Senior Research Officer; Justice Policy

Welsh Parliament

Cardiff, UK

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 2 weeks

Policy

Full time

£49,026 - £58,756 per year

Job summary

We are recruiting a Senior Research Officer to lead on justice policy within Senedd Research.

Justice is not a fully devolved area, and work in this domain must navigate the “jagged edge” of devolution—the complex interface where policing, probation, prisons, family law, youth justice, civil law, and administrative justice interact unevenly with devolved Welsh responsibilities such as health, local government, housing, social services and education. Your role will involve providing impartial and authoritative analysis that recognises these cross cutting boundaries and their implications for policy and legislation in Wales.

You will provide independent, impartial parliamentary research to all Members of the Senedd to support their scrutiny, legislative and constituency work. This includes preparing briefings for Members and political parties, supporting Senedd committees, and producing digital content such as research articles, explainers, and analysis for Members and the public.

Given the breadth and complexity of justice policy in a partially devolved context, you will require a strong understanding of:

reserved and devolved areas affecting justice;
the UK–Welsh Government intergovernmental landscape;
evidence, policy, legislation and data relevant to criminal and civil justice systems; and
the emerging debate around the potential devolution of justice.

You will work flexibly across the wider Senedd Research team, supporting colleagues and contributing to cross cutting work where justice policy intersects with other devolved areas including equality, youth services, health, community safety and social policy. We have a culture of working across teams to help support each other in times of high demand. You will work in an agile way to support the Service through participation in cross service groups, editorial board activities and any service plan priorities. You will be expected to adapt as the role evolves and may also be expected to move between teams as required.

The role provides opportunities for external engagement and collaborative working with other legislatures, institutions and stakeholders both in the UK and internationally.

Job description

The role of Senior Research Officer for justice policy is varied, intellectually demanding and highly rewarding. Justice issues frequently have a high political and public profile, and the complex distribution of responsibilities within the UK means Members rely heavily on clear, well informed, and balanced advice.

You will support Senedd committees that scrutinise justice related matters—such as policing partnerships, youth justice, community safety, human rights, or access to justice—often working alongside committees whose remits overlap due to the interconnected nature of the Welsh and UK systems.

Because justice intersects with almost every devolved policy area, you will rapidly develop broad interdisciplinary expertise. You will be expected to explain complex constitutional arrangements and analyse how UK level developments affect communities and services in Wales.

You will have opportunities for external engagement with bodies such as inspectorates, legal sector organisations, academics, think tanks, and counterparts in other legislatures. You will also develop and apply digital skills, including data visualisation of crime and justice statistics, mapping analysis, and production of accessible digital explainers.

Key tasks:

Taking individual responsibility for providing timely, high-quality, impartial advice and analysis on justice policy – always recognising the devolved-reserved boundary.
Supporting Senedd committees, including scrutiny of cross government policy areas where justice interacts with devolved responsibilities (e.g., health, social care, housing, safeguarding, substance misuse).
Analysing and advising on UK level legislation and policy developments and their implications for Wales.
Giving clear, confident and effective research support to committee Chairs and Members on matters of justice, human rights and constitutional intergovernmental relations.
Building strong relationships with Members, support staff, academics, legal experts, inspectorates and stakeholders across the UK justice system.
Producing proactive content, including briefings, blog articles, data visualisation and research papers on justice issues to support open and well informed public debate.
Developing a network of external expertise, ensuring Members of the Senedd have access to a wide range of evidence, including comparative justice and constitutional research.
Contributing to Senedd Research’s “one team” ethos and supporting wider service development.

Similar to all posts in Senedd Research, you are likely to have to cover subject areas outside your immediate field of expertise in response to the information priorities of our customers and to work flexibly as necessary.

Person specification

Job Specific criteria:

Communication skills: You will communicate complex justice and constitutional issues clearly, impartially and accessibly for political and public audiences, both in writing and in person.
Research skills: You will have excellent research skills. These include the ability to critically analyse legislation, policy, statistical data (including crime and justice datasets), evaluations and academic literature, synthesising a wide range of sources free from bias.
Sound judgment You will demonstrate sound judgement when advising on politically sensitive or contentious justice issues, including those involving UK–Welsh government interfaces, intergovernmental disputes, or reserved/ devolved overlap.
Subject knowledge: Extensive knowledge and understanding of justice policy in the devolved Welsh and UK context, in areas such as policing, courts, prisons, probation, civil and family justice, community safety, youth justice, and the ongoing policy debates around the potential devolution of justice.

Desirable criteria:

The following qualities are not essential for this particular post but have been deemed as desirable. These will only be taken into account in the event of two (or more) candidates acquiring the same score at either application or interview stage.

Digital skills: Experience with justice-related datasets, social media content development, digital storytelling, or data visualisation.
Justice governance: Knowledge of the governance, funding and regulatory frameworks of the UK justice system, inspectorates and oversight bodies and/or a strong understanding of constitutional arrangements and the “jagged edge” between reserved and devolved powers.

Welsh language criteria:

The language skills for this post have been assessed Courtesy Level Welsh.

Candidates should have the ability to:

pronounce Welsh names, answer the phone and respond to simple greetings;
understand very simple phrases and greetings;
read very short and simple phrases, or able to interpret content using the technology available; and
write very simple phrases and greetings

If the successful candidate does not possess these skills, they will be expected to commit to learn them during an agreed period. For further information on the Welsh language levels, please visit our website.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £49,026, Welsh Parliament contributes £14,202 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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

Closing Date for applications:

23:59 13 April 2026

Your application must be submitted before midnight on the closing date.

You will be updated on your progress via the email address you first register with. Please check your Junk Mail and Spam folders to make sure you don’t miss any future correspondence.

Candidates that are successful at sift will be invited to a virtual written assessment to be conducted on:

29 April 2026

Only the successful candidates at the assessment stage will be invited to interview.

Interviews will then be held in-person only in Tŷ Hywel, Cardiff Bay on:

20 May 2026

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

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

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

Job contact :

Name : Sarah Hatherley
Email : sarah.hatherley@senedd.wales
Telephone : 0300 200 6318

Salary range

£49,026 - £58,756 per year