Role:                           Research & Policy Lead 

Reporting to:            CEO 

Direct Report: Research & Facilitation Co-ordinator 

Location:                    Flexible / Hybrid with travel across Scotland

Working Pattern:       Full time - 4 days a week (28 hours)

Salary:                         £31,000 

Contract:                    Permanent

About The Young Women’s Movement

Our vision is for a fairer Scotland for all self-identifying young women and girls. A Scotland where young women are meaningfully heard, valued and supported to lead collective action and enact transformational change throughout society, systems and structures. 

To help us achieve this, the Research & Policy Lead will: 

• Continue to establish The Young Women’s Movement as a credible, accessible and established research and policy organisation.

• Evolve and deliver participatory research approaches and projects with young women that will influence policy and challenge systemic inequality.

• Collaborate with the Partnership Development and Innovation team to develop long-term, high-value partnerships that raise both significant income and brand visibility for the Young Women’s Movement through our research and policy hub. 

• Work closely with the Head of Partnership Development & Innovation, Team Leads, and partners to ensure that the voice of young women and girls influences and drives policy, services, and funding decisions both internally and externally. 

Everyone who works at Young Women’s Movement: 

• Has equality at the heart of everything they do. 

• Takes a participatory approach to our work. We are for young women and by young women. 

• Builds communities of friendship and support networks, finding joy in our collective actions and connections.  

• Understands the impact of challenging inequality on those most affected by it. We lead with kindness and empathy, putting collective wellbeing at the core of our organisation.  

• Delivers our work with integrity and are proud of the work we do. 

• Is bold and brave. We do not shy away from challenging the status quo and taking radical steps to make gender equality a reality in Scotland. 

Key Responsibilities 

Research & Policy

• Lead on the development of research projects to generate a substantial evidence base of young women’s experiences that feed into the creation of projects and media campaigns, and influence policy.

• Lead the production of the annual research project (The Status of Young Women in Scotland), ensuring young women are involved at every stage of project design and delivery.

• Manage policy projects, monitor the national policy and political landscape, and create written outputs, including policy positions and briefings on key issues affecting young women and girls.

• Build positive relationships with key political and policy stakeholders and represent the Young Women’s Movement at external meetings and events.

• Monitor the latest research, track political debates, and identify new policy developments in the areas of gender equality and youth work.

• Ensure the work of the Research and Policy team is influenced by the outputs generated within the Collective Voice and Action and Learning and Engagement Programmes.

• Collaborate with the Communications and Influencing Lead to maximise the impact of our research through policy and public affairs activity.

• Manage and coordinate research partnerships, which could include academic partners, other third-sector organisations, and public or private sector partners.

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and grow the Young Women’s Movement Research and Policy activity and continue to build our recognition as the leading organisation in Scotland that provides research, guidance, and resources for those who consult and work with young women. 

• Develop and implement a policy and influencing strategy in line with our five-year strategic vision, that centres participatory practice with young women.

• Work in collaboration with the Head of Partnership Development & Innovation to maximise and coordinate our external research consultancy offer. 

• Collaborate with the leadership team to streamline the journey between young women’s participation in programmes to support the work of the research and policy team.

• Contribute to the overall strategic direction of the Young Women’s Movement, ensuring all research & policy activity aligns with our strategic pillars and theory of change.

Line management

• Maintain a supportive working environment with a focus on feminist wellbeing within the Research and Policy team.

• Line management of the Research and Policy Team’s workload, activities, and professional development.

Operational Leadership

• Lead the implementation of our evaluation framework and work with the leadership team to ensure the framework is embedded across the organisation.

• Coordinate internal evaluation and reporting activity and support the leadership team to create key reports and publications for the organisation.

• Coordinate our annual impact report with support from the leadership team.

• Support the Head of Partnership Development & Innovation to ensure that grant applications and income generation activity are developed with a robust evidence base.

• Contribute strategically to team and organisational planning through the setting and monitoring of objectives, targets, and budgets.

Other

• Undertake any other reasonable duties that may arise. 

Let’s talk about you - you will already have or be working towards: 

• Experience in leading and carrying out a range of high-quality, impactful and diverse research projects, including strong facilitation skills and working with young people in a research setting.

• Experience in embedding and delivering participatory and/or peer-research approaches in research methodology. 

• Experience in managing organisational monitoring and evaluation, including developing and implementing a CRM system/database.  

• Experience of working in the Scottish political context to influence change, including engagement with parliamentarians, committees, and public services, and campaigning using participatory practice.

• Experience in maintaining safe spaces for young women and people of marginalised genders and a passion for championing gender equality.

• Strong written communication skills with the ability to communicate complex issues to engage and inspire diverse audiences in an accessible way.

• Strong verbal communication and presentation skills and experience of representing an organisation publicly.

• Excellent relationship management and collaborative interpersonal skills.

• Management experience and/or experience working in a leadership capacity.

• Ability to evaluate projects meaningfully and effectively for maximum impact. 

• Experience in budget setting and management.

• A flexible and adaptable approach and the ability to prioritise workload to meet deadlines.

• Willingness to work flexibly and travel across Scotland when necessary.

• Commitment to own continuing professional development.

Due to the nature of our work with children and young people, successful applicants will be required to undergo a disclosure check through the PVG Scheme.

Why you should want to work with us:

• We operate a 4-day working week, which means full-time is 28 hours.

• We offer flexible working options and patterns, including the option to hybrid work from anywhere in Scotland.

• Our annual leave entitlement is 22.5 days a year, plus 6 public holidays.

• We provide 1 additional day of annual leave for your birthday (or to take another time that you would like to celebrate)

• We are committed to supporting staff development through training and coaching opportunities.

• Wellbeing and mental health support are our priorities, all of our staff can access counselling through our EAP package.

Don't meet every single requirement?  

Studies show that women and Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic people are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet every qualification. So, if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within The Young Women’s Movement.

Recruitment process

The deadline for applications is 9am on Wednesday 23rd August. Interviews will take place in person in Edinburgh on Wednesday 30th August.  

We request you complete your application via Be Applied, including an up-to-date CV.

If your application is successful in progressing to the interview stages we will also require a short writing sample to be emailed to our hello@youngwomenscot.org inbox the day before your interview. This could be a blog, research output, piece of policy analysis or recommendations, or anything else you feel represents your writing style. It should be no longer than 3-4 pages and have been researched and written by you personally. We are not asking you to write something new for this application, this should be a pre-existing writing sample.

If you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements for the recruitment process or the role, please contact our CEO Jenni Snell – Jenni@youngwomenscot.org and we will be happy to discuss.