Associate Director, Devolution and Local Government

Smart Thinking Platform Ltd; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave

Pension scheme with employer/employee

Life assurance 4x salary

Sick pay 20/30 days

Job summary

The Institute for Government is seeking an Associate Director to lead projects within the Devolution and Local Government team, driving policy impact across devolved, regional and local government in the UK. You will work with colleagues across the Institute to shape priorities and deliver high-quality outputs.

You will develop partnerships, secure funding where possible, and help articulate evidence-driven policy recommendations to senior audiences and the public.

Qualifications

• Several years of relevant professional experience in government, think tanks, or policy sectors.
• Demonstrated interest in devolution and local government and ability to shape policy agendas.
• Ability to extract insights from evidence and turn them into actionable recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects within the Devolution and Local Government programme, shaping work to evolving priorities.
• Identify opportunities to disseminate findings and maximize policy impact.
• Communicate conclusions credibly to diverse audiences inside and outside government.
• Manage teams to deliver high-quality outputs on tight deadlines.
• Convene events and workshops to develop new insights and broaden impact.
• Produce clear, non-partisan research outputs that demonstrate intellectual rigour.

Skills

Policy research

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Communications

Job description

The Institute for Government is pleased to be recruiting for this exciting role at theheart of our growing Devolution and Local Government (DLG) team, one of three largeresearch teams around which our new work programme is structured.

The DLG team is focused on the powers, funding, capacity, leadership andperformance of devolved, regional and local government across the UK, as well ason constitutional questions relating to the future of the Union. You will join at a pivotal moment for this policy area, given the emphasis the Burnham government has placed on devolution – in particular to mayors – as a route to delivering growth, creating jobs,accelerating house-building and improving a range of other policy outcomes.

As one of two Associate Directors in the team, you will report to our Director forDevolution and Local Government. You will work closely with the rest of the DLGresearch team as well as colleagues from other teams, in line with an organisationalculture that encourages working collaboratively across the Institute.

You will have the opportunity to lead projects; to have an impact on governmentand policy; to develop a public profile as a spokesperson for the Institute; to lead oncross-cutting priorities for the organisation as a whole; and to be an important partof an organisation focused on improving government to the benefit of the population of the UK.

Main responsibilities

As an Associate Director, your role will include

• Developing and leading projects as part of our overall Devolution and Local Government programme, shaping them to take account of the wider context, including external events and government priorities.
• Identifying and creating opportunities to establish new work, to disseminate our existing work and to achieve impact.
• Communicating our conclusions and recommendations credibly and persuasively to a wide range of audiences inside and outside government, as well as in broadcast, press, online and social media, with a consistent focus on achieving change and impact.
• Working with others, alone and leading teams to generate high-quality outputs with minimal input from senior staff, to agreed deadlines, showing flexibility and responsiveness to fast-moving events.
• Convening and leading public events, private roundtables and workshops, to develop new insights about good government and to increase our impact.
• Producing clear, jargon-free and compelling products that maintain the Institute’s reputation for high-quality research, and embody our non-partisan stance and independent approach.
• Using qualitative and quantitative evidence to make an argument, and maintaining a high standard of intellectual rigour and clarity.
• Participating in cross-cutting projects with other teams, including our UK Government and Public Services research teams, our cross-cutting Economics function, and the IfG Academy, which delivers training.
• Building and maintaining a wide and varied network across government and other sectors – including at the devolved, regional and local level – and confidently maintaining relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Developing partnerships with external organisations to support our work and further our impact, including working with our partnerships team to secure funding for elements of our work.
• Making a strong wider contribution to the Institute – through developing others, leading corporate activities and contributing to our research and impact strategy.

Personal specification

• The successful candidate will have several years of relevant professional experience, for instance of working within government at the central, devolved or local level, or of engaging with government and the policy process, for instance in a think tank, consultancy or other sector.
• You should have a demonstrable interest in – and good knowledge of – devolution and local government, and a desire to shape the government’s policy agenda in these domains.
• We are keen to identify candidates who can help us strengthen our evidence base for whether and when devolution ‘works’, for instance in improving economic outcomes, public service delivery, or the health of democracy.
• You will be a collaborative team player, motivated by the IfG mission and strategic priorities, and the opportunity to make a direct contribution to them.
• You will have good research skills – ideally both quantitative and qualitative –and the ability to extract relevant insights from evidence, and turn these into actionable recommendations for decision makers.
• You will have strong project management skills, and attention to detail, with the ability to deliver high-quality work to tight deadlines.
• You should be a strong and persuasive communicator, able to articulate and explain complex ideas to a wide range of audiences – both orally and in writing, in formats ranging from research reports to blogs.
• You will demonstrate credibility and good judgement, including as a representative of the Institute in engaging with senior stakeholders from across the government and policy sector.
• You should be intellectually curious, eager to identify and answer complex questions about the nature of government, especially at the devolved level within the UK.
• You should have some relevant professional networks in government and the wider policy sector, ideally including at the regional and local level.
• Ideally, you will be able to demonstrate experience of partnership and fundraising work, and at a minimum the willingness to build skills in this area.

Salary and benefits

Salary :£55,000–60,000 per annum, depending on experience.

Contractual

• 30 days of annual leave in addition to eight days of bank and public holidays for full-time staff.
• The IfG has a pension scheme which you will be auto-enrolled into in your third month of employment. The contribution is a minimum of 5% from the employee and a fixed 10% contribution from the employer.
• Death in service life assurance of 4 x salary is given to all staff.
• 20 days sick pay in the first year and thereafter 30 days per rolling 12-month period.

Non-contractual

• Staff may take two weeks each year when the requirement to work from the office in London does not apply.
• Lunch is provided when working in the office.
• Employee Assistance Programme and online 24-7 GP is available.
• Six months maternity leave at full pay.
• Six weeks paternity leave at full pay.
• Shared parental leave – some paid, subject to circumstances.
• Cycle to work scheme.

About the organisation

The Institute for Government is the UK’s leading independent think tank making government work well for the people of the UK. We work across the political spectrum and the public sector throughout the UK, pursuing changes which will improve the way government works. We provide expertise and fresh, evidence-based thinking which we share though our convening, professional development and research outputs. How government works is one of the most important factors driving a country’s social and economic performance and the health of its democracy. Our work programme focuses on the most important ways in which UK government can do better or currently falls short. We work to ensure that UK government holds power and exercises accountability at the right level, through legitimate and resilient institutions with high-quality leadership whichis equipped to respond well to shocks and trends, including rapid technological change.