Researcher

We are inviting applications for a Researcher to join our civil service team, to start as soon as notice periods allow.

Our research staff spend their time thinking, talking and writing about how to make government more effective. They evaluate how government currently works and develop recommendations for how it could better organise itself, develop and deliver policy, and evaluate and regulate its own activities.

Our civil service team makes ambitious recommendations for how the civil service can work more effectively. Recent projects have looked at how to improve the centre of government (No.10, the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury), how the civil service should be held accountable for its institutional performance, how to get the best talent into government and whether the government’s civil service reform programme is working. We also produce the IfG’s flagship data-driven Whitehall Monitor, now into its twelfth year.

One of the benefits of working in the civil service team is getting to see the ‘hidden wiring’ of Whitehall up close. You will meet senior officials and politicians to discuss how government can work better to deliver their priorities. You will deepen your understanding of how the British state works – and how politicians and officials can best work together to deliver for the public. Part of your job will be building relationships with the officials in positions to affect change, and you will get the opportunity to substantially expand your network in government.

We are looking for someone creative and highly-organised. You do not need to have experience of working as a civil servant, or have detailed existing knowledge about the civil service, but you must be excited about the prospect of working on civil service reform and enthusiastic about the opportunity to improve how the civil service works.

Day-to-day, you will:

• Conduct rigorous qualitative and quantitative research and analysis, delivering research projects across our work programme.
• Write about our research in a range of formats, including long-form reports and shorter articles.
• Build relationships across Whitehall and beyond, making the case for our recommendations to decision makers and spotting opportunities to push our messages so they make a difference in practice.
• Work with our events team to organise and deliver public events, private roundtables, podcasts and more, and present our findings and recommendations in these forums.
• Work with our partnerships team to help secure funding for elements of our work, including supporting the development of funding proposals and liaising with partners about funded projects.
• Discuss project findings in the media, including TV and radio, where appropriate.

For full details, including a person specification, please read the job application pack available on our website: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/careers/current-vacancies/researcher

We encourage all candidates to read the job pack before starting their application.

The salary range for this role is £30,000 to £39,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience.

This role could suit people from a wide range of professional backgrounds, including but not limited to work experience in central or local government, non-departmental public bodies, consultancy, journalism, the voluntary sector, or another think tank or research organisation. If you are interested in applying but are not sure you have all the skills or experience we’re looking for, please do so and give us the opportunity to consider you as a candidate.

The IfG is committed to supporting greater diversity and inclusion within our workforce, and to fostering an environment in which everyone feels welcome, supported and valued. We welcome applications from anyone who is interested in government and how to make it more effective, and particularly encourage applications from candidates who belong to groups currently underrepresented in the think-tank sector. This includes but is not limited to people of colour, disabled candidates, and candidates from low-income backgrounds.