Job Title: Research Officer – various posts

Salary range: £45,940-£47,326

Grade: Assembly Grade 5

Directorate: Legal, Governance and Research Services

Business Area/Office: Research and Information Service (RaISe)

Accountable to: Senior Research Officer

Job Purpose

Research Officers work directly with Assembly Members and Committees in the production of non-partisan, objective and evidence-based research.

Job Description:

Main duties and responsibilities of the Research Officer are:

• Engage with individual MLAs, Assembly Committees and senior managers within the Assembly Secretariat, in order to understand their research requirements;
• Retrieve and synthesise information from a wide range of sources, including online databases;
• Provide timely, accurate, high quality and impartial research and analysis on subjects related to the post and other issues, to individual MLA, Assembly Committees and senior managers within the Assembly Secretariat;
• Produce a range of research outputs, including customised research papers, legislative analysis briefings and blog posts, which are well written, concise and accessible;
• Present research briefings to Assembly Committees and respond to Committee members’ questions in public session;
• Facilitate public events, such as those which form part of the Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series (KESS) annually delivered at Parliament Buildings;
• Proactively forge and develop links with government officials, external research bodies/communities, and other parliamentary library and research services;
• Work collaboratively and collegially, as an effective team member;
• Contribute to the development of RaISe, including identifying potential new outputs and improved service delivery;
• Carry out such other duties, as may be required, which fall within the research business of the RaISe;
• Comply with the Assembly’s Equal Opportunities and Dignity at Work policies and procedures; and
• Carry out other duties that the Assembly Commission reasonably requires of you.

There are five Research Officer posts being recruited for:

Research Officer – Governance, Institutional and Europe

Research Officer – Education

Research Officer – Economics

Research Officer – Culture, Sport and Heritage

Research Officer – Statistics

Applicants will be asked to indicate which post/posts they wish to apply for.

Essential Criteria:

Applicants must, by the closing date:

1. Be in possession of at least a second-class honours degree (or equivalent or post-graduate qualification), which contained at least 50% of the course content relating to the subject area of the post/s applied for. Applicants must, in their application form, indicate how their qualification/s are relevant to the subject of the post/s applied for;

AND

2. Following completion of the above qualification, have at least two years of work experience in:

(a) conducting objective, evidence-based research; and

(b) producing and delivering evidence-based research findings to help inform discussion and decision making relating to policy development.

Shortlisting Criteria:

Should shortlisting be required, the following shortlisting criteria will be applied in the order stated:

(i) At least two years of post-qualification work experience in producing objective, evidence-based research that contributed to formally reviewed publications on each subject area* applied for.

(ii) One year of experience in producing data visualisations when compiling objective, evidence-based research findings.

* “Subject related” means the subject must relate to the post applied for, as noted on the above list.

Skills & Behaviours:

The interview questions will be based on the essential criteria and the following Assembly Skills and Behaviours:

Delivering a quality service

…is about providing a high-quality and efficient service to our customers. It is thinking ahead, managing resources effectively and delivering work on time and to a high standard. It is also using professional or technical expertise to enhance service delivery.  

Building relationships and effective communication

…is creating and maintaining positive, professional and respectful internal and external working relationships through effective and appropriate communications.

Initiating improvement and delivering change

…is looking for and being open to new and innovative ideas and improvements to the service provided. It is being flexible and adapting positively and professionally to sustain performance when the situation changes, workloads increase or priorities change. It is about forming sound, evidence-based decisions and being accountable for results.

Managing & Leading Self and Others

… is setting high standards for ourselves. It is about guiding, motivating and developing others to achieve high performance. It is about engaging others in delivering a corporate vision of excellence, expertise and innovation in support of the Assembly as a legislature.