Job responsibilities
Job Context
The HDRC North Yorkshire is a collaboration with the
Universities of Hull and York that will develop the research culture of the
Council and build Council-University partnerships to conduct and use research
on the health and wellbeing issues that matter to communities and which reduce
inequalities (see Research Registry: https://www.researchregistry.com/browse-the-registry#home/registrationdetails/659429d7a9df600027146791/).
The HDRC NY has four work packages, each co-Lead by Council staff
and University academics:
- Development of research infrastructure and governance
- Development of research capacity and capability
- Dissemination and impact, and
- Learning and evaluation.
This role is pivotal to
effectively tackle health inequalities through building up an increased
system-wide understanding around the impact of the wider determinants of health
across all council directorates. Be a passionate advocate for addressing
health inequalities and will be aligned with our values of being: Inclusive,
ambitious, creative, together (IACT).
Be responsible for ensuring the collaborative achieves its ambition of
developing a research culture across the council that will support the
transformation and innovation of services to improve health outcomes and reduce
inequalities.
Have operational responsibility for the HDRC NYs Core Team working
alongside academic partners ensuring the collaboration meets its delivery plan
and complies with NIHR contractual arrangements.
Provide expert advice, support, and guidance across the
HDRC through the management of five objectives: promoting a research culture,
building research capacity and capability, developing research collaboration
and co-production, embedding champions of research and effective research
communication and knowledge exchange.
Have experience of conducting research and evaluation in the context of
improving health and reducing health inequalities and have experience in grant
writing, monitoring, or evaluating proposals.
Be an outstanding people manager,
able to lead, motivate and develop a multidisciplinary team, and an excellent
communicator, able to build relationships with colleagues across the council
and externally.
Have some understanding of the strategic and operational challenges of
embedding a research culture and putting research into practice within a local
authority setting.
Possess excellent communication and
influencing skills to enable collaborative working with key partners to deliver
meaningful engagement with diverse communities, the voluntary sector and those
with seldom heard voices.
Be able to demonstrate strong leadership and relationship
building skills which will be required to manage the complexities involved in
consensus building, priority identification and motivating others within an
emerging research ecosystem.
Operational Management
- Lead the
development and delivery of the HDRC work programme ensuring milestones are met
and workloads prioritised.
- Lead the
production of performance reports and submit to relevant committees as required
(e.g., HDRC Strategic Steering Group which includes Assistant Directors and
Councillors Representatives).
- Chair the
HDRC Operational Group.
- Develop
and monitor appropriate performance indicators/impact measures of the project.
- Manage the
recruitment and training of staff and provide day-to-day management of relevant
team members and other staff working with the team.
- Be the named budget manager to
oversee the monitoring and reporting of the HDRC budget (£5 million) and other
additional grants as appropriate.
- Meet reporting requirements of
project grant agreement/s.
- Ensure sharing perspectives, culture, and collaborative
working across the HDRC Team, council, universities, and other partners.
- Coordinate
a local authority research champion network to
influence research strategic priorities and practice within directorates.
- Ensure
the project actively engages with local communities to listen to their views and involve them in
appropriately shaping and undertaking research.
- Ensure the
project is informed and responsive to specialist expertise and the lived experience of independent experts
(Independent Advisory Group).
- Oversight for the leadership and day-to-day coordination,
financial and risk management and oversight, research quality and
administration functions.
Resource Management
- Ensure grant
funding is spent and reported in line with NIHR requirements.
- Oversee the Partnership
and Collaboration agreements.
- Monitoring
expenditure and producing regular budget forecasts, taking action to manage
within grant limits where necessary.
- Provide support and supervise the HDRC delivery team.
- Develop, in collaboration with academic partners, a CPD programme for the
HDRC delivery team that includes mentorship and peer supervision.
- Participate and
contribute to the HAS and wider Council programme of CPD (and academic partners
where appropriate).
- Ensure their behaviours and those of their managers comply with the
expectations of the Managers Pocket book.
Partnerships
- Develop strong
research partnerships across the regional and national research ecosystem
(e.g., NIHR, Universities, NHS, LAs VCSEs, HDRCs) to maximise the potential
impact for joint working across a range of research initiatives, including
external funding investment.
- Deputise for the
Public Health Consultant (HDRC Director) as required and represent the HDRC
North Yorkshire at research forums/meetings/networks as appropriate.
- Work
collaboratively with other local authority staff and partner agencies to
influence an integrated and co-ordinated approach to identifying shared
research priorities.
- Lead and oversee
the development and delivery of work to build community resilience and research
capability, working with Elected Members, local communities and other local
partners while building on the skills, assets, and capabilities that
individuals and communities have.
Strategic
Management
- Lead the
development and implementation of a range of strategies to support the HDRC and
its objectives e.g., North Yorkshire Council Research Strategy.
- Lead in
collaboration with academic partners on the
development and management of the councils research governance system which
includes ethical processes.
- Lead the
creation of an environment which fosters the use of evidence in practice, the
development of research questions, the involvement of the communities in
research priority setting and the production of research evidence for use
locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
- Work with
the HDRC Director to ensure alignment of the work of the HDRC with the
councils priorities/transformation agenda.
- Work with
the HDRC Director to brief Councillors and Elected Members/corporate managers
and external partners as appropriate.
- Forge
strong links with other HDRCs and regional and national networks.
- Be
strategically responsible for the delivery of four Work Packages:
Infrastructure and Governance, Capacity and Capability, Dissemination and
Impact and Learning and Evaluation ensuring all are underpinned by excellent
community engagement and consultation.
- Provide
expert advice into the research ecosystem and drive innovation.
- Provide
strategic oversight on the development and submission of research bids to
external funding organisations through local, regional, and national
partnership working alongside local people from a range of different
backgrounds.
- Maintain
awareness of relevant national and local developments to identify opportunities
for development and continuous improvement, contributing to service and
transformation planning and the establishment and review of council policies,
procedures, and guidance.
- Take a
lead role in building and embedding a strong research culture across the HDRC
partners and collaborators.
Communications
- Write reports and
deliver presentations on complex research issues to a variety of audiences as
required.
- Provide
information, written and oral in an extensive range of formats to a range of
stakeholders.
- Support, contribute
to and where appropriate co-author the production of academic research papers.
- Ensure and promote
effective public/community involvement in the planning, development,
implementation of research activities (HDRC Engagement Hub).
- Disseminate key
research learning across North Yorkshire as well as via appropriate regional,
national, and international forums.
- Represent HDRC NY
at appropriate inter and intra agency meetings, promoting, liaising,
consulting, and engaging with managers and staff.
- Support the
response to media enquiries relating to HDRC NY research work as requested by
the Public Health Consultant (HDRC Director).
- Oversight of and
manage the HDRC North Yorkshire website.
- Work with partners
in the Council, Universities, the NHS, and the corporate communications team to
ensure that effective communication processes, including social media, are used
to support the aims and objectives of the HDRC.
- Carry out duties in
accordance with NYC communications policies.
Systems and
Information
- Carry out duties in accordance with NYC systems and information policies.
- Utilise the
agreed business processes in relation to record keeping, financial monitoring
and ICT.
- Present complex
and sensitive research information to a range of different agencies requiring
persuasive and negotiating skills.
- Regularly
monitor outcomes/impact in relation to specific research
activities/initiatives.
- Interpret
complex research and information (quantitative and qualitative) to influence
decision making and drive the research agenda and culture with the Health and
Adult Social Care (HAS) directorate and the wider Council.
- Formulate and
utilise information management systems e.g., computer software to collate and
compile records and to convey information.
