Job summary
We are looking for a Senior Research Officer to work at the Senedd. This is an excellent opportunity to play a vital part in providing analysis, information and advice on finance, statistics, budgets, taxation policy, economic trends, and many other areas within the scope of the Financial Scrutiny Team.
As part of a team of six, you would directly support the Finance Committee and Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee. The team summarise key issues from various information sources and communicate these effectively and in easily understandable formats. You would also support policy teams in Senedd Research to locate, understand and use numerical information.
You will be involved in all aspects of parliamentary research, including preparing briefing for individual Members and party groups, supporting Senedd committees, contributing to the development of costings of backbench legislation and preparing digital content, for example in the form of research articles and research briefings for Members and the public. This role requires strong numerical and analytical skills, the ability to quickly find, extract key issues, summarise and communicate information succinctly and effectively. The ability to work independently, manage multiple pieces of work simultaneously, and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced parliamentary environment is essential.
Senedd Research is an independent and impartial team of researchers, information and data specialists providing independent, impartial, information to all Members of the Senedd to ensure they are able to support their constituents and participate in Senedd business. The Research teams support each other, as well as other areas of the Senedd Commission. You will have the opportunity to work with a variety of different departments across the organisation, communicating technical outputs to a range of stakeholders, whilst adapting your content and delivery appropriately.
You will work closely with the digital and library research team, which will give the opportunity to work with our data scientist and GIS expert to make use of emerging technologies to continually improve what the team produces and how we work.
The role also provides opportunities to work with other parliaments, institutions and legislatures both in the UK and internationally.
For more information, please view the job description.
Job description
This post is at a senior level. You will be working with the Team Leader and FSU colleagues taking� responsibility for providing impartial, independent and expert advice and briefing to support Members, their staff, colleagues in committee services and throughout the Senedd Commission (the parliamentary corporate body). �
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Key tasks:
1. Providing written and oral analysis and briefing to the Welsh Parliament�s committees in their scrutiny of the Welsh Government�s spending and taxation plans and the costs associated with legislation.
2. Sourcing and summarising statistical, economic and financial information, including relevant policy, in a range of subject areas in response to requests from committees, individual Senedd Members and their staff.
3. Developing effective relationships with Members of the Senedd and their staff to win their trust and confidence, and work collaboratively with colleagues from across the Senedd, external stakeholders, academics and information providers.
4. Using the expertise of stakeholders and experts to develop cost impact assessments of backbench legislative proposals being developed by Members of the Senedd .
5. Working with and supporting colleagues around the organisation to improve their skills, understanding and use statistical and financial information.
6. Developing and maintaining expertise in particular in relation to the work of the Finance Committee. Making use of this knowledge to improve services to committees, Members of the Senedd and information available to the wider public.
7. Writing research briefings and research articles on relevant topics, helping to explain sometimes complex financial or numerical information to contribute to open and well informed debate.� Supporting other researchers in relation to presenting financial information and statistics in the outputs they produce.
8. Creating accessible, inclusive and engaging briefings and working with the support of experts in the wider research team to produce social media content across multiple platforms.
9. Managing, coaching and mentoring staff and student placements as required.
10. Work with existing inter-parliamentary research groups and develop own networks of contacts to help access expertise and improve services.
11. Supporting the delivery of the Senedd Research service plan, leading on service development work and other aspects of Business Directorate work from time to time.
Person specification
12. Communication skills You will be a strong communicator and will have excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills.
13. Research and numeracy skills: You will have excellent research and numeracy skills. These include the ability to critically review, summarise and communicate written and numerical information accurately to different audiences.
14. Sound judgment� You will demonstrate sound judgement, free from any political or organisational bias and have experience of making effective decisions in challenging situations.� ��
15. Skills and Experience: You can demonstrate significant experience and practical knowledge of either finance or statistics presenting information in easily understandable ways for non-specialist audiences�.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �45,003, Welsh Parliament contributes �12,150 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
16. Learning and development tailored to your role
17. An environment with flexible working options
18. A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
19. A with an average employer contribution of 27%