Senior Engagement Officer

Health Research Authority

The closing date is 27 February 2025

Job summary

The Senior Engagement Officer helps the HRA talk to, listen to, and involve the right people at the right times to inform what the HRA does and how we do it to have the biggest impact.

You will help us identify, build, and maintain relationships with key stakeholders. You will both build relationships yourself and support staff across the HRA to do so.

You will have an overview of all the HRA's external engagement, helping us to use this effectively to share information and gather intelligence to inform and improve what we do.

In this role you will have the opportunity to both lead on specific engagement, as well as supporting colleagues across the HRA to deliver engagement activities.

Main duties of the job

You will provide the secretariat for the HRA Community Committee. This is a new Committee made up of members of our research ethics committees, the confidentiality advisory group and members of the public who work with us through our public involvement network. This Committee will increase the role of the HRA community in the HRA's governance, ensuring the views of our community inform what we do.

You will be an intelligence lead for one of our stakeholder audiences. In this role you will monitor developments and issues affecting this stakeholder audience, distilling and interpreting this information to show how this may affect the HRA. You will share this intelligence internally and use this to inform how we engage with them.

You will lead the delivery of an internal weekly update to support all HRA staff in their roles.

About us

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for you, not just us and the work we do.

We're committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that help us to deliver the best services.

We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community. This includes:o ageo disabilityo ethnicityo gender identity and expressiono religion or beliefo sexo sexual orientationo other diverse characteristics

We have policies in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.

When applying to work here, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement - if it works for you, we'll do our best to make it work for us.

Date posted

13 February 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£37,338 to £44,962 a year

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working, Home or remote working

Reference number

980-HRA7001451-B

Job locations

3 Piccadilly Place

London Road

Manchester

M1 3BN


Job description

Job responsibilities

This role sits within the Policy and Partnerships directorate which is made up of three teams: policy and engagement, communications and public involvement. We provide support and advice across the organisation on communicating with staff and external audiences, engaging with stakeholders and involving patients and the public in our work. To find out more and to understand the full duties of the role, please refer to the job description attached. In submitting your application with us, please note the following: We currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies. We do not hold a sponsorship licence and are unable to offer employment under any sponsorship arrangement. Where applicants fail to demonstrate how they meet any one of the essential criteria of the person specification, the application will not be shortlisted. You will be considered based only on the information in your application form. CVs will not be considered. The HRA reserves the right to close this vacancy early should it receive a sufficient number of applications.

Job description

Job responsibilities

This role sits within the Policy and Partnerships directorate which is made up of three teams: policy and engagement, communications and public involvement. We provide support and advice across the organisation on communicating with staff and external audiences, engaging with stakeholders and involving patients and the public in our work. To find out more and to understand the full duties of the role, please refer to the job description attached. In submitting your application with us, please note the following: We currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies. We do not hold a sponsorship licence and are unable to offer employment under any sponsorship arrangement. Where applicants fail to demonstrate how they meet any one of the essential criteria of the person specification, the application will not be shortlisted. You will be considered based only on the information in your application form. CVs will not be considered. The HRA reserves the right to close this vacancy early should it receive a sufficient number of applications.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Experience of engaging with people about policy issues in any sector and a strong theoretical understanding of how to do this well. This should be equivalent to at least a post-graduate diploma level of training and experience, but we recognise and welcome that you may have taken very different routes to this.

Knowledge, Skills and Expertise

Essential

  • Good analytical and judgement skills, with the ability to apply these to independently manage competing priorities on your time and to be flexible and adaptable when needed to make these happen.
  • A good communicator, both in person and in writing, with the ability to convey complex information in a clear and accessible way to different audiences.

Desirable

  • Understanding of health and social care research policy.
  • Understanding of the policy-making process, including the role of government and parliament.

Experience

Essential

  • Able to manage engagement projects from beginning to end, including defining objectives, designing an appropriate approach to meet these, making this happen, reporting on progress, and using the outputs to inform change.

Desirable

  • Experience of engaging with people and organisations about health and social care research policy and/or issues in research.
  • Experience of supporting committees or stakeholder groups, including liaising with members and writing minutes.

Interpersonal skills

Essential

  • Able to apply insights to engage with people and organisations in a way that works for them so that you can build and maintain great relationships with stakeholders.
  • Confident to engage with people who may have different and conflicting points of view and use diplomacy and sensitivity to find a way to move forward together.
  • Proactively ask for and use feedback to inform your actions, even if it means you need to change your approach.

Other

Essential

  • Commitment to inclusivity and valuing diversity

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

Essential

  • Able to proactively find, interpret, and define information about issues and stakeholders that are important to the HRA's work, analyse and identify what this means for the HRA, and share these insights with colleagues.
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Experience of engaging with people about policy issues in any sector and a strong theoretical understanding of how to do this well. This should be equivalent to at least a post-graduate diploma level of training and experience, but we recognise and welcome that you may have taken very different routes to this.

Knowledge, Skills and Expertise

Essential

  • Good analytical and judgement skills, with the ability to apply these to independently manage competing priorities on your time and to be flexible and adaptable when needed to make these happen.
  • A good communicator, both in person and in writing, with the ability to convey complex information in a clear and accessible way to different audiences.

Desirable

  • Understanding of health and social care research policy.
  • Understanding of the policy-making process, including the role of government and parliament.

Experience

Essential

  • Able to manage engagement projects from beginning to end, including defining objectives, designing an appropriate approach to meet these, making this happen, reporting on progress, and using the outputs to inform change.

Desirable

  • Experience of engaging with people and organisations about health and social care research policy and/or issues in research.
  • Experience of supporting committees or stakeholder groups, including liaising with members and writing minutes.

Interpersonal skills

Essential

  • Able to apply insights to engage with people and organisations in a way that works for them so that you can build and maintain great relationships with stakeholders.
  • Confident to engage with people who may have different and conflicting points of view and use diplomacy and sensitivity to find a way to move forward together.
  • Proactively ask for and use feedback to inform your actions, even if it means you need to change your approach.

Other

Essential

  • Commitment to inclusivity and valuing diversity

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

Essential

  • Able to proactively find, interpret, and define information about issues and stakeholders that are important to the HRA's work, analyse and identify what this means for the HRA, and share these insights with colleagues.

Employer details

Employer name

Health Research Authority

Address

3 Piccadilly Place

London Road

Manchester

M1 3BN


Employer's website

https://www.hra.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Health Research Authority

Address

3 Piccadilly Place

London Road

Manchester

M1 3BN


Employer's website

https://www.hra.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


For questions about the job, contact:

Engagement Manager

Nicola Gilzeane

nicola.gilzeane@hra.nhs.uk

Date posted

13 February 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£37,338 to £44,962 a year

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working, Home or remote working

Reference number

980-HRA7001451-B

Job locations

3 Piccadilly Place

London Road

Manchester

M1 3BN


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Health Research Authority's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)