Senior Analyst - Metascience

at  Economic and Social Research Council ESRC

SENIOR ANALYST - METASCIENCE

• Salary: £43,116 per annum
• Hours: Full time or Part time (minimum 0.8 FTE)
• Contract Type: Fixed Term until 31 March 2027 (towards the end of the assignment candidates will move into the UKRI redeployment pool and be supported in finding suitable alternative work within the organisation. Applicants are also encouraged to apply for this role as a secondment opportunity)
• Location: Hybrid - Swindon, Polaris House
• Grade: UKRI Band E
• Closing: 19th August 2024

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Applicants are invited to submit a CV and a cover letter. The cover letter should provide examples that clearly demonstrate the following four most pertinent behaviours (We use the Civil Service Behaviours and success profiles, please refer to level 3 of the Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours):

Behaviours: Building on the essential requirements above, the following should be discussed in your cover letter and will be the basis for sifting of candidates for shortlisting.

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Your cover letter should cover each of the four elements listed above with a total word count of no more than 1000 words. We recommend that you apply the STAR approach when evidencing each behaviour – describing the (1) situation, (2) task, (3) action and (4) result. The evidence you provide will outline the situation and context, present the task you were responsible for, summarise what course of action you took to deliver the work, and finally explain the results you achieved and the impact of the work.
For each behaviour you are encouraged to use one specific example which can be drawn from any part of your life or career. We recommend that you invest some time in making your covering letter as strong as possible as that is the main source of evidence for the sift; the CV will be used to supplement our understanding of your analytical skills and knowledge of the R&I sector (and only if not apparent in the covering letter).
Please note that if we receive a large number of applications sifting shall be done on the lead competences – “analytical skills” and “communicating and influencing”. Candidates who pass the sifting stage will be invited to conduct a short written test and interview.
For more information, please contact the hiring manager: Suzie Wallace (suzie.wallace@epsrc.ukri.org)

THE ROLE

This role will be critical in delivering a major UKRI investment in metascience, leading the delivery of evidence to support policy decisions.
As a key member of the DSIT/UKRI Metascience Unit you will be responsible for the data needs of the Unit, including undertaking or sourcing the analysis of experiment or historic data. You will also lead on developing and coordinating a portfolio of metascience research that is aimed at informing the development of policy and funding practices.
The three UKRI staff within the Metascience Unit will be located within ESRC’s Innovation and Business Engagement group. The role is new and will report to the Strategic Lead for Metascience. There will also be two core DSIT members of the team based in London.
The role holder will also have direct linkages into the UKRI Analysis team; there will be opportunities for the role holder to work on projects as part of policy analysis, playing a key role in delivering UKRI’s Strategy.
The post is hybrid with two office days a month based in Swindon and will involve regular travel to London with occasional travel elsewhere in the UK.
We are committed to supporting each other’s personal and professional development and will support your learning and development ambitions in this role.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Working as part of the DSIT/UKRI Metascience Unit, the role will involve:

• Leading on the delivery of data needs for the Unit (working with colleagues across UKRI).
• Responsibility for undertaking and sourcing analysis of experimental or historic data to support the Unit’s work.
• Provide ad-hoc analytical support across UKRI using a variety of analytical and statistical methods in support of metascience projects.
• Responsibility for developing and coordinating a portfolio of metascience-related research.
• Supporting the design and delivery of a suite of applied experiments on UKRI funding processes.
• Responsibility for ensuring allocated investments are appropriately governed, monitored, evaluated, and communicated, in collaboration with others.
• Originating and developing the appropriate processes and procedures to ensure that the work of the team is successful and integrates with wider UKRI processes