Research Officer – National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Public Protection (NCVPP)

College of Policing

United Kingdom

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 2 weeks

Policy

Flexible

£36,520 per year

Job summary

This role is available as either a designated homeworking role or a hybrid working role. However, some travel may be required. For hybrid working purposes, this post can be based at our sites in either Ryton-on-Dunsmore (CV8 3EN), Durham (DL15 8DS), Harrogate (HG1 1EP) or London (E14 4PU).

This post is open to applicants who can meet the College’s nationality, UK residency and vetting requirements.

About us:

The College of Policing

Our mission is: Leadership, Standards, Performance. This guides our work with individuals, forces, and policing partners towards our vision. We exist to support police officers, police staff and volunteers to deliver the best service to the public. Only through high quality leadership, consistent standards and continual performance improvement can everyone in policing reach their full potential. Our mission guides our work with individual, forces and partners towards our vision.

Although we are a relatively small organisation, our work has a big reach. We are uniquely placed to work both with national policing organisations and local forces to support frontline officers, staff and volunteers in their day-to-day roles.

We offer a supportive and inclusive environment for people to thrive. Our extensive flexible-working policy, employee wellbeing support, family friendly policies, employers’ network for equality and inclusion membership (ENEI silver award winners), and status as a disability confident leader means everyone can bring their whole self to work.

Job description

This role is available until 31/03/2027 as a fixed term appointment or as a secondment for colleagues employed directly by the College or the Civil Service.

Applications from candidates who do not meet these criteria will not be considered.

There are currently 2 vacancies. Where we have additional appointable candidates a reserve list will be held.

We may close the recruitment window early depending on the volume of applications.

National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) & Public Protection (PP)

Would you like to join a skilled and dedicated team of professionals who are committed to reducing the prevalence of VAWG and Public Protection (PP) offences across England and Wales, as part of a wider-system approach?

This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity to join the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls & Public Protection (NCVPP) within the College of Policing. The NCVPP provides support to forces in tackling the threat of VAWG and PP and improving our services to victims. You will also work with academics, victim groups and across Government to support our ambition and to ensure our work reflects the lived experiences of diverse communities.

We are working to continually train and upskill our officers and staff with the specialist knowledge and expertise required to carry out their roles effectively. We also continue to develop programmes, expanding on existing best practice with a focus on perpetrators and preventing life-long harm to victims.

Why Join Us?

Be part of a nationally significant programme with real-world impact.
Work in a dynamic, supportive, and mission-driven environment.
Contribute to shaping policy and practice at the highest level informed by the best possible evidence.

At the NCVPP, we are committed to creating an inclusive culture where diversity is valued, equity is embedded, and every voice matters. We champion fair recruitment, foster belonging, and integrate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) principles across our research, practice, and partnerships to ensure our work reflects and serves the diverse communities we protect.

We welcome applications from candidates of all ethnicities, faiths, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities and socio-economic backgrounds.

The NCVPP is hosted by the College of Policing in partnership with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC).

For more information about the NCVPP, visit: National centre for violence against women and girls and public protection , College of Policing

Familiarisation sessions will be held on 7th May at 2pm for candidates to attend to find out further information about the NCVPP and the roles advertised.

Please use the links to register if you wish to attend.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

Due to our status as Public Servants, we are not eligible to participate in the Civil Service transfer process. Therefore, while successful candidates can transfer in on their existing terms and conditions, any subsequent transfer out of the College to the Civil Service cannot be guaranteed on existing terms and conditions, and new starter/modernised terms may apply.

The College embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we comply with the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and apply the minimum selection criteria at sift stage of the recruitment process.

Our vetting

If you are successful at interview, you will be required to undertake pre-employment security checks. You will be sent a security questionnaire which must be accessed within 24 hours.

Please note, these checks can take up to 10 weeks. You will only be offered a start date after the checks have been completed. If the outcome of these checks is not satisfactory, your recommendation for employment will be withdrawn.

Person specification

This role sits within the research and review team within the VKPP and will be supporting the effective delivery of the Professionalising Public Protection Evidence & Evaluation (PPPEE) deliverables.

We look forward to reading your application for the role of Research Officer - NCVPP

Some of your responsibilities will include:

Conducting in-house research and analysis projects, selecting and applying appropriate research methodologies to the research question to answer customer’s information needs to agreed time, budget and quality specifications and take remedial action to address shortfalls in delivery.
Contribute to research projects of significant scale, selecting and apply a range of analytical techniques to carry out quality, timely and relevant in-house analysis and briefing work to meet colleague requirements and customer specifications.
Designing, developing and implementing outreach activities, supporting the formation of partnerships and collaborative working to improve understanding of and confidence in using evidence amongst non-specialist colleagues in the College, our customers and stakeholders to build the evidence base for policing.
Contributing to, regularly update content for, and identify and address evidence gap requirements through the delivery of evidence briefings and other knowledge resources to maximise their use in supporting evidence-based policing.

To be successful in this role you’ll need:

Excellent verbal and written communications skills with the ability to translate technical and academic language into an appropriate format and style for all stakeholders.
Ability to summarise and interpret information accurately, making use of different sources and to conduct basic analyses of key data sets utilising a working knowledge of relevant data analysis packages.
Experience in designing or delivering small scale and less complex research projects, defining research questions and writing draft specifications.
Excellent standard of planning and organisational ability
Ability to work collaboratively and build constructive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, promoting confidence in using evidence and supporting an evidence-based approach
To meet the Government Social Research Technical Framework for Technical Skills and Using & Promoting Social Research at Research Officer level.

Please see the attached job description which contains full details of the role.

Behaviours

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

Changing and Improving
Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

The technical skills at Research Officer level as set out in Government Social Research Technical Framework - Leading, communicating and championing social research
The technical skills at Research Officer level as set out in Government Social Research Technical Framework - Analysis & interpretation

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,520, College of Policing contributes £10,579 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

College staff have Public Servant status. As a Public Servant, you are eligible to join the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

The College is a great place to work. We're passionate about our people and offer a wide range of benefits, including (but not limited to):

Defined benefit pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
Up to 31.5 days holiday (this is in addition to 8 public holidays and 1 privilege day)
Continued professional development and structured career paths
Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
Flexi-time (for certain grades)
Benenden Healthcare
National Dental Plan
Discounts for on-line shopping
Free employee support line
Interest free season ticket loans
Rewards and recognition scheme
Learning and development tailored to your role.
An environment with flexible working options.
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.

We also have a number of thriving staff networks that provide the opportunity for advice, support and to drive change. A place to get your voice heard, share experiences and challenge our working practices to ensure equality of opportunity for all.

For more information about our benefits and staff networks, visit What we offer as an employer , College of Policing

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

This post is open to applicants who can meet the College’s nationality, UK residency and vetting requirements.

Vacancy reference: 7158

Anticipated interview dates: 11/06/2026 and 12/06/2026

As part of the application, you will be invited to complete government research standards test as part of the sift process. You will have 7 days to complete the test and once started, the test must be completed and should take 30 mins.

This role is available until 31st March 2027 as a fixed term appointment or as a secondment opportunity to:

colleagues employed directly by the College or the Civil Service. Please note you will be required to obtain the written support of your line manager prior to submitting your application.
serving police staff at the equivalent grade who have their chief officer's approval. Chief Officer’s approval must be of NPCC rank, i.e., CC, ACC or DCC. Approval for a secondment must accompany an application.
Please note applicants applying from force must have approval for a secondment, without this you application will not progress beyond sift, even if you are successful.

Central service conditions may apply.

Please ensure you return the attached secondment approval form either as an attachment when submitting your application or via email to recruitment@college.police.uk.

For further information on applying for a secondment please visit the “Secondments into the College” page.

For Fixed Term Contracts:

Whilst this fixed term contract is offered on the understanding that it will only last as long as the stated contract length, there could be a possibility that it could be extended or made permanent should circumstances allow.

Internal applicants who are at risk of redundancy or in need of redeployment and pass the recruitment process, will be given priority over other applicants.

How to apply and contact information:

For further information visit our ‘Work for us’ page.

What it's like working at the College of Policing

If you would like to discuss the role in more detail please contact Hannah Burn Evidence and Evaluation Adviser title at Hannah.burn@college.police.uk

We believe that a diverse workforce brings many benefits to the organisation including diversity of thought and improvements to the way we work internally and with partners and communities. We strive to be fully inclusive but we know there is more to do. We genuinely encourage people from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups to apply for this role.

We want to continually improve our recruitment processes and to remove any barriers to equal opportunities that could disadvantage those from particular backgrounds. In order for us to have the information to do this, we ask you to please complete the diversity section of the online application process. We use a “blind” shortlisting process and we hope that by using this method we will be able to promote greater diversity in our workforce and remove any subconscious decisions based on biases.

Please note that in order to work for the College of Policing you must have the Right to Work in the UK with indefinite leave to remain. In addition, you will also be required to provide an address history in the UK for the preceding 3 years.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Salary range

£36,520 per year

​​Research Officer – National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Public Protection (NCVPP)​