Job opportunity: Constitution Unit Impact Research Fellow

The Constitution Unit already has substantial real-world ‘impact’. But we want to do more to influence political debates, through communicating the results of our research to policymakers, journalists and the wider public. We have recently secured funding to support an exciting new post at 80% FTE (4 days per week) to help build such impact, initially for a two-year period. Over that time we aspire to secure longer-term funding for the role, and hope that the postholder will help us to achieve that goal.

The successful candidate will work with our small team of researchers, our office manager, our part-time blog editor, the UCL Press Office and the Unit’s external associates, to build up communications about our work through a variety of channels. This will include a mix of short interventions, for example through social media, and relationship-building with key figures in the policy world. The postholder will work across all of our research topics, which include parliament, government, elections, referendums, devolution and deliberative democracy. They will help draft outputs such as evidence to parliamentary committees, policy briefings, blog posts and media articles. They will support the development of new research areas, for example through information-gathering for future grant proposals, and will work to boost our profile with possible donors. 

The appointee will generally contribute to the Constitution Unit’s strategy and plans, as a central member of the team.

Key requirements

The successful candidate will hold a Bachelor’s degree in politics, law or a closely related field, at at least 2.1 level. They will have clear and demonstrable knowledge of the key institutions and policy actors in British politics and of key issues and arguments concerning the constitution and democracy in the UK.

In addition, the successful candidate will have significant experience working in a policy or communications role, and experience of writing briefings aimed at policy makers and of working with websites and/or social media. They will be able to gather and systematically organise complex material from a range of sources and have excellent written communication skills.

The successful candidate will also have excellent interpersonal skills, organisational skills and strategic planning skills. They will have sound judgement, with a well-developed ability to understand and balance political evidence. They must be able and willing to demonstrate professional political neutrality, both in partisan terms and on key topics such as Brexit.

The ideal candidate would also have experience of fundraising, working with journalists and the media and/or specialist knowledge in one or more of the Constitution Unit's current research areas.

How to apply

Please apply online via the UCL jobs page.

Further details are available in the Job Description and Person Specification. 

Closing date: 22 September 2019
Interview date: 4 October 2019
Salary: UCL Grade 7, £35,328 per annum pro rata

For queries regarding the vacancy or application process, please contact Rachel Cronkshaw, Constitution Unit Office Manager (email: r.cronkshaw@ucl.ac.uk, Tel: 020 7679 4977).