide and expert discussions.
• Written communication skills: Strong and effective writing, producing high quality, concise papers, drawing on evidence to set out compelling arguments and justifications for recommendations suitable for a range of internal and external audiences, including senior leaders.
• Keen collaborator: Work as an effective teammate, demonstrating an ability to scope, plan and prioritise own work and the work of others, including under pressure. Experience of working to deadline to deliver project and programme outcomes, including adjusting as changing situations dictate, demonstrating an ability to act even when details are not clear.

Other key information

The research integrity team works flexibly and takes advantage of a hybrid way of working, with the team split between UKRI's London and Swindon offices. We balance working from home and regular days in the office to support the committee's activities. The postholder will need to be available to travel to committee related meetings across the UK; these meetings are planned well in advance.

For further information about the role, please contact Rebecca Veitch, Head of research integrity at rebecca.veitch@ukri.org.

About UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

UKRI launched in April 2018, UKRI is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Our organisation brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England, which is responsible for supporting research and knowledge exchange at higher education institutions in England, and the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK. Together we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. More information can be found at www.ukri.org .

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI .

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

How we support EDI in the workforce

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ' How we support EDI in the workforce '.

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

How to apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the 'experience' section of the application.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion - a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.