Lead Analyst

Lead Analyst - (240000ZJ)

Description

 

UK Research and Innovation

Salary: £56,745 + London allowance if already based in London
Hours: Full time/Part time (Minimum 0.8 FTE)
Contract Type:  Open Ended.
Location: Polaris House, Swindon (Employees may retain their current base location)

Closing Date: Sunday 5th January 2025

Job Summary

The Lead Analyst for the Research and Innovation System plays a pivotal role in the organisation’s wider understanding of the landscape that UKRI is providing funding into. Reporting to the Head of Strategic Analysis, you will lead compelling analysis to ‘keep the pulse’ on the research and innovation system, advising decision makers in UKRI and government. You will be an accomplished analyst able to deploy a range of techniques to answer challenging analytical questions, deliver an analytical portfolio through effective delegation, and influence senior stakeholders.

 

We are expecting to recruit for other vacancies requiring similar skillsets in the near future, delivering analysis to support policy development and strategic decision making across the organisation. Candidates that meet the requirements but are not appointed will be added to a 6 month reserve list. 

Job Description

You will lead a team of up to two analysts to deliver key insights into the research and innovation system. This role will involve collaborating closely with the relevant strategy team within UKRI’s Investment Planning and Strategy directorate (the directorate that this role sits in), as well as other parts of UKRI and DSIT. The role provides a unique opportunity to ensure that senior leaders within UKRI and government, when considering UKRI’s funding portfolio, possess the contextual knowledge on the UK’s research and innovation system to make informed decisions.

• Support UKRI in responding to challenges and opportunities present in the research and innovation system. For instance, universities and research organisations currently face significant financial pressures and your role would be to deliver an analytical portfolio providing evidence to understand how these pressures relate to the financial sustainability of the research and innovation that UKRI funds. As part of this, you would provide analysis to enable UKRI to make informed policy decisions related to these financial sustainability issues.
• Brief UKRI’s senior leaders and Board on the latest trends within the research and innovation system by analysing data pertaining to sources of funding and the purposes for which the funding is being used for. Provide insights from official research and development statistics published by agencies such as the ONS and OECD.
• Communicate and collaborate with organisations such as the Office for Students and Higher Education Statistics Agency to understand which other data sources could support your analytical portfolio and use quantitative analytical skills to make the most of these. Oversee the regular publication of statistical data, ensuring that we are working within appropriate data sharing agreements to maintain commercial confidentiality.
• Draw international comparisons between the performance of the UK’s research and innovation system and that of comparator countries based on strong understanding and sourcing evidence and data.
• Consider the complementarity of UKRI’s funding alongside that of other sources of funding within the system.
• Apply advanced quantitative approaches such as data linking, scenario modelling and statistical testing to support decision making on complex strategic and policy questions.

Priorities and the direction of the analysis teams naturally evolve and develop over time, and there is the expectation of role holders to apply their skillsets to other domain areas as appropriate. There will be opportunities to support the Head of Strategic Analysis on other topics that the team covers, including thematic analysis of the portfolio, ensuring business cases for new investment are underpinned by robust economic appraisal, and preparing evidence to support UKRI’s multi-billion bid at fiscal events such as Spending Review and subsequent allocations.

About you

Essential qualifications: A degree (if a joint honours at least half of the degree should be relevant) or equivalent work experience in economics, statistics, data science, operational research, social research, or highly numerate subjects such as mathematics, physics or engineering.  

Essential skills and experience that will be assessed through the recruitment process:

• Excellent analytical skills: an experienced analyst with a track record of delivering high-quality analytical products that meet strategic needs. Possession of a quantitative analytical skillset, able to maximise the use of multiple quantitative datasets; for example, through using R, Python or SQL. Awareness of and ability to apply economic principles and economic methods to analytical challenges.
• Management of a portfolio: Ability to balance the delivery of longer-term projects with immediate and responsive tasks - clearly outlining priorities, delegating roles and responsibilities to team members / counterparts. This will involve line management of a senior analyst and coordinating work across yourself and two analysts.
• Strong communicating and influencing skills: specifically communicating analytical findings to non-technical audiences that reflect and meet the needs of the strategic context, and generating buy-in from senior audiences in UKRI and government.
• Seeing the big picture: Exhibiting strategic acumen through ensuring that plans and activities in your area of work reflect wider strategic priorities, as well as being flexible in adapting to shifting requirements and short-turnaround demands in an uncertain environment.
• Ability to build relationships and working together with others: lead joint working with other teams and organisations, showing awareness of how this complements your work, and where you have benefitted others.

Desirable skills:

• Familiarity with the UK’s research and innovation system.
• Experience in producing analysis and evidence consistent with HMT Green Book and Magenta Book principles and assurance processes as set out in the Aqua Book.

Application process and shortlisting criteria

Applicants are invited to submit a CV and a cover letter. The cover letter should cover the following:

• Analytical skills – examples from previous experience that provide evidence to support your application for an analytical role as specified above.
• Management of a portfolio – highlighting prior experience of managing a portfolio of analytical projects, as well as line management experience.
• Examples from previous experience that demonstrate your aptitude in the following three behaviours:

o   Communicating and influencing

o   Seeing the big picture

o   Working together

o   for guidance see Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours  – this role is equivalent to a Grade 7 banding in the Civil Service so applicants should provide evidence at least on a par with ‘Grade 7 and Grade 6 or equivalent’

Overall, the cover letter should be no longer than 1,250 words. In the event that we receive a high number of applications, we will shortlist based on the lead competency – analytical skills.

For any questions associated with this opportunity, please contact hiring manager Patrick Rigby (Patrick.Rigby@ukri.org).

Further application guidance

Write examples in your cover letter that demonstrate you meet the key behaviours.

We recommend you consider each of the key behaviours (including analytical skills and management of a portfolio) described above in turn, providing a clear example of how you demonstrate each. It is advisable that you apply the STAR approach when describing behaviours: situation, task, action and result.

As an example, suppose “Communicating and influencing” is one of the behaviours that you have been asked to provide evidence for. By looking at this behaviour for ‘Grade 7 and Grade 6 or equivalent’, you’ll have an idea of some examples of this behaviour.  In your cover letter you should provide evidence that demonstrates some or all of the various aspects of this behaviour. Your evidence will tell us the situation, the task and then summarise what you did that provides evidence of this behaviour, and finally the result of your action. 

Please note that we select people to interview based on the strength of the evidence supplied in the cover letter. We recommend that you invest some time in making your cover letter as strong as possible and use it to demonstrate your analytical skills and experience. The cover letter is the main source of evidence for the sift of applications - not the CV.

 

Qualifications

 

About UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) 

UKRI launched in April 2018, UKRI is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Our organisation brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England, which is responsible for supporting research and knowledge exchange at higher education institutions in England, and the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK. Together we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. More information can be found at www.ukri.org. 

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme.  For more details, visit Benefits of working for for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role.  UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

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. 

 

Primary Location

: England-Wiltshire-Swindon

Job

: Professional

Organization

: UKRI - StrategyContract Type: Open Ended

Unposting Date

: 05-01-2025Hours: Full-time / Part-time

Salary (Pay Basis)

: Pound Sterling (GBP)56,745.00Band UKRI: UKRI-Band F