Insight Researcher (Ref: 81253)

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Workstream: User Experience and Insight (UE&I)

Job Title: Insight Researcher (Research Officer) 

Location: National, but with a requirement to travel – particularly to London

Duration: Permanent

Pay Band: Band C, HEO equivalent 

Salary: £32,827 – £40,403

The national salary range is £32,827 – £35,678, London salary range is £37,174 – £40,403. Your salary will be dependent on your base location.

This position is available for external applicants as well as existing civil servants on level transfer or promotion. New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum. Existing civil servants applying on promotion will usually be appointed on the salary minimum of the new pay band or with an increase of 10 percent on their existing base salary (restricted to the new pay band maximum), whichever is the higher.

Background

HM Courts and Tribunals Service is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. It is an extremely exciting time to join,as HM Courts and Tribunals Service has been undertaking a first-of-its-kind change programme aimed at delivering pioneering modernisation of judicial services, exploiting digital technologies to deliver services that better serve the public. With over £1 billion of funding, this is the most ambitious programme of its kind anywhere in the world. 

The change programme provides the opportunity to place citizen needs and expectations at the very heart of HMCTS. People will be able to participate with confidence, be treated with respect and understand what is happening at all stages of their case. Transformation will reduce cost and increase confidence of the judiciary, delivery partners and stakeholders in the justice system, whilst delivering benefits both to HMCTS and to the taxpayers. Importantly, service transformation is key to ensuring that HMCTS is on a sustainable financial footing for the future, and will enhance the UK justice system as a global leader.

The change programme is one of the largest across Government and it is an exciting and rewarding portfolio to be part of. You will gain a deep understanding of how a large complex portfolio operates as well as develop a broad range of effective business and research skills.

As the change programme concludes and reformed services bed in, your skills will also be deployed in generating insight for live services: supporting the administration of a fair, efficient and accessible courts and tribunals system; supporting an independent judiciary in the administration of justice; driving improvements across all aspects of the business; and collaborating with other justice organisations and agencies to improve access to justice.

Research Officer – User Experience and Insight 

The User Experience and Insight Division ensures that user characteristics, behaviours and needs are analysed and shared in inspiring ways to inform decision making throughout HMCTS. This an exciting opportunity to be part of a multidisciplinary team, setting the direction for the use of research to create insight across digital services, customer services, and operational delivery teams. This is a hands-on research role within the courts service at a crucial time of change.

You will be carrying out research and evaluation to improve HMCTS services and the systems and processes underpinning our services. You will be contributing to the evidence base around HMCTS’s current Reform programme and its live services, helping to evaluate interventions and shape future changes and improvements. Projects will focus on the users of HMCTS services (e.g. defendants and claimants) and professional users of HMCTS systems and processes (e.g. court staff and judges). You will be working in a fast-paced operational environment where things can change quickly, but where there is a real opportunity to help shape frontline services.  

Key Responsibilities

We’re recruiting a resourceful, creative and adaptable research analyst who is keen to make a difference to users of the justice system to join our Insight team (within the User Experience and Insight Division). You will be working on a wide variety of research projects relating to court processes in the civil, family and tribunal jurisdictions. You will work as part of the team on both large and small-scale research and evaluation projects, drawing on your knowledge of and skills in key quantitative and qualitative methods. 

You will also be implementing much of the research we do: this is a ‘hands on’ role where you are likely to be out in the courts, carrying out fieldwork (e.g. qualitative and observational research, preparatory court visits to help with questionnaire design). 

The role will encompass the following key tasks:

•    Delivering quantitative and qualitative research projects that enable HMCTS to make timely, evidence-based decisions. 
•    Designing research projects and evaluations; conducting secondary analysis of data and/ or undertaking primary research.
•    Undertaking primary research to generate staff and public user insights 
•    Analysing and synthesising a range of evidence to present compelling summaries and narratives of knowledge 
•    Communicating succinctly the results of analysis and managing relationships effectively with operational colleagues, senior stakeholders and external organisations to ensure maximum impact of analytical work being delivered.
•    Providing advice, with support of senior analysts, on the outcomes of research and analysis. 

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post.The civil, family and tribunals team’s work over the next year is likely to include qualitative and quantitative work on improving access to justice in civil, family and tribunal services as well as improving the operational performance of services through the analysis of  a wide evidence base including management infromation data, user experience data and primary research with users including citizens, court staff, judiciary and the third sector.

Essential Skills, Knowledge & Experience:

We’re looking for a highly motivated person who also meets the following essential criteria:

•    An understanding of insight application in the public and/or private sector
•    Experience of conducting social research, including qualitative and quantitative research from development of research materials (survey questionnaires, qualitative topic guides, and data collection instruments), surveys, fieldwork (including qualitative interviews), and analysis of data
•    Have experience of, and appreciate the strengths / weaknesses of, a wide range of research methods (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, evaluation) to apply a multi-disciplinary approach
•    Good verbal and written communication skills, including an ability to develop relationships with a range of stakeholders, and work collaboratively with them  
•    Ability to manage work flexibly and adapt as priorities change.

Desirable Skills, Knowledge & Experience: 

•    An understanding of public policy and services, particularly in the justice sector
•    Experience of working closely with designers and developers to turn research and insight into actionable product/service requirements that feed into prototype development, and influence product direction
•    Experience of conducting in-house research to develop an understanding of the organisation’s customers
•    Familiar with statistical packages such as SPSS, SAS or R
•    Experience of conducting user research

The successful candidates will either be a member of, or expected to join, the Government Social Research (GSR) profession.  See GSR Eligibility section below.

GSR Eligibility

There are two routes to meet the professional GSR requirements, via qualification or experience:

Qualification route: you must hold an undergraduate degree, at a minimum of 2:1 (or 2:2 with a postgraduate degree), in a social science subject. A qualifying social science subject is one which contains substantial social research methods training (comprising around one third of modules taken in the course) including quantitative research methods and three of the following: systematic/literature reviews; qualitative methods; interpretation of data and presentation of results; study design and hypothesis testing; and application of ethics to research.  

Experience route: you must hold an undergraduate degree, at a minimum of 2:1 (or 2:2 with a postgraduate degree), in any subject, or hold a degree equivalent (for example, an advanced Certificate or Diploma from MRS) and have at least 4 years’ applied social research practice experience. Social research practice experience consists of experience working in a research agency, market research agency or specialist research team. You must make explicit the breadth and depth of your research experience and skills, which must include quantitative research methods and three of the following: systematic/literature reviews; qualitative methods; interpretation of data and presentation of results; study design and hypothesis testing; and application of ethics to research in your CV. 

This role qualifies for a GSR based salary supplement which is applied after successfully taking up the post, at HEO level this supplement is dependant on your base location.  

Application Process 

Application
To apply for this role, please complete the online application form, which will require you to provide:
•    An up-to-date copy of your CV which details your relevant experience and achievements
•    A personal statement explaining how you meet the requirements of the role, including GSR eligibility requirements (no more than 500 words)
•    An example of the behaviour ‘Making Effective Decisions’ (no more than 250 words)

If we receive a large volume of applications an initial sift may be completed using the lead requirement: technical skills.
Guidance on GSR technical competencies and the Government Social Research Competency Framework can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-government-social-research-competency-framework 

Guidance on Civil Service behaviours and the Success Profile Framework can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles

Knowledge test
For candidates who are not an existing member of the GSR profession, if your application is successful you will be asked to sit a knowledge test prior to being offered an interview.

If you have passed a knowledge test in the last 12 months, you will not be required to take another test.

Interview
If you are invited for an interview, this will take place via MS Teams. We will assess your suitability against the role requirements outlined above. You will also be assessed against the following three Success Profile behaviours:
•    Making Effective Decisions
•    Managing a Quality Service
•    Working Together

And also, the GSR professional competencies:
•    Technical Skills
•    Using & Promoting Social Research

You will also be asked to deliver a presentation; further details will be provided nearer the time.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

Further Information:
Applications are welcomed from existing civil servants and external candidates.

If you have any queries about the role, or wish to discuss, please contact emma.coleman@justice.gov.uk 

Terms & Conditions:

Location of post: 
The post-holder can be based in London or at any of our HMCTS sites. If you are London based, you will be expected to work in the offices at 102 Petty France 2 days a week. If you are Nationally based, you will be expected to work from an HMCTS office location 2 days a week and some travel to 102 Petty France will be required for business reasons.  
Travel to other HMCTS sites may also be required as part of these working arrangements. In line with the department’s policies, travel and subsistence and, where appropriate, overnight accommodation will be available in line with organisational policies.

Flexible working options
HMCTS offers a flexible working system in many of its offices.

Job Sharing and Reduced Hours
All applications for job sharing or reduced hours will be treated fairly and, on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the MoJ’s flexible working policy and equality policy.

Excess Fares and Relocation Allowances
This job is not eligible for relocation allowances, but excess fares may be considered in accordance with MoJ’s excess fares allowance policy.

Qualification route: you must hold an undergraduate degree, at a minimum of 2:1 (or 2:2 with a postgraduate degree), in a social science subject. A qualifying social science subject is one which contains substantial social research methods training (comprising around one third of modules taken in the course) including quantitative research methods and three of the following: systematic/literature reviews; qualitative methods; interpretation of data and presentation of results; study design and hypothesis testing; and application of ethics to research.

Experience route: you must hold an undergraduate degree, at a minimum of 2:1 (or 2:2 with a postgraduate degree), in any subject, or hold a degree equivalent (for example, an advanced Certificate or Diploma from MRS) and have at least 4 years’ applied social research practice experience. Social research practice experience consists of experience working in a research agency, market research agency or specialist research team. You must make explicit the breadth and depth of your research experience and skills, which must include quantitative research methods and three of the following: systematic/literature reviews; qualitative methods; interpretation of data and presentation of results; study design and hypothesis testing; and application of ethics to research in your CV.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Technical Skills

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Job contact :

• Name : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com
• Telephone : 0845 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com