Research Manager

Sorry, this vacancy is no longer available.

Status: Permanent

Location: Hybrid – Home/Office based in Leatherhead, Surrey (min. 2 days per week)

Reporting to: Head of Business Operations

Primary Function

To provide comprehensive research support to the National Secretary, National Chair and others in support of PFEW’s core purpose and strategic objectives
To act as the primary senior research liaison expert for all elected officials within PFEW
To proactively research and evaluate information on a wide range of work-related issues for elected members of the Federation for the formation of policy
To provide line management and development support to a Research Team comprising an economist, x2 senior researchers and an intern.

Responsibilities and Duties

Day to day management and leadership of the Research team.
Formal line management responsibility for the Research team, including management of performance, administration, and development within the team.
Evaluation of research demand, needs and priorities in order to inform the development of the team
Working with policy makers to identify research and analysis required to support PFEW’s core purpose and strategic objectives.
Acting as a first point of contact for research-related enquiries from elected officials.
To lead on the Research team activity planning. This includes scoping research projects, estimating delivery times and resourcing requirements for taskings, and ensuring research delivery.
To develop and maintain quality standards for all Research outputs and provide quality assurance for all deliverables.
Ensure that department metrics are developed and maintained for the Research team and report progress against metrics to Head of Business Operations.
To support colleagues within the Research team in planning, designing and undertaking large scale and/or complex projects and oversee the progress of small/medium scale projects.
Support Research colleagues in their undertaking of secondary research, including systematic literature reviews, on a range of topics including but not exclusive to talent management, pay systems, wellbeing and equality issues.
Analyse, interpret and compare complex facts and figures, and make recommendations to policy makers on campaigning and policy positions.
Utilise an Evidence Based Human Resources (EBHR) approach, including arranging and running workshops and other methods of stakeholder engagement.
Support Research colleagues to prepare concise briefings to summarise and explain complex research and data for policy makers.
Work independently, and in collaboration with members of the Policy team, to prepare evidence-based consultation responses and other submissions (e.g., to feed into NPCC, College of Policing and Home Office reviews).
Collaborate with / commission external researchers and academics on specific research projects, ensuring compliance with PFEW and departmental procurement processes, including drafting Memoranda of Understanding and Invitations to Tender and monitoring performance and delivery targets.
Identifying service quality, contract compliance and supplier performance issues in order to inform contract management when commissioning research.
Work to increase the profile and reputation of PFEW research, for instance through peer-reviewed conference presentations and journal articles.
Represent PFEW externally at conferences, meetings and events.
Represent the Research team at internal PFEW conferences, meetings and events.
Advise policy makers and other PFEW colleagues on research best practice.
Ensure compliance with legal, ethical and research best practice requirements.

Additional Responsibilities

Deliver research projects for other staff associations where appropriate (income generating).
Conducting ad hoc research and analysis for Federation branch boards where appropriate.
Undertake other research-related tasks as required by the Head of Business Operations and/or Chief Operating Officer.

NB Please note that these duties and responsibilities are not exhaustive and may be changed from time to time in line with the reasonable requirements of the Police Federation and as directed by the line manager, on behalf of the National Secretary.

Person Specification

It is essential that the postholder:

Hold a Doctorate level (e.g. PhD) qualification with a substantial social research component. Candidates holding an MSc/MRes qualification with a substantial social research component may be considered, dependent on previous experience.
Considerable hands-on experience in managing or leading a team of employees at senior level with the ability to supervise and mentor more junior colleagues with regards to all aspects of research design and delivery.
Has substantial experience of successfully managing research portfolios and /or numerous projects simultaneously.
Has the ability to multitask efficiently and is good at managing time.
Has a proven track record of designing and conducting a wide range of research studies.
Has substantial experience of secondary research, including systematic literature reviews, and an understanding of the Evidence Based Human Resource (EBHR) process.
Substantial experience of running workshops or focus groups.
Displays a commitment to equality and diversity.
Is able to convey a clear message both verbally and in writing to a wide range of audiences
Has expertise in quantitative and qualitative analysis packages (e.g. SPSS, NVivo, Excel), and data gathering packages such as SurveyMonkey.
Has a thorough knowledge of legal, ethical, quality assurance and other compliance issues within the research process.
Has detailed understanding of issues affecting the validity, reliability and rigour of research and analysis such as statistical power and sample sizes.
Demonstrates attention to detail and ensure accuracy in their work at all times.
Possesses good interpersonal skills in order to work in partnership with and influence a range of contacts, both internal and external, in support of the Police Federation’s objectives.

Benefits:

Salary - competitive (please email recruitment@polfed.org for more information about the salary which will be sent on receipt of your application)
26 days' annual leave per annum
Free lunch on site
Gym on site
Pension scheme
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
Employee discounts