Research Manager

Job Title: Research Manager x 2
Directorate:  Policy, Research and Voter Engagement
Starting salary band: £52,420-£55,041 per annum

• D1 grade: £52,420-£55,041 per annum depending on skills, experience and qualification.
• Staff with the London Office as their work location will attract a London weighting allowance of £3,217 on top of their base salary.
  
  

Full time & Permanent: This role work on a Hybrid basis which requires a minimum of 2 days office attendance (40%).
Location: Preferred location is London as this is where majority of the team and stakeholders are based but we will consider applicants who can work from either Cardiff, Edinburgh or Belfast office locations.

Working at the Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission is the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. We work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and to ensure its integrity.

We offer excellent terms and conditions, including flexible working hours and the opportunity to join the Civil Service pension arrangements, fantastic office space and endless opportunities for personal development opportunities and continuous learning.

Other Benefits

The Electoral Commission contributes 28.97% of your basic salary towards you being a member of the Civil Service Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides and the conditions involved.

The Electoral Commission offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as flexi scheme, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A working from home allowance of £312 per annum is paid as a tax free working from home allowance.
• A minimum of 28 days of paid annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays increasing up to a maximum of 30 days after 4 years.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Eye care vouchers, Ride 2 Work and an opportunity to sell up to 5 days annual leave at the end of the annual leave period
• A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40% of their time in the office.

The Role

These are two new roles within the Commission’s Policy, Research and Voter Engagement directorate with the responsibility for the successful running of teams of researchers and oversight of research activities. The Commission is proud to be an evidence-led organisation, and these are key roles in maintaining and improving our evidence base.

You will act as an expert point of contact in relation to the Commission’s research and will take the lead in promoting our findings, both internally and externally. As a manager, you will also identify opportunities for us to increase the effectiveness and impact of our research, including through collaboration and partnership with other organisations.  

You will build and maintain strong working relationships with relevant government officials, and other external partners, including senior local authority officers, political party officials, staff from other regulators, think tanks and relevant academics. You will work closely with colleagues in the Commission’s Policy team to ensure our policies and recommendations are informed by robust evidence, and with electoral administration and regulation teams to ensure that our research programme builds on and supports their operational experience.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for someone with significant research experience, ideally with a substantial public or third sector background. The successful candidate will have the confidence to act on their own initiative to manage the delivery of our research and evaluation programme.

You should be a well-organised, problem solver with a strong attention to detail and good communication skills. You will also be resilient and capable of managing complexity while working under public scrutiny. Familiarity with elections or regulatory work would be highly desirable, as would a sound grasp of the political/electoral landscape.

To be successful in this role, you will need to have:

• Experience at an appropriate level of designing and managing complex research projects, budgets and staff, and of being proactive in taking steps to ensure work is delivered to the required standards to often tight deadlines.
• Experience of using research to support policy development, including some experience in the public sector
• Experience of contract management

For a full list of competencies, please refer to the job description and person specification.

 

More information on how to apply

To remove bias from our recruitment process the Electoral Commission operates anonymous recruitment.  Please apply by supplying an anonymous CV, without reference to your name, age, ethnicity or other identifiable information. Failure to supply anonymous CV and cover letter will result in your application being rejected.

 

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people who are passionate about democracy. The more diverse our workforce, the better we can adapt to and reflect the needs of society. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and as a staff member you will become part of an inclusive culture, where you will have the opportunity to achieve your full potential and enhance your career through learning and development.

 

Closing date is Sunday 22 June 2025 at 23:59. Although we reserve to close the advert earlier if we receive a high volume of interest so please don’t delay applying if interested.

 

Shortlisting will take place week commencing 23 June 2025

 

1^st stage interviews will be held in the week commencing 7 July 2025

If successful- 2^nd stage interviews will be held within a week of the first interview.

 

Role to start at the earliest August but no later than October.  

 

Applicants who are applying for the London based position will be expected to attend the interview in person at our offices in Bunhill Row, London. We may use video conferencing tools for the interviews of applicants based in any of the devolved office locations. We will confirm details with shortlisted candidates. Electoral Commission does not compensate candidates for the  travel costs incurred due to interview attendance.

 

If you are interested in applying for this role please download the job description before applying online.

 

If you have any further questions about the role please don’t hesitate to contact the recruitment team on recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk  who will be happy to help.

 

No Agencies please.