Director - Research & Evaluation (Employment, Welfare & Skills)

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Job Description

The Role...

Ipsos UK Public Affairs are the leaders in social research. This role will be working within the Employment, Welfare & Skills team. Our clients are some of the biggest, most high-profile government departments (HMRC, DWP, DfE, DCMS, MaPS).

Recent studies have included assessing the effects of changes to Universal Credit service delivery on claimants; public perceptions to inform development of Pensions Dashboards; experiences of using Tax Free Childcare and studies evaluating the impact of DWP skills and employment programmes.

What will I be doing?

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced senior leader with extensive research and evaluation skills to lead high profile studies and take a key role in the next stage of growth for our team.

As a Director, you will play an important role in business development, leading on winning proposals and identifying opportunities for further growth, while supporting the team and wider management of the business.

We are looking for someone with strong leadership credentials and proven research and evaluation skills. The ideal candidate would be interested in working on a range of research and evaluation projects and have experience delivering large, multi-strand projects - with experience of mixed-method designs including process and impact evaluations (including quasi-experimental and RCT designs) for relevant clients in this sector.

We are looking for someone with strong experience in social policy research and evaluation, with direct experience of work within employment, welfare and skills policy areas.

The main responsibilities will include:

• A senior role within the largest social research and evaluation business in the UK;
• Developing strategic client and partner relationships;
• Leading winning proposals, supported by the wider team;
• Contributing to business strategy, meeting and monitoring financial targets as well as drawing up annual strategic plans;
• Directing a range of research and evaluation projects through the full project cycle, from design, through to developing conclusions and recommendations;
• Signing off deliverables (proposals, research/evaluation tools, presentations and reports) which meet clients and stakeholders' objectives, including applying creative approaches where applicable;
• Leading on thought leadership and business development;
• Supporting and developing skills and capabilities amongst junior team members;
• Representing Ipsos externally; speaking at conferences and seminars as well as in print and broadcast media;
• Contributing to the successful running of the team through building a positive, supportive environment where people are encouraged to challenge themselves to develop their skills.

What do I need to bring with me?

This role will suit candidates who enjoy working closely with clients, often delivering at a fast pace. We are looking for someone with:

• Proven track record of leading teams and delivering high quality research and evaluation studies for UK Government clients within relevant sectors.
• Good knowledge of both quantitative and qualitative (i.e. mixed method) approaches to evaluation problems and experience of designing and delivering process and impact evaluations.
• Experience of delivering work within Employment, Welfare and Skills-related policy areas.
• Proven ability of taking lead responsibility for delivering major projects within timings and budgets.
• Proven ability to lead winning research and evaluation proposals.
• Experience of establishing and managing strong client relationships.
• Confident and clear written and verbal communication skills, including experience of preparing presentations and ideally written reports.
• Time management skills and ability to work across multiple projects, prioritising tasks efficiently.
• Proven ability to inspire others and work well in teams.

What is in it for me?

Ipsos UK offer an attractive basic salary and a rewards package including 25 days annual leave, a pension scheme and a great range of flexible benefits to suit your personal needs. For roles at Research Manager level and above we also offer private healthcare.

In addition to this we have a fantastic Learning & Development offer delivered through a mix of face to face, online or on-demand; you can read more by clicking here.

We realise you may have commitments outside of work and will consider flexible working applications - please highlight what you are looking for when you make your application.

Ipsos is committed to equality, treating people fairly, promoting a positive and inclusive working environment and ensuring we have diversity of people and views. We also recognise that this is important for our business success - a more diverse workforce will enable us to better reflect and understand the world we research and ultimately deliver better research and insight to our clients.

About Us

Ipsos is one of the world's largest research companies and currently the only one primarily managed by researchers, ranking as a #1 full-service research organization for four consecutive years. With over 75 different data-driven solutions, and presence in 90 markets, Ipsos brings together research, implementation, methodological, and subject-matter experts from around the world, combining thematic and technical experts to deliver top-quality research and insights. Simply speaking, we help the biggest companies solve some of their biggest problems, serving more than 5000 clients across the globe by providing research, data, and insights on their target markets. And we're proud to share we've received our Great Place to Work Certification in 2022 & 2023!

About the Team

The Public Affairs Service Line is the world leader in Social and Opinion Research. We work with clients on political and public opinion polling, citizen and stakeholder management, social policy improvement, sustainable development strategy and identifying societal trends and perceptions across several sectors. We assess how government and public affairs policies as well as societal trends and views impact our client's brand/products/markets.