Salary
£35,608.00 - £36,636.00 per annum
Closing Date
30 November 2025
Overview
Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
About Insights North East
Launched in 2022, Insights North East is a policy hub created through a partnership between the region's universities, the North East Combined Authority, local government, and the NHS to bridge the gap between policy research and practice and support regional policymakers in better design policies that address the needs of local communities. Supported by an investment of £2.78m from the Research England Development (RED) fund, INE was initially established as a demonstrator to develop methods for delivering actionable insights to the region's policymakers and to develop capability for evidence-based policymaking.
The Role
The Policy Challenge Research Associate is central to Insights North East's (INE) mission of mobilising knowledge to shape better outcomes for people and places across the region. Drawing on deep networks and a strong understanding of the policy environment, the role will act as both connector and catalyst-brokering relationships, triaging policy challenges, and curating research outputs that offer clear, actionable insights. From leading evidence reviews and coordinating cross‑sector networks to representing INE on regional and national platforms, the successful candidate will bring a rare combination of intellectual rigour, political acuity, and collaborative skill. They will be instrumental in defining and delivering a high‑quality, responsive policy offer-supporting long‑term change in the North East while helping to establish INE as a nationally recognised leader in knowledge mobilisation for place‑based policy innovation.
Key Responsibilities
* Build and manage relationships with policymakers, decision‑makers, and researchers across sectors.
* Broker and triage policy challenges, designing and facilitating workshops that help define problems and shape INE's response.
* Lead evidence reviews and syntheses, producing accessible outputs with clear, actionable insights.
* Coordinate and deliver INE projects, ensuring they meet deadlines, budgets, and impact goals.
* Work with INE's Research, Engagement and Policy Leads to curate knowledge and mobilise expertise across the INE Associates Network.
* Represent INE at regional, national, and global levels through events, publications, and digital engagement.
* Contribute to the sustainability and evolution of INE's model, helping to develop funding bids and refine our approach to knowledge mobilisation.
About You
You are an experienced professional in knowledge mobilisation and policy‑relevant evidence‑based outputs. You bring intellectual rigour, political awareness, and an instinct for collaboration.
Qualifications
* Proven experience building and managing relationships with policymakers or practitioners.
* Strong analytical and research skills, with experience conducting or managing evidence reviews resulting in a portfolio of academic and policy‑facing outputs.
* Experience identifying actionable insights for policy and practice audiences.
* Excellent communication skills – able to write, speak, and present with clarity across audiences.
* Experience managing complex, multi‑stakeholder projects.
* Experience of organising and running events.
* A sound understanding of UK policy environments, especially at regional or local levels.
* A PhD (or equivalent experience) in a relevant field, with strong research design knowledge.
* A genuine passion for improving outcomes for people and places in the North East.
* Demonstrated ability to identify policy challenges, facilitate challenge‑definition workshops, and support the design and delivery of responsive research projects.
* Experience in conducting or managing evidence reviews, synthesising research findings, and identifying actionable insights for policy and practice audiences.
* Understanding of qualitative and/or quantitative research design, ethics, data collection methods, analysis and data management.
* Track record of delivering complex projects on time and within budget, including multi‑stakeholder initiatives.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to tailor content for academic, policy and non‑academic audiences and write compelling reports.
* Ability to work collaboratively within multi‑disciplinary teams and across institutional boundaries, with a flexible and proactive approach.
* Sound judgement and political acuity in navigating the sensitivities of policy contexts and institutional landscapes.
* Demonstrable passion for contributing to meaningful, long‑term change in the North.
Key Accountabilities
* Informing high‑quality knowledge mobilisation service and relationship and network management with specific policy/decision‑maker stakeholders.
* Upfront brokerage and triage for INE projects, identifying response mode and delivering workshops to help define the challenge.
* Developing pipeline policy challenges / areas of research interest.
* Working closely with Policy & Insights Lead to establish a high‑quality offer for the region's policy organisations and professionals.
* Spotting opportunities for INE projects using network relationships and policy environment understanding.
* Supporting development of the INE Associates network, particularly in relation to policy/decision‑maker members and coordination of topic‑based sub‑groups.
Writing and Curating Strong Outputs
* Lead on policy‑challenge‑based evidence syntheses with support from academic specialists.
* Project management and delivery of specific projects on INE workplan within budget.
* Engagement across INE Associates network to support engagement on INE projects and help develop project pipeline.
* Work closely with Research & Evidence Lead to mobilise and curate academic expertise and evidence.
* Collaborate on outputs with Engagement & Content Coordinator from early stage in project development.
* Support curation of evidence to support long‑term change in the region.
Supporting Role of INE as a Leading Knowledge Mobilisation Organisation
* Represent INE at regional, national and global level through speaking opportunities, writing blogs and other outputs.
* Follow national and regional policy developments.
* Provide flexible support, both leadership and hands‑on, as needed across INE.
* Contribute to reflective practice of INE and iteration of INE model.
* Contribute to development of policy engagement practice & field of research to help establish INE as a leader of policy and practice in place.
* Contribute to research funding bid development in support of the future sustainability of INE.
Contact
For all informal enquiries please contact #
#J-18808-Ljbffr