JOB DESCRIPTION
Job title: Social Innovation Drive - Senior Research Associate P/T
Grade: 40
Area: Research
Line manager: Mary Hodgson
Purpose of role
The Social Innovation Drive Senior Research Associate will be The Young Foundation research lead on our EU-funded Social Innovation Drive programme and lead our research work on social innovation. The role will be responsible for the successful delivery of our SI Drive workpackage and will require regular EU travel.
Duties of the role
The main responsibilities of this role include:
1. Management of the Young Foundation’s work in the SI Drive programme (http://www.si-drive.eu/) and all of its work strands, ensuring that the key outputs are delivered to agreed deadlines and budgets, to the highest standards.
2. Delivery of the SI Drive research and any other research on social innovation as requested. This will include personally delivering work as well as managing the work of others.
3. Management of the relationship between The Young Foundation and the other European partners on the SI Drive programme; liaising with colleagues to ensure the work appropriately complements and makes connections with other Young Foundation practices and initiatives.
4. Acting as a key public face of the programme, including being responsible for dissemination activities and representing The Young Foundation in different forums including those convened by foundations, academic institutions and government.
5. Building strong contacts with experts both in the UK and internationally, keeping abreast of developments in thinking and evidence in relevant areas, and contributing The Young Foundation perspective to academic and expert debates.
6. Line managing research staff and supporting their work.
7. Travel and overnight stays, especially to EU countries.
8. Any other duties required by the line manager in line with the grade of the post.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Prior experience - essential
Extensive experience in social innovation research obtained in either an academic, think tank or private research centre environment.
Demonstrable experience of managing research projects and teams, and the work of other people.
Demonstrable experience of qualitative research through a postgraduate degree in a relevant subject area or comparable experience gained through work.
Skilled at disseminating to a range of audiences. Track record of publications for academics and policy makers in the field of social innovation theory and practice.
Evidence of having worked in EU research consortia and/ or as part of a cross-institution research team.
Line management of junior staff, or management role of junior researchers on projects.
Evidence of initiative and being a self-starter.
Prior experience - desirable
Previous experience working on EU social innovation research projects.
Experience of research in health and social care or a keen interest in the policy field.
Experience of using the EU Participant Portal and EU grant management processes (e.g. financial reporting etc.). Experience of EU grant development and preparation.
Experience of using NVivo and SPSS, or other CAQDAS packages.
How to apply
Deadline for applications is 9am on the 15th July.
Please send your CV and covering letter to Please use the job title of the post you are applying for in the subject line of your email.