Research Officer

Salary: £47,394 
Grade: Level 4, Zone 2
Location: 5 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG
Contract type: Permanent 
Hours: 36, Full Time
On-site: Hybrid working
Closing date: Monday 15th July 2024; 23:59

At Camden, we value and celebrate difference and encourage diversity in all respects. Our diverse workforce ensures we represent our communities to the best of our ability and enables us to make better decisions. Because of this, we want our recruitment process to be as inclusive and as accessible as possible and we recognise that requires us to be as flexible as we can whilst also preserving the integrity of a fair and transparent process.

Similarly, we appreciate that people’s individual skills and experience may not neatly map to a particular role profile and encourage applications from other professions.

So if you have questions about the role, Camden as a whole, or would like to discuss alternative ways to showcase your interest and expertise, then please get in touch with Saliha Majeed-Hajaj at Saliha.Majeed-Hajaj@camden.gov.uk.

About Camden

Camden is building somewhere everyone can thrive by making our borough the best place to live, work, study, and visit. We’re not just home to the UK's fastest-growing economy — we’re focused on creating a borough in which everyone can live a good life and nobody gets left behind. 

We have a clear vision - to organise the right people and skills around challenges (like our missions) to deliver the best outcomes for Camden residents and renewal after the pandemic.

Camden has a proud, rebellious spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change. We’re willing to be bold and try new things in the process. 

But don’t just take our word for it - you can read about some of the different people working in the Council.

About the Research Officer Role

As a Research Officer, you will be conducting qualitative research, generating evidence bases to drive policy and building capacity in the organisation for research and evidence led approaches, in order to improve outcomes for both residents and Council staff. 

We’re looking for a Research Officer who is curious, analytical, creative and who wants to bring together different disciplines to work towards a shared goal, supporting the organisation in improving people’s lives.

In this role you will be part of the Insight, Learning and Impact team delivering key products such as the State of the Borough report, quarterly corporate ILI reporting, the Good Life Camden framework and data dashboard and other demographic data products, as well as developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks for Council priority work such as the We Make Camden Missions. 

You will work collaboratively with other colleagues to help see their services from a resident’s point of view and bring insights and ideas in a way that everyone can understand.

For more information about the role please refer to the job profile by clicking HERE or if you are unable to open please click the below link:
http://camdocs.camden.gov.uk/HPRMWebDrawer/Record/10573136/file/document?inline

All About You 

To find out more about what it is like to work at Camden, meet some of our People by visiting 'www.camdenjobs.co.uk/our-stories'.

You will have a first degree in social science or related field (including e.g. geography, sociology, health psychology) or equivalent work experience. 

You will have a creative, problem-solving mindset and be comfortable with working on complex ideas and issues where there’s no easy answer. You will have Data and Research experience which include primary data collection, social research methods, delivering evaluations, and quantitative and qualitative research methods.

For this role, you should have evidence of the ability to develop and maintain relationships with a range of external and internal stakeholders, as well as excellent communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team. You will have an understanding of policy development in complex settings.

The Research Officer will report to the Senior Research Officer.

The postholder will need to work some part of each week in the office (5 Pancras Square) as determined in regular discussions with their line manager and project teams.

What We Offer  

At Camden, you’ll receive a host of benefits. From flexible working to 27 days annual leave (+ bank holidays!). We also know that a work life balance is extremely important so we also offer family leave, loan schemes and access to our incredible staff networks. We also have an incredible pensions scheme.   

Visit 'www.camdenjobs.co.uk/staff-benefits' for more details. 

Additional information

The application process:

1. Optional: Book a chat - to get a better sense of whether this role would be right for you, and to find out more about the work we do, you can arrange a chat with Saliha Majeed-Hajaj at Saliha.Majeed-Hajaj@camden.gov.uk.
2. Complete a short application via the “Apply” link at the bottom of this page and make sure to respond to the four questions below - we anonymise all applications to reduce bias in the hiring process by placing greater emphasis on candidates’ relevant skills and experience.

We want to give everyone the same chance to showcase their relevant skills and experience so we ask you to follow a set formula and answer the following 4 questions in the section ‘ application questions’. Please ignore the ‘why me’ statement field and respond only to the questions below (no need for a cover letter).

 It should clearly answer these prompts, in order:

1. Tell us about a time where you have led a qualitative research project, what approach you took, how you considered equity in the research, what the results were. 
2. In this role, you will be working with a wide range of people and teams with different approaches to using research and evidence. What do you expect some of the main challenges to be, and how will you draw on your experience to manage these?  
3. What do you think might be some innovative applications of qualitative research in the world of local government in coming years?
4. Tell us about a time you had to communicate complex research methodologies and/or findings to lay people, and how you ensured that research findings were clear and comprehensible.

What to expect at interview stage if shortlisted:

1. 1-hour interview with 3 Camden staff - we’ll send you the 4-5 questions and short presentation task in advance, and ensure that there’s plenty of time at the interview for you to ask any questions you have at this stage in the process.
2. Offer and feedback - if you’re successful at the interview stage, we’ll contact you with the details of your job offer, along with some feedback on your performance throughout the process.
3. Onboarding - once your offer is accepted and the start date agreed, we’ll make sure there’s a plan in place for your first few weeks to make sure you have the information and support needed to ease into your career at Camden.