Police Federation Research Assistant job opportunity

Primary Function

• This role will support research practitioners, policy officers and Head of Department by undertaking small scale primary and secondary projects research and contributing to the delivery of large-scale, complex research projects, to help create the evidence base required for PFEW to fulfil its strategic objectives and core purpose.

Responsibilities and Duties

Specific duties:

• Design and undertake a range of small-scale research projects, under supervision from Research Practitioners.
• Assist with the analysis of complex, large-scale surveys and other research projects that have been designed by the Research Practitioners. This will require detailed knowledge of SPSS and other analytical software.
• Responsible for the production of data trends using Home Office supplied data, and presentation of these in Crime and Human Resource “dashboards” (under direction of the Research Practitioners), including the design of new dashboards where needed.
• Utilise an Evidence Based Human Resources (EBHR) approach, assisting RP to arrange and run workshops and other methods of stakeholder engagement.
• Assist with the preparation of evidence for the Police Remuneration Review Body.
• Responsible for the conduct of literature reviews and other secondary research on matters relating to pay, professional development, and other mainly Human Resource matters. Literature reviews may also be required on equality issues, operational policing, disciplinary procedures, and other policing topics.
• Attend internal meetings (e.g. subcommittees) and external meetings (e.g. College of Policing) and offer supplementary/ ad hoc advice to elected officials as appropriate.
• Undertake policy work on specified CoP areas, in order to assist with departmental resilience, and develop a broader understanding of the work of PFEW. Deliver this under supervision of the CoP lead Policy Officer, but in direct support of elected officials.
• Support Research Practitioners with work to increase the profile and reputation of PFEW research, for instance through peer-reviewed conference presentations.

Person Specification

It is essential that the post holder will:

• Be qualified to at least degree level: likely in the social sciences or possess equivalent relevant experience.
• Have experience of designing small scale research studies, with a good understanding of issues affecting the validity, reliability and rigour of research such as statistical power and sample sizes.
• Have experience of running workshops or focus groups under supervision.
• Have a good level of knowledge of legal, ethical, quality assurance and other compliance issues within the research process.
• Have a good level of experience of statistics and analysis packages (e.g. SPSS, NVivo, Power BI).
• Have extensive experience of using MS Word and Excel.
• Have previous experience of working within a research role.
• Possess good interpersonal skills, in order to work in partnership with and influence a range of contacts, both internal and external, in support of the Police Federation’s objectives.

Personal attributes – the post holder will be able to:

• Demonstrate attention to detail
• Demonstrate the ability to analyse and critically appraise
• Ensure accuracy in their work at all times
• Accept and action review feedback such that following feedback work will review no more than one check by any reviewer
• Be able to work independently and as part of a team
• Demonstrate sound judgement in decision-making, within the boundaries of their role, and be aware of the limits of his or her own authority

Holiday entitlement: 26 days + 8 Bank Holidays.

To apply for this role, please send your CV and cover letter to:- recruitment@polfed.org