Researcher Application Pack 2015 (RES1502)
About the Institute for Government
The Institute for Government is an independent charity dedicated to helping make government in the UK more effective. Working directly with leading politicians from all parties in Westminster and with senior civil servants in Whitehall over the five years since it was established, the Institute has provided evidence-based advice to help them do their jobs better.
The Institute is a well-respected voice, both in the UK and internationally. Its work draws on best practice from around the world. It has developed a well-attended programme of events and seminars, alongside its wide-ranging programme of research, which help to shape the future of government.
The Institute’s current focus is on:
- Improving the accountability of government both to Parliament and the public
- Supporting potential ministers from all parties to be better prepared for taking on these challenging roles
- Strengthening the way in which policies are developed and implemented inside and outside Whitehall
- Encouraging the Civil Service to adopt more effective ways of running itself
- Helping government departments to adopt better ways of interacting with the wider public and private sectors
- Supporting UK government to adapt to new democratic structures, ranging from localpolice and crime commissioners to the evolving nature of the devolved administrations.
Our work is driven by four core values:
Innovative – we will push at the boundaries of current knowledge, exploring and experimenting with diverse approaches to find the best solution.
Rigorous – we will be thorough and precise in our method and aspire to produce the highest quality data and services.
Impartial – we will be needs led, neutral and politically non-aligned.
Trusted – we will earn the confidence of all those we work with, being open and challenging as well as a trusted guardian of knowledge.
Opportunity: Researcher
As a Researcherat the Institute for Government, you will be a core member of theresearch and learning team. You will work with other Institute staff and external partners to deliver the Institute’s research and learning programme, and will be expected to lead specific project modules, as appropriate.
Projects will require taking a fresh, evidence-based look at a range of issues andunderstanding the problems facing government,developing innovative solutions to these problems and influencing senior decision makers toundertake improvements.
ManyInstitute projects combine traditional research methods with practitioner and expertworkshops and stimulating public and private events. The Institute’s projects usually aim togenerate insights while simultaneously allowing senior leaders themselves to explore theissues and generate their own solutions.
Examples of recent projects include:
- A Programme for Effective Governmentsought to influence politicians ahead of the general election, to persuade them that effective government is important and offer constructive ideas on how to do it. Using public polling to help back up our ideas, we set out a series of recommendations as to how parties could best meet their goals in government. We produced a short report, a video and a series of infographics. The project involved extensive engagement with political audiences at party conferences and through events including a reception in the House of Commons and keynote speeches at the Institute.
- Policy Implementationexplored four case studies of policies from the last 15 years. Through roundtables and interviews with the people who were involved in making the policies happen, we built up a picture of what made them successful – and where the challenges were. Looking across these cases we developed set of lessons about how to manage policy implementation, an area of persistent weakness in government. We have used this work in presentations and workshops to help civil servants in Whitehall change the way they view their role in implementation and to prepare potential ministers and their advisers for delivering their agendas in the next Parliament.
- Whitehall Monitorprovides a data-driven view of the size, shape and performance of government in the UK. We produce an annual reportandmore frequent blogpostswhich take government data on everything from staff numbers, department finances and government reshuffles and turns them into charts and graphs to explain what’s going on. We aim to make government improve the way it publishes data as well as improving how we use data to understand government. Over the last year, we’ve moved Whitehall Monitor towards being a ‘data journalism’ project, turning around analysis quickly as data is published and experimenting with different forms – from tweets to live-blogs– to communicate our messages.
Further information on our projects can be found on the IfG website:
The output of your work will include written reports and discussion papers, presentations, seminars and other events, and learning and development activities. You will be expected to work closely with senior stakeholders and other Institute staff, ensuring that our activities are responsive to the needs of senior people in government and Parliament, and that project outputs are delivered in a timely fashion and suitable format and style for specific targeted audiences.
For this role, you will need to have strong analytical skills and the ability to manage relationships with senior stakeholders. Knowledge and experience of the workings of UK government is highly desirable, as is knowledge of organisational change and professional development practice. The ability to use a variety of research methods, to analyse data, and to present findings in a visually compelling way would all be major pluses.
Outline Job Description
Job Title:Researcher
Reports to:Programme Director / Senior Researcher
Responsible for:Supporting delivery of Institute research and learning projects
Major tasks:
- Conduct qualitative andquantitative analysis and research to build an understanding of public management and policy problems and their causal drivers
- Produce high-quality written reports and presentations to challenging deadlines
- Work with the Events Team to organisepublic events, seminars and meetings, and present project findings and recommendationsin these forums
- Assist in thedevelopment and delivery oftailoredworkshops and toolkits to aidsenior decision makers in government
- Build strong working relationships with government departments and agencies, and other organisations in the academic, public and commercial sectors
- Work closely with other Institute staff to maximise the impact of our insights on how senior decision makers act.
Key contacts:
- Other Research and Learning staff
- Events and communications teams within the Institute
- Senior Fellows and Associates of the Institute
- Whitehall and Westminster world (MPs and senior civil servants)
- Members of staff from relevant ‘think tanks’, academia and the private sector
- Public policy commentators including journalists
Person Specification
Job Title: Researcher
Reports to: Programme Director / Senior Researcher
E = ESSENTIAL D = DESIRABLE
CRITERIA / STANDARD / E/DExperience / A degree of 2:1 or above from a UK university, or international equivalent / E
One or more years of relevant work experience / D
Experience of producing reports and/or presentations to a publishable standard / D
Experience of working in central or local government, strategy consulting, a think tank or similar / D
Experience of organising roundtables, workshops and public events / D
Post-graduate research experience in a relevant discipline / D
Knowledge / Knowledge of government and/or public policy / E
Knowledge of management and/or public administration issues / D
Knowledge of organisational change and/or learning and development techniques / D
Skills / Ability to produce accurate work to tight deadlines under pressure / E
Ability to communicate clearly in writing and orally to staff members and stakeholders / E
Strong analytical abilitiesto understand problems and causal drivers / E
Ability to think creatively and to develop radical solutions to problems / E
Qualitative skills, such as conducting semi-structured interviews and running focus groups / D
Quantitative skills, such as the ability to use Microsoft Excel to recognise and present stories using data / D
Attitude / Comfort with working in a rapidly evolving working environment / E
Commitment to the Institute’s values, aims and objectives, including the highest possible levels of professional integrity / E
A passion for public service improvement and personal and organisational development
Being proactive in your work and taking opportunities as they arise / E
E
Information for all applicants
Employer:Institute for Government
Location:2 Carlton Gardens, SW1Y 5AA
Who can apply:Only applicants who meet the relevant skills and experience as set out in the job description and person specification.
Applicants must be: i) from within the European Economic Area (EEA) and have an entitlement to work in the UK or ii) already hold a relevant work visa.
TimetableThe expected selection process timetable is:
Closing date: 18th February 2015, Noon
Interviews will be held in March 2015
Start dates:The start date will be as soon as possible after offer of appointment.
Terms:Successful candidates will join on a permanent contract and will be subject to a three-month probationary period.
Salary:Starting salary £25,000 - £32,500 per annum, depending on experience.
Benefits:The Institute has a pension scheme which you will be eligible to join once your probation period is complete. The contribution is a minimum of 5% from the employee and a fixed 10% contribution from the employer.
Death in servicelife assurance of 4 x salary is given to all staff.
Working hours:You will normally work a 5-day week of 37.5 hours (9am – 5.30pm with a one hour lunch break) but you will, as the occasion requires, work outside these hours. The Institute is willing to consider part-time working, but this must fit with the needs of the Institute.
Annual leave:For a full-time post your annual leave allowance will be 30 days in addition to 8 days of bank and public holiday. Annual leave will be pro-rated for non-full-time posts. The Institute’s leave year runs from September to August.
Equal opportunities:All job applicants and employees will receive equal treatment regardless of sex, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, civil partnership, gender reassignment, age, disability, or religious beliefs.
The Institute for Government collects equal opportunities monitoring information with applications. This information is anonymised and is not given to those involved in the recruitment process. It is used only for monitoring purposes and to help us better understand how we, as an employer, can ensure equality of opportunity for all.
Please return completed applications to: /Alternatively please post applications to: / IfG Recruitment
Institute for Government
2 Carlton Gardens
London
SW1Y 5AA
Application closing date: / Wednesday 18th February, Noon
NB: we would be grateful if you could please complete and return our equal opportunities monitoring form, which is available on our website. This form is for monitoring purposes only and should be emailed separately to your application. Please send monitoring forms to:
Contacts
If any of this information is unclear, or you want to discuss the opportunities in more detail please contact us on: and leave your contact details.
Further information at:
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