Research officer

Job title: Research & Evaluation Officer

Salary: £29,500 - £33,500 DOE

Location: Hybrid working to include Tyseley, Birmingham and home working and national travel when required

Hours: Full time 36.5 hours per week to include occasional evening and weekend working.

Contract type: Permanent

We have an exciting opportunity for a?Research and Evaluation Specialist to join our Research and Performance department at The Active Wellbeing Society. Our head office is based in Tyseley (Birmingham) and we are offering this as a hybrid role, including working from the head office, across Birmingham and home working, with national travel when required. This role is responsible for research and evaluation across all areas of the organisation to support strategic and operational decision-making. This includes primary research (surveys, interviews, focus groups, participatory research etc.) and data analysis skills to produce recommendations and actionable insights to drive behaviour change, and adapt and improve our practice.

You should have experience of designing and leading mixed method research projects (quantitative and qualitative), using a range of tools to analyse and evaluate a variety of datasets and interpreting your findings into robust recommendations. You should have excellent written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to adapt these to different audiences. The role will support the Research and Insight Manager.

Ideally, you will bring a high level of expertise across all the knowledge and skills we are looking for, as set out further below. We will consider candidates who require some development in areas of their knowledge and are willing to learn whilst in the role.

The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) is a community benefit society and cooperative working to develop healthy, happy communities living active and connected lives. 

Our vision is for a society where people have the autonomy, capacity, resources and skills to become the architects of their own destiny; where our individual wellbeing is recognised as being bound up in our collective responsibility to and dependency on each other; and where all of us feel empowered as agents of social change to make a difference – whether at an individual level or more widely. 

Main duties

1. Design, manage and deliver multiple community-based research and evaluation projects.
2. Use a range of research methods such as interviews, surveys, focus groups, case studies, participatory research, journey mapping, literature reviews, case studies and stories.
3. Use a range of data analysis tools to interrogate mixed method research data (quantitative and qualitative) and produce robust findings. This will include the use of NVivo, SPSS and Microsoft Excel.
4. Turn primary and secondary research findings into actionable insights, providing evidence and recommendations for problem solving, critical thinking, decision making and innovation.
5. Identify, analyse and interpret relevant local and national data sources and evidence to provide actionable insights and contextual understanding.
6. Use excellent written communication skills to produce outputs including reports, briefings, profiles, presentations and infographics, and tailoring these to a variety of audiences.
7. Work collaboratively with the team, other directorates and stakeholders to understand their research needs, to implement research processes and procedures, in-line with organisational priorities and the needs of funders.
8. Understand and adhere to information management policies, research ethics and governance legislation, including, data privacy and data protection legislation, including GDPR.

Knowledge, skills and experience

1. Experience of carrying out community-based research using qualitative research methods, including, interviews, surveys, focus groups, case studies, participatory research, journey mapping, literature reviews, case studies, stories. (Essential)
2. Skills and experience in cleaning, organising, manipulating and analysing data, data interpretation and data visualisation. (Essential)
3. Experience of designing, delivering and managing multiple research and evaluation projects. (Essential)
4. Experience of turning primary and secondary research findings into actionable insights and providing evidence-based briefings and recommendations. (Essential)
5. Experience of using a range of analytical tools and software that will allow you to apply your skills in mixed method research (quantitative and qualitative), to produce robust findings. This will include the use of MS Office, SPSS, MS Excel (advanced) and NVivo (transcription and coding). (Essential)
6. Excellent written communication skills with experience in producing outputs including reports, briefings, profiles, presentations and infographics, and tailoring these to a variety of audiences. (Essential)
7. Experience of building and maintaining strong working relationships, including working collaboratively with teams across an organisation and with external stakeholders (Essential)
8. Knowledge and experience of information management, research ethics and governance legislation, including, data privacy and data protection legislation, including GDPR. (Essential)
9. Experience and understanding of behavioural research, behavioural insight, and/or, the COM-B Model. (Desirable)
10. Experience of sourcing, analysing and interpreting existing national and local data to produce trends and comparisons. (Desirable)

Staff benefits

We offer our team members a comprehensive staff benefits offering to include:

• Annual Leave – 25 days FTE (increasing to 29 days with service) plus 5 wellbeing days.
• Nest Pension – 8% employer contribution - 3% employee contribution.
• Heath Cash Plan – giving you discounts on everyday healthcare such as dental, optical, physio, prescriptions & more.
•  Employee Assistance Programme (counselling and DRs on call 24hrs a day).
• Life Assurance – x4 your salary paid to beneficiary.
• Flexible working.
• Fantastic volunteering opportunities within The Active Wellbeing Society every month.

Application details

Please submit a Cover Letter and CV addressing the experience you have had relevant to the 'Main Duties' and the 'Knowledge & Skills' sections of the advert, but as a minimum please address how you meet the the following criteria which will be weighted highly in the first sift of shortlisting:

1. Experience of carrying out community-based research using qualitative research methods, including, interviews, surveys, focus groups, case studies, participatory research, journey mapping, literature reviews, case studies, stories
2. Skills in cleaning, organising, manipulating and analysing data, data interpretation and data visualisation, and turning primary and secondary research findings into actionable insights and evidence-based recommendations.
3. Experience of designing, delivering and managing multiple research and evaluation projects
4. Experience of turning primary and secondary research findings into actionable insights and providing evidence-based recommendations6. Excellent written communication skills with experience of producing outputs including reports, briefings, profiles, presentations and infographics, and tailoring these to a variety of audiences.
5. Excellent written communication skills with experience of producing outputs including reports, briefings, profiles, presentations and infographics, and tailoring these to a variety of audiences.

Closing date: Sunday 26th May 2024

Interview date: W/c 3rd June 2024

Due to the high numbers of applications we received for our job vacancies, we may close application windows early, so we would encourage you to submit your application ASAP

We will provide all applicants with an outcome on your application, this will usually be within 1 week of the application window closing.

Successful applicants will be required to be DBS checked prior to starting.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we, in recruiting for our team we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring. The Active Wellbeing Society is committed to being an equal opportunity employer, we recruit based upon capability and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. At The Active Wellbeing Society we are searching for people who share the passion for what we do with different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences, collectively making a difference.

If there is anything we can do to assist you in your application or preparations to be interviewed for one of our job vacancies please let us know and we can ensure you have a positive and comfortable experience.

Thank you for your interest in working for The Active Wellbeing Society, we look forward to receiving your application.