Behaviour, Insight and Research Team (BIR)

The Behaviour, Insight and Research (BIR) team sits within HMRC’s Customer Insight & Design Directorate. 

Job description

You will join BIR as a social researcher working in the customer research function within BIR. We deliver a large programme of social research across a number of priorities. The team recently led HMRC’s research to understand taxpayer experience of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme. We are also delivering multiple research projects to support EU transition.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading the development and scoping of primary research projects, maintaining relationships with key business partners and involving them throughout the process.

• Providing advice and expertise to colleagues across the business on a wide range of relevant research methods.

• Commissioning primary qualitative and quantitative social research, project managing the research process and external research suppliers.

• Quality assuring research, data analysis and outputs.

• Producing and presenting research in an accessible and engaging way to ensure maximum impact. This may include delivering presentations, workshops and seminars, it may also involve drafting briefing papers and internal reports to advise on operational changes.

• The opportunity to deliver qualitative research (particularly focus groups, interviews and workshops) directly with customers, using our own in-house customer lab facilities, as and when COVID restrictions are lifted.

By joining us here in HMRC we can offer you an excellent opportunity to develop your career as a social researcher in central government. We are a large department with over 70 social researchers and offer a range of opportunities to deliver research across a wide range of policy and operational areas. GSR members are very active as a community and meet regularly through internal conferences, task and finish groups and socials. We place a strong focus on personal development with regular cross-department training, coaching and mentoring schemes, and regular opportunities to attend internal and external seminars through the GSR network.

Essential Criteria:

• Strong social policy, social research methods and/or analytical, statistical and numeracy skills. Able to accurately evaluate competing data sources and identify salient points and trends to draw sound, logical inferences;

• An interest in the policy process and want to see research having an impact on government decisions;

• Advanced research skills, experience and knowledge, both qualitative and quantitative, gained through applied research as part of postgraduate studies or from working in a social research role in academia or the public, voluntary and/or private sectors;

• Experience leading complex primary research projects through scoping, delivery and dissemination stages. Establishing positive relationship with stakeholders and collaborating effectively;

• Comfortable working at pace, delivering multiple projects simultaneously to tight deadlines;

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and an ability to convey complex information in an engaging, straightforward and accessible way to a wide range of audiences;

• Understands the wider policy and operational context for research, explaining different angles critically and analytically, works with other analysts to best meet customer needs;

• Able to develop, implement and maintain review systems and quality assurance processes to ensure research is delivered to a high standard which stands up to external scrutiny.

Desirable skills:

• Experience commissioning, managing and leading external research agencies to deliver contracted research;

• Experience managing the work of junior researchers on complex research projects;

• Evidence of using research findings to drive organisational change

Please state if you are a member of the Government Social Research (GSR) profession.

If you are not a GSR member, please provide a breakdown of your qualifications (including modules) and Job history in a CV.

Qualifications

Non GSR members should demonstrate:

1. Qualifications: 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 the application of ethics to research.

OR

2. Experience: Hold an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:1, or 2:2 with a relevant 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’ social research practice experience. Social research practice experience consists of experience working in a research agency, market research agency or specialised research team. To enter the GSR through this route 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.

Should they pass the initial sift non GSR members will also need to take the GSR online knowledge test.

Behaviours

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

(More detail on Success Profiles link on this section on the application form)

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• GSR - Professional Expertise: Technical Skills.
• GSR - Professional Expertise: Using and Promoting Social Research.

No Agencies please. Click to be taken to an external application. Please read all the way through and make use of the links and attachments within it.