About us

We are Britain’s national equality regulator and a United Nations accredited ‘A status’ national human rights institution.

We uphold people’s rights without fear or favour. We use the full force of our legal powers to defend people from unfair or unequal treatment and to challenge breaches of the law. We advise on developing laws and provide guidance, training and support to enable compliance.

We bring people together to create change. We work with employers, governments and a wide range of organisations, to promote understanding of equality and human rights and we support them to make improvements in practice.

Overview of the role and responsibilites

Working as the Research Manager, Three Nations – Scotland and reporting to the Head of Scotland, you will lead the delivery of the evidence work of our Scotland team working with us and the wider Evidence team to build upon our achievements and ensure our vision becomes a reality. As part of the regulator for Equality and Human Rights, you will work to ensure that robust and accurate research and analysis underpins the Commissions’ work, and provide intellectually rigorous advice to internal colleagues and external partners.

You will be responsible for managing the Scotland Research Officer and work closely with the other Scotland teams such as policy and legal and colleagues in other teams across the Commission. You will also represent the Commission externally and engage with key Scottish stakeholders in the Government and other organisations.

Some of our recent research has explored major social challenges such as racism in universities, the gender pay gap and the impact of coronavirus on equality and human rights.

You will:

• Scope and design robust and effective research projects to develop the Commission’s evidence base.

• Commission, lead and contribute to the delivery of research and analysis to support Commission strategic objectives.

• Provide analytical and methodological advice and guidance to colleagues across the Commission’s functions

• Liaise and collaborate with internal and external partners to disseminate the findings from the Commission’s research  

• Ensure effective leadership, management and development of the Research Officer, Three Nations – Scotland.

Team Responsibilities

The Scotland team delivers the work of the Commission in Scotland. This role will also work with the Commission’s evidence team which develops and maintains the evidence base that informs the Commission’s work uncovering, understanding and monitoring progress on the biggest equality and human rights challenges in society today. This is a chance to work as a research professional across varied high-profile equality and human rights issues, in the heart of a dynamic and impactful organisation.

The Scotland research team comprises the Research Manager who manages the Research Officer. You will be part of the Scotland team working alongside policy, legal and compliance colleagues as well as colleagues in other teams across the Commission. 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

The role requires the ability and knowledge of evaluation methods, qualitative and quantitate methodologies, and the ability to gather these types of research accurately. This role requires the commission, manage and deliver externally commissioned research projects, and monitor projects against milestones.

You will need a Postgraduate level degree in humanities or social sciences with a strong research component or with equivalent experience gained in the workplace.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience required include:

Essential

• Proven ability to lead both qualitative and quantitative research projects through establishment of appropriate questions, investigation methodologies, data analysis, evaluation and accessible and succinct write up.

• Ability to apply this to a Scottish context, and through innovative methods where necessary

• Ability to apply qualitative or quantitative techniques to analyse data and information, and experience successfully applying these methodologies in the workplace

• Ability to demonstrate effective negotiation skills that can be applied with both internal and external stakeholders, in all aspects of research management

• Ability to commission, manage and deliver externally commissioned research projects, and monitor projects against milestones

• An interest in and the capability to see the wider programme of work in Scotland and across the rest of GB and how the Commission’s research function fits and can contribute best

Desirable

• Knowledge of impact evaluation methods

• Demonstrable experience of researching equality or human rights issues

• Experience of having contributed to policy, communication and/or legal projects which have research requirements

• Experience of designing and carrying out impact evaluations

• Experience of management of a small team and supporting the performance management and development of staff

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a range of benefits including flexible working patterns, 30 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (full time FTE), access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and partnership pension schemes, and enhanced parental leave benefits. More information can be found in the candidate pack.

How to apply

If this sounds like the role for you, please review the attached Candidate Pack for more information and submit your application today!

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an accredited Disability Confident Leader and operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) for candidates with a disability.

Should you wish to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme or request a reasonable adjustment, please indicate this in your application.  

If you require an alternative accessible version of the application form or wish to discuss your application or reasonable adjustment  – please contact us by email at recruitment@equalityhumanrights.com or by telephone on 0161 829 8100.

Diversity in our workforce

At the Commission, we are proud of our respectful workplace that values the contribution of all our staff, whatever their background.  We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment. Our recruitment decisions are based on fair, open competition, with appointment on merit. We welcome applications from everyone to ensure we achieve a balanced representation in our workforce in all grades.