**This vacancy is only available to existing University of Essex staff**
Department
The Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, seeks an Engagement and Communications Officer for the Understanding Society Surveys team. Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study is a major national longitudinal survey covering 40,000 UK households. The role ensures the survey delivers high-quality data by engaging and supporting participants. Key responsibilities include implementing a participant engagement strategy with a “respondent-centred design” approach.
Duties of the role
The postholder will provide frontline support to Understanding Society participants, ensuring their long-term engagement with the study as it evolves and its complexity increases. Working as part of a team, you will liaise with ISER colleagues and external fieldwork agencies to resolve diverse participant queries in a timely manner, whilst adhering to data protection and security policies. You will contribute to the improvement and enhancement of survey processes and procedures, as well as participants communication materials. Contributing to long-term participant engagement activities through qualitative research with participants and collecting metrics on participant issues.
A full list of duties and responsibilities of the role can be found within the job pack.
Qualifications and skills required
Candidates for this role should possess an undergraduate degree or equivalent experience / qualifications, along with experience in a customer service capacity.
Essential attributes include outstanding interpersonal and communication skills, enabling clear and effective interaction with diverse participants and stakeholders. The ideal candidate will be motivated, capable of working independently and collaboratively, and adept at managing time effectively to meet tight deadlines.
This is a fixed-term post for one year in the first instance. Whilst it is a full-time post, we would also welcome part-time applications at 0.8 FTE (28.8 hours per week).