Description
UK Research and Innovation
Salary: £56,745
Hours: Full Time / Part Time (Minimum of 0.8 FTE)
Contract Type: Open Ended
Location: Polaris House, Swindon (Hybrid working available)
Closing Date: Sunday 22nd June 2025
Job Overview:
To build awareness, understanding, engagement and trust in UK Research and Innovation and its activities and interests, both externally and with all employees, through audience research and insight.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead on UKRI audience research and segmentation, developing deep understanding of our key audiences, as well as what we need to do to reach existing and new audiences.
- Lead on qualitative and quantitative data gathering and analysis, presenting findings to improve UKRI’s ability to make evidence-based recommendations and decisions
- Build and maintain relationships with external partners, collaborating on joint activity and sharing best practice and insight
- Responsible for commissioning and analysing UKRI audience research and insight
- Responsible for research and curation of internal and external insight
- Support the development and implementation of UKRI’s external affairs and communications strategy
- Development of audience insight capability across EAC to support the delivery of the UKRI comms strategy and organisational priorities Manage UKRI’s regular perception audits to measure and evaluate how the organisation is viewed by others to support targeted messaging and comms activity
- Work with colleagues across EAC and wider UKRI to support the development of campaigns based on research insights
- Support in the analysis and presentation of campaign delivery and evaluation of key insight
- Aggregate, analyse and present audience insight data for inclusion in reports, application and evaluation, analysing trends and performance over time
- Maximise our ability to make evidence-based decisions through qualitative and quantitative data gathering and analysis with clear findings given and recommendations suggested
- Establish links with external partners, including government departments, as appropriate, collaborating on joint activity and sharing best practice and insight
- Participate in sector-wide projects which support UKRI priorities
- Research and identify new tools and methods to promote continuous improvement of audience insight techniques and ensure best practice
- Ensure we have the policies in place to manage risks to our reputation and brand and that all necessary data protection guidance and market research best practice is followed
- Maintain a broader perspective of trends and developments in the market research sector
- Work closely with the Evaluation lead to consider how evaluation of past activity informs future insight activity
- Work with Head of strategic communications and planning to develop and implement UKRI’s external affairs and communications strategy
Person Specification:
(S) – Shortlisting Criteria (I) – Interview Criteria (S & I) - Shortlisting Criteria & Interview Criteria
Essential
- Degree or equivalent experience (S)
- Proven track record of using research data and insight to inform strategy and decision making, together with the skills to analyse and interpret this data and extract relevant insight (S & I)
- Very strong background in quantitative surveys but also ideally experience in qualitative research and online communities (S & I)
- Experience within research, insights, analytics or consulting with a focus on understanding audiences and evaluating campaign performance (S & I)
- Experience with audience measurement tools (I)
- Excellent analytical skills (S & I)
- Excellent project management skills (S & I)
- Quantitative skills and the ability to dig into the numbers (S & I)
- Demonstrated credibility with relevant communities, usually based on experience from government, industry, education or the third sector (I)
- Ability to work collaboratively across teams, councils and communities (S & I)
- Demonstrable emotional intelligence and tolerance of ambiguity and uncertainty (I)
- Resilience, multi-tasking and ability to work to deadlines (S & I)
- Ability to absorb, evaluate and communicate complex information appropriate to the audience (I)
- Ability to influence, persuade and negotiate (S & I)
- Strategic thinking (I)
- Flexibility to adapt to change (I)
Application Guidance:
How to evidence the criteria:
You are encouraged to use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) in the cover letter to evidence your ability to meet the ‘person specification’ criteria in the job description. Cover letters should be no more than two sides of A4 (minimum font size 11). For examples of the STAR method, please visit: The STAR method | National Careers Service’.
Qualifications
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 UK Research and Innovation (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.
