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Closing Date: 30 November 2025
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 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.
* 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 experienced in knowledge mobilisation and policy‑relevant evidence‑based outputs. You bring intellectual rigour, political awareness and an instinct for collaboration.
You will have:
* 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.
Key Accountabilities
Providing high‑quality knowledge mobilisation service
* Relationship and network management with policy/decision‑maker stakeholders.
* Upfront brokerage and triage for INE projects, identifying response mode and delivering workshops to help define the challenge where appropriate.
* Work closely with the Policy & Insights Lead to establish a high‑quality offer for the region’s policy organisations and professionals.
* Drawing on network, relationships and understanding of policy environment to spot opportunities for INE projects.
* Support 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 with clear actionable insights
* Lead on policy‑challenge based evidence syntheses with support from academic specialists.
* Project management & delivery of specific projects on the INE workplan within budget.
* Engage across the INE Associates network to support engagement on INE projects and help develop the project pipeline.
* Work closely with the Research & Evidence Lead to mobilise and curate academic expertise and evidence.
* Work closely with the Engagement & Content Coordinator from the early stage in project development.
* Support curation of evidence to support long‑term change in the region.
Supporting the 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 the INE model.
* Contribute to the development of policy engagement practice & field of research, working 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.
The Person: Criteria
Stakeholder Engagement
* Proven experience building and managing relationships with policymakers, practitioners or decision‑makers across sectors.
Knowledge Brokerage
* Demonstrated ability to identify policy challenges, facilitate challenge‑definition workshops, and support the design and delivery of responsive research projects.
Research & Analysis
* Experience conducting or managing evidence reviews, synthesising research findings, and identifying actionable insights for policy and practice audiences resulting in a portfolio of academic and policy‑facing outputs.
* An understanding of qualitative and/or quantitative research design, ethics, data collection methods, analysis and data management.
Project Management
* Track record of delivering complex projects on time and within budget, including multi‑stakeholder initiatives.
* Experience organising and running events.
Communication Skills
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to tailor content for academic, policy and non‑academic audiences, write compelling reports, and contribute to blogs or public outputs.
* Ability to work collaboratively within multi‑disciplinary teams and across institutional boundaries, with a flexible and proactive approach.
Political & Contextual Awareness
* Sound judgement and political acuity in navigating the sensitivities of policy contexts and institutional landscapes. Ability to work in changing contexts.
Commitment to Place‑Based Change
* Demonstrable passion for contributing to meaningful, long‑term change in the North East through evidence‑informed decision‑making.
* Strong understanding of UK policy environments, particularly at regional and local levels.
* Understanding of how universities work.
* Familiarity with knowledge mobilisation theory and practice.
* PhD in a relevant subject area and understanding of research methods.
Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams; we believe that success is built on having teams whose background and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.
At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.
In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.
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