Impact Officer

Job Purpose

This role will be key to the success of the College Research & Knowledge Exchange Strategy, including delivery against the following specific success measures: increasing the number of academic staff engaged in knowledge exchange and impact activities; increasing the volume and quality of impact records held; increasing the quality and quantity of future REF impact case studies.

This will include:

- Developing the capacity of social science researchers to explore research and engagement beyond academia.

- Maximising opportunities for collaborative research, development and innovation between social scientists and research users.

- Proactively supporting researchers to articulate, evaluate and evidence impact.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to the College Engagement and Impact Manager, the main duties and responsibilities will be:

1.  Responsibility for coordinating the College REF-related impact activities, including the identification and delivery of impact case studies for future REF submissions, within the plans and timelines agreed.

2.  To coordinate the development and management of the College Impact Pipeline, by working together with the College and Central impact team in the Research Services Directorate, on the systematic gathering, recording and reporting of impact activity from within the College.

3.  To support awareness and education of research impact, including one-to-one advice and the creation and delivery of training/workshops, to support colleagues to identify and progress impact opportunities, develop impact narratives and offer best practice advice and direct support to gather evidence.

4.  To act as dedicated point of contact for researchers and the School’s academic Impact Leads, coordinating and delivering targeted support to build their skills, capabilities and confidence in engagement and impact.

5.  To work in partnership with the Operations, Research Development and Engagement & Impact teams to provide one-to-one support for researchers: (i) preparing external funding bids; (ii) developing high-quality applications for impact funding, including the Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Fund and Impact Acceleration Accounts.

6.  Promote the College's successes in engagement and impact, ensuring that successful projects and partnerships are visible in the most effective spaces, and representing the College, as required, in appropriate public fora.

7.  Act as a key contributor in the broader College Research Support Office team to identify opportunities to improve the organisational profile and capability to deliver on College and University KPIs in Research and Knowledge Exchange.

8.  To source, draft and edit content promoting the impact of social sciences research, using a variety of channels (web, podcasts, blogs etc) to ensure that the College's research impact is clearly and accurately presented and easily accessible to a variety of audiences.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications

Essential:

A1 Degree and/or postgraduate qualification in an area appropriate to the College of Social Sciences

A2 Knowledge of methods and models of knowledge exchange and research impact

A3 A comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of Higher Education Institution organisational structures, policies and procedures

A4 Knowledge and understanding of the impact agenda, specifically linked to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and/or funding councils

Desirable:

B1 PhD in an area appropriate to the College of Social Sciences

B2 Project management qualification

Skills

Essential:

C1 Ability to work independently and as part of a team

C2 Ability to understand, interpret and summarise complex information to be understood by a broad audience of non-specialists

C3 Strong organisational skills

C4 An excellent eye for detail and accuracy

C5 Ability to engage with and secure co-operation from both academic colleagues and users of research

C6 Ability to use a broad range of communication methods and systems to disseminate and promote information and guidance related to research impact

C7 Effective communication and presentation skills with a wide range of audiences

C8 Excellent writing, editorial and positioning skills

C9 Excellent IT Skills, particularly Word, web, database and spreadsheet related

C10 Ability to organise and prioritise workload efficiently

Experience

Essential:

E1 Significant experience of working in a similar/related role in a higher education institution or similar.

E2 Experience of writing copy for a range of audiences, or experience of writing Impact Case Studies for REF, or similar

E3 Experience of writing about research and/or complex topics

E4 Experience of dealing with and communicating to a large number of staff from a variety of backgrounds and levels of seniority

E5 Proven experience in collating, integrating, manipulating, analysing, and presenting data from a wide variety of sources

Desirable:

F1 Previous experience of working with users of research (e.g. third sector, practitioners or policymakers)

F2 Experience of working in Higher Education in a research impact or other relevant role (e.g. Communications, Researcher Development, Knowledge Exchange, Community or Public Engagement)

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £39,347 - £44,263 per annum.

This post is full time (35 hours per week) and open ended (permanent).

The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.  If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit:https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa

As part of Team UofG you will be a member of a world changing, inclusive community, which values ambition, excellence, integrity and curiosity.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

3 A flexible approach to working.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community

https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/

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