Communications & Engagement Manager

Economic and Social Research Council

Job Title: Communications & Engagement Manager

Team: ADR UK Strategic Hub (ERSC)

Location: The post will be based in London with occasional travel to the ESRC office in Swindon. There will also be a requirement for occasional travel across the UK including overnight stays.

Contract type: Permanent 

Hours: Full time role. 

Salary: £31,931 (plus London Weighting £5,129)

Grade: Band D

Closing Date: 14 November 2021

Interview Date: 29 November 2021

ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) is a partnership transforming the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data, to enable better informed policy decisions that improve people’s lives. The programme is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

By linking together data held by different parts of government, and by facilitating safe and secure access for accredited researchers to these newly joined-up data sets, ADR UK is creating a sustainable body of knowledge about how our society and economy function – tailored to give decision makers the answers they need to solve important policy questions.

ADR UK is made up of four national partnerships (ADR England, ADR NI, ADR Scotland, and ADR Wales) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which ensures data provided by UK government bodies is accessed by researchers in a safe and secure form with minimal risk to data holders or the public.

The partnership is coordinated by a UK-wide Strategic Hub, which also promotes the benefits of administrative data research to the public and the wider research community, engages with UK Government to secure access to data, and manages a dedicated research budget.

The partnership is coordinated by a UK-wide Strategic Hub – a team of 15 people, split between the ESRC office in Swindon and the UKRI office in London, and let by a Director who reports directly to the ESRC Executive Chair.

As Communications & Engagement Manager, you will be part of a five-person communications team within the Strategic Hub. This team has oversight and strategic responsibility for the full range of ADR UK’s communications activities, including digital (web, social media and audiovisual), publications, events and media relations, as well as a strong role in delivering stakeholder and public engagement on behalf of the partnership.

Job purpose

Reporting to the Strategic Lead for Communications & Campaigns, the Communications & Engagement Manager will support the delivery of all the activities listed above.

This role will particularly focus on engaging and communicating with ADR UK’s key stakeholders, including data holders and policy makers (inside and outside of government), policy influencers and researchers. Working with ADR UK research grant holders to develop and deliver communications plans for their projects will form a key part of the role, as will working with the Strategic Lead for Communications & Campaigns to develop ADR UK’s offer to the media and build relationships with key journalists. Together with the Public Engagement Manager and other members of the communications team, you will play a key role in the delivery of ADR UK’s public engagement work.

You will also be required to work closely with communications colleagues across the partnership, facilitating internal communication and ensuring external outputs are coordinated, on-brand and on-message.

Key responsibilities

• Stakeholder engagement: mapping and management of ADR UK’s stakeholders, identifying key influencers and supporting the Communications Lead and senior staff to engage productively to further strategic objectives, including securing meetings, drafting briefings, letters, and presentations, and responding to government consultations.
• Event management: organise and run ADR UK events, including stakeholder roundtables and conference sessions, and represent the partnership on stalls and via networking at external events.
• Researcher engagement: working closely with researchers awarded grants to support the development and delivery of their communications plans, raising awareness of researcher opportunities such as funding and training opportunities, managing researcher knowledge exchange events and seminars.
• Media relations: drafting press releases and comment pieces and working with the Communications Lead to identify media opportunities and build productive relationships with key journalists.
• Public engagement: working with the Public Engagement Manager and the rest of the communications team to develop and deliver a programme of public engagement work to help ensure public support for ethical administrative data research is measured, maintained, and increased.
• Website: working closely with the communications and engagement officer, day-to-day management of the ADR UK website, including updating content, drafting, and uploading news stories and blogs, and working with our web development agency to implement regular improvements to the site.

You will be required to undertake other duties as required to support the delivery of the ADR UK Communications and Engagement Strategy, including writing content across a broad range of channels.

Shortlisting and Interview Criteria (Person Specification)

Essential

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• At least one years’ experience in a communications or engagement role with a proven track record of high-quality outputs.
• Experience of copywriting and editing in-line with a brand and style guide.
• Experience of creating briefings and presentations for senior staff.
• Experience of using a range of communications management and analytics tools or platforms, such as Hootsuite, Constant Contact, Google Analytics, Meltwater or similar.
• Experience of managing a communications plan or grid, scheduling content and scoping for reactive opportunities.
• Knowledge of or an interest in social science, administrative data research, the work of ADR UK, and the wider research landscape.

Competencies

• Excellent written communication skills – particularly the ability to translate technical or academic language into clear, accessible plain English, and deliver concise and punchy copy that can engage non-specialists.
• Excellent oral communication skills and the willingness to use them to maintain good working relationships with key partners.
• Ability to form strong working relationships with people colleagues, partners, and stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to work independently and use initiative when required, as well as a supportive part of an integrated communications and engagement team.
• Ability to plan and prioritise workload, managing several tasks simultaneously.

Desirable

• Experience of working with or coordinating external contractors, such as graphic designers, video producers, web developers, and/or market research agencies.
• Experience of working in a partnership environment.
• Experience of events management.
• Experience of writing surveys and/or facilitating focus groups.
• Good ‘news sense’ and experience of developing stories that work for media.

About the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) 

The ESRC is the UK’s largest funder of economic, social, behavioural and human data science. It supports the development and training of the UK’s future social scientists and funds major studies that provide the infrastructure for research. ESRC-funded research informs policy-makers and practitioners and helps make businesses, voluntary bodies and other organisations more effective. 

For more information about ESRC, please visit https://esrc.ukri.org/ 

About UK Research Innovation (UKRI) 

UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. 

Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation. 

More information can be found at www.ukri.org.

How we support EDI in the workforce 

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’. 

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. 

How to apply 

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the ‘experience’ section of the application. 

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion – a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us. 

Additional Information

• Organisation: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Contract Type: Open Ended
• External Closing Date: Nov 14, 2021
• Minimum Salary: Pound Sterling (GBP) 31,931
• Hours: Full-time