IPPO Research Associate

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IPPO Research Associate

The post will be based within SPARK (at Cardiff University) and will be line managed by Prof Chris Taylor.

To support the ESRC International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) in Wales, engaging with potential evidence users, identifying evidence needs, liaising with the IPPO team across the UK and sourcing research capability where required. Your work will benefit from excellent access to senior civil servants, public sector bodies and third sector organisations in Wales.

This post is part time ((up to 0.6FTE, 22.5 hours per week) and fixed term to 30 September 2022

Salary:  £34,304 - £40,927 per annum, pro rata (Grade 6)

Date advert posted: Tuesday, 14 December 2021

Closing date: Sunday, 16 January 2022

This post has previously been advertised to employees of Cardiff University only.  We now invite external applications.

Please be aware that Cardiff University reserves the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world.  In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

“Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/our-research-environment/integrity-and-ethics/responsible-research-assessment”

Job Description

• To support the Academic Director of SPARK in delivering the ESRC International Public Policy Observatory, contributing to the identification of the evidence needs for public policy in Wales to support its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, identifying and sourcing appropriate research expertise and capabilities to meet these needs
• To promote awareness of and engagement with the IPPO in Wales and connect with potential users of the IPPO in the public policy communities.
• To disseminate research findings to policy makers and public policy communities through engaging reports, policy briefings and blogs.
• To participate in SPARK research activities, develop and support social science research opportunities across SPARK that will support the UK’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
• To contribute to the day-to-day research and capacity building activities within SPARK and within the public policy community across Wales.
• To develop new research objectives and support proposals for future research activities where the evidence needs of policy makers cannot be met from existing research.
• To undertake administrative tasks associated with the IPPO, including the planning and organisation of the project and the implementation of procedures required to ensure accurate and timely reporting.
• To review and synthesise existing research literature within the field to identify policy relevant finding and recommendations
• To build and create networks both internally and externally to the university, to influence decisions,   explore future research requirements, and share research ideas for the benefit of research projects
• Other
• To engage effectively with industrial, commercial and public sector organisations, professional institutions, other academic institutions etc., regionally and nationally  to raise awareness of the IPPO and SPARK, to cultivate strategically valuable alliances, and to pursue opportunities for collaboration across a range of activities. These activities are expected to contribute to SPARK and the enhancement of its regional and national profile.
• To undergo personal and professional development that is appropriate to and which will enhance performance.
• Any other duties not included above, but consistent with the role.

The IPPO is UK-wide, led by University College London (UCL) and involving partners from Cardiff University, Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), Pivotal (Northern Ireland), University of Oxford, Social Policy Research Exchange (Scotland), University of Auckland, and The Conversation. The team in Cardiff includes this post and the Academic Director of SPARK. A budget for the work in Cardiff is devolved and contains a small amount of resource for travel and accommodation. The IPPO, alongside the Economics Observatory, will be the ESRC’s main investment in coordinating and mobilising the UK social science research community in responding to the impact the coronavirus pandemic and will join a growing international network of public policy responses to the pandemic.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Qualifications and Education

Additional Information

The International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) is a collaboration between UCL, Cardiff University, Queens University Belfast, The University of Oxford and the University of Auckland. The partnership led by STEaPP and the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI -Centre), will focus on addressing the social impacts of the Covid 19pandemic, particularly on policy areas including care and mental health, homelessness and housing and communities. The IPPO is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and is one of two Observatories the research council established during the pandemic (the other is the Economics Observatory). In Wales the IPPO also works closely with the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) also based in Cardiff University.

The IPPO is based across all four jurisdictions of the UK. The Cardiff University Social Science Research Park (SPARK) leads the work of the IPPO in Wales. Social Science Research Park (SPARK) is a major investment by Cardiff University. SPARK brings together many of our leading social science research centres into a new purpose-built facility will bring together world-leading social science researchers with practitioners, policy makers and other stakeholders. Promoting a collaborative and problem-focused approach, it will translate outstanding research into real world solutions. SPARK’s involvement in the IPPO strengthens collaboration across the UK and our ability to mobilise evidence to major societal challenges.

The Academic Director of SPARK, Professor Chris Taylor, leads the work of IPPO in Wales. This position will support Chris in liaising with the rest of the IPPO team, working closely with senior policy makers in Wales to identify their evidence needs, and in assisting in the use of that evidence to help inform policy decisions in Wales and the rest of the UK.

If you are interested in this unique role and you think you meet the person specification then we encourage potential applicants to contact Professor Chris Taylor (email [email protected] ) for an informal discussion about the role. We will consider applications to join the Centre on a secondment basis for a minimum of 12 months.