Local Authority Research Practitioner

Job Introduction

About Us
Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) plays a key role in what makes us healthy in Oxfordshire. Through its commitments on tackling climate change, shaping the environment to encourage active lives and improve air quality, promoting inclusive economic growth, and closing the health gap between different communities, the council can make transformative changes to the wellbeing of local residents and communities. 

Working with partners, including district councils, communities, health and care organisations, local businesses and world-leading universities, OCC wants to lead the development of a place-based approach to research excellence. Through high-quality systematic research, OCC and its partners can better understand why different approaches to improving residents’ health and wellbeing work for different populations and in different settings, and how complex policy systems and environments impact health.

About the Role
You will

• Support and promote the delivery of policy-relevant research that matters to residents, and the development and implementation of OCC’s research strategy.
• Help to create a culture of research at OCC where officers and councillors understand what research is and why it matters to the council.
• Contribute to research capacity and capability development outside of Oxfordshire through research dissemination, and contributing to the Research Support Service, Specialist Centre for Public Health (SCPH) and the LARP network (including sharing best practice, linking with engagement leads, and supporting the evaluation of the LARP role)

About you
To be successful in the role, you will have:

• A good understanding of research study designs and methodologies, including those used in prevention and population studies especially in local authority settings in the UK;
• Understanding of information governance, confidentiality, and ethics as applied to data sharing and to research
• Knowledge and experience of using both quantitative and qualitative data and research methods; IT and statistical packages and reference management software
• Proven ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team and with different stakeholders. 

Rewards and benefits
It really is true that every single job role here contributes to bettering the lives of the people in our county - we want to do this for our employees too. We are proud of our strong flexible working culture, including the opportunity for flexibility on working hours and the use of technology to support agile working. We offer some of the very best learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development.

We have a generous holiday allowance which rises as you remain in employment with us up to 32 days, as well as giving you the option to buy additional holiday. You will also have access to a Local Government Pension Scheme with employer contributions of up to 19.9% of your salary; a range of local and national retail discounts; and a host of enhanced family friendly policies including carers leave and paid time off for volunteering.

Our commitment to:
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Oxfordshire County Council we are proud of our diverse workforce. Everyone is accepted for who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, race, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or on maternity or family leave. We have a number of staff network groups which provide peer support, education and safe spaces for all.

Our commitment to:
Guaranteed Interview Schemes

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee interviews to care leavers who have completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving care without any further education, we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships. We are also committed to helping and supporting those transitioning from HM Armed Forces to civilian life and guarantee an interview for those demonstrating the essential criteria for the role, within three years of leaving the service.

Our commitment to:
Safeguarding

Oxfordshire County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect these commitments.

Our commitment to:
Flexible Working

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which can include flexi-time, full time and part time working, job sharing, nine-day fortnights and annualised hours, depending on the requirements of the role and the service.

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If you encounter any technical issues with the application system, please contact us at: careers@oxfordshire.gov.uk