Research Officer (HEO) / Senior Research Officer (SEO) - Multiple roles

Welsh Assembly Government Communication Centre Home • Wales, WLS, GB • 5d ago

ID 3652

The Welsh Government operates name-free recruitment. The recruiting panel will not see personal information such as a candidate’s name and address during the sifting process. This policy is in line with our commitment to end bias and promote equality and diversity.

Vacancy details

Vacancy title

Research Officer (HEO) / Senior Research Officer (SEO) - Multiple roles

Closing date

20/04/2026, 16:00

Advertising basis

Fixed Term, Permanent

Actual starting salary

HEO - £37,111 / SEO - £47,675

Salary range or pay band

Other

Allowances

Work pattern

Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)

Group

Corporate Services and Inspectorates

Directorate

Digital, Data and Technology

Branch

Multiple branches

Location (s)

Pan Wales

‘Pan Wales’ means the post holder can be based in any Welsh Government office, subject to business needs.

A list of the Welsh Government’s offices can be found on www.gov.wales/welsh-government-offices. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location.

The post holder’s travel from their home to their assigned Welsh Government office is considered their ‘ordinary commute’ and must be done in their own time and at their own cost.

Purpose of post

Our aim is to help the First Minister and Welsh Ministers to build a fairer, greener and more equal Wales.

We are looking for passionate and capable people from all walks of life. Previous experience as a civil servant is not a requirement. We are looking for people who can bring different lived experiences to our decision making, while being able to thrive in collaborative teams that will help change the way we think. We are looking for applications from diverse candidates who can bring fresh skills, lived experiences and perspectives to our work.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a group of researchers working as part of the Government Social Research (GSR) profession. As a Research Officer (RO) or Senior Research Officer (SRO) at the Welsh Government, the post-holders would work closely with policy colleagues and other analysts. Post-holders will be responsible for the development and oversight of a research programme.

Example posts are:

Senior Research Officer - Social Partnership and Fair Work
This post will lead and manage social research and evaluation projects that support the Social Partnership, Fair Work and Employability Directorate. The role is responsible for building a robust evidence base to inform policy and delivery across Wales, supporting the evaluation of the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) 2023 Act, and strengthening research on fair work, including the impacts of remote and hybrid working and inclusive workplace practices. The postholder will work collaboratively with analysts, economists, and statisticians, and will develop research links with social partnership groups and academic networks to ensure that research findings inform policy and practice across the Welsh Government.

Research Officer - Justice Devolution

This post will be responsible for assisting in the design, development and management of a range of a research activity and evidence development to support and inform Welsh Government preparations for the devolution of justice responsibilities to Wales. As part of this the post holder will work with other teams in the Welsh Government, external stakeholders and partners in the Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service and the Youth Justice Board.

Research Officer - Housing

This post plays a key role in delivering a research programme that supports the strategic priorities of the Housing policy team. This includes providing robust data, evidence, and analysis to inform housing policy development and programme evaluation. Working closely with colleagues across housing and regeneration teams, the role will support initiatives in areas such as homelessness, affordable housing supply, and the decarbonisation of homes. The research contributes to cross-cutting priorities, including advancing equality, supporting the Welsh Government’s Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, and addressing the climate and nature emergencies

Note, these are example posts, provided for illustrative purposes. A number of RO and SRO posts are expected to be available at the time of appointment.

All posts will involve supporting emerging needs from the relevant policy areas as well as contributing to projects working across different teams in the Research Profession. Please get in touch if you would like to know more about any of these posts or emerging opportunities.

More information about Social Research careers at Welsh Government can be found at Government Social Research careers | GOV.WALES

Key tasks

The indicative key tasks outlined below may not all necessarily be required within a single post and other tasks may also be undertaken. The level of responsibility will vary between Research Officer and Senior Research Officer roles. There will be a greater emphasis on autonomy and leading projects for a Senior Research Officer role.

What your organisation will expect?

Contribute to the development of an evidence base for policy and influence budget decisions by providing relevant, timely and reliable evidence.
Work with policy colleagues and other analysts to support the delivery of departmental evidence plans by identifying and prioritising research requirements and evidence gaps. Also developing projects that meet departmental requirements.
Keep abreast of relevant evidence and methods and communicate findings to key policy colleagues.
Ensure projects and contracts are delivered within deadlines and resource constraints. Also ensuring compliance with appropriate professional standards, by using project management techniques.
Ensure that sound financial management procedures are followed.
Promote the effective use of social research in strategy, policy development and delivery, both across the Welsh Government and externally.
Contribute to quality/improvement activities within own job, and through the wider GSR network.

What your team will expect?

Lead and/or manage the development and delivery of research and evaluation projects.
Support and encourage policy colleagues to develop their understanding of social research. This includes appreciating how social research can support wider Welsh Government aims.
Advise and support internal colleagues on technical and professional social research issues.
Ensure any line managed staff are developed, through the provision of direction, advice and support for training and professional development.
Deputise for Principal Research Officers as required.
Contribute to other areas of research and evaluation, as deemed appropriate by line manager.

What your stakeholders will expect?

Ensure that research findings are communicated effectively, including findings feeding into policy and service development, delivery and evaluation.
Develop and maintain strategic links with the wider research community. Within Wales, the UK and internationally.
Work with other public sector organisations where common areas of interest are identified.

Development opportunities

The post holder will be providing support to policy areas that include high profile government commitments, as a result the post holder will have significant opportunities to work with senior policy officials and also Ministers.
There are also opportunities to work collaboratively with other analysts within Welsh Government and academia.

Other vacancy related information

Blended working will mean spending some time in one or more of our office bases; as well as spending some time working remotely or with Welsh Government partners and customers. As a guide, for most of us who work full-time, this would mean spending on average two days working from an office base in an average week.
An initial sift will be conducted against the lead assessment criterion: Research Knowledge. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift.
This recruitment exercise will also be used to set up a reserve list for future RO and/or SRO level posts which may become available on a permanent, temporary or secondment/loan basis in the course of the next 12 months.
CVs will not be scored but will be used by the panel to gain a fuller understanding of your experience and employment history.

Please read the Candidate guidance document for this vacancy for full assessment details - Guidance for candidates applying for jobs in Social Research (RO/SRO) | GOV.WALES

Sift Stage:

Guidance for Candidates

To be eligible to apply for these roles, you must meet the Government Social Research profession entry requirements. Via either the qualification or experience route (experience 1)
Hold a minimum of 2:2 in an undergraduate degree or a postgraduate degree

AND

either

[qualification route] A relevant social science subject at undergraduate or postgraduate level. Which contains substantial social research methods training. (We would expect social research methods to represent around a third of modules taken)

[experience route] At least 4 years’ social research practice experience. (This would be experience designing, managing and conducting research in a research agency, market research agency or specialised research team. For this route you must make explicit the breadth and depth of your research experience and skills).

Candidates must either be an existing GSR member or have satisfied the GSR eligibility criteria. If not the remainder of the application is not scored and the application will be rejected.

To apply for this opportunity, you will need to submit a CV (no more than 2 sides of A4) and provide evidence against Behaviours and Experience criteria.
These are listed in 'Areas to Evidence' section of the advert.
You should provide up to 250 words per each individual behaviour and experience that needs to be evidenced. You should aim to provide as much evidence as you can for each individual area, so make best use of the word allowance.
Your evidence should address the specific part of the evidence requested rather than the general behaviour.
For more information on Civil Service Behaviours and what is required for each grade, please refer to Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours.
Sift outcomes are expected to be issued in May at which point you will be able to book an interview slot. If you are successful at sift, you will not be able to request your sift scores until the full assessment process has completed.

Assessment Stage

Guidance for Candidates

Candidates who are successful at the sifting stage will be assessed using the Government Social Research assessment approach. These include:

A GSR knowledge test;
An oral briefing exercise which will assess Research Knowledge, Managing Research and Communicating and Influencing.
A general interview following the oral briefing which will cover Leadership and Delivering at Pace
Eligibility for GSR membership is only assessed at application stage.
A candidate who passes all assessment stages other than the GSR knowledge test may be offered a fixed term post during which they are able to resit the knowledge test. If they subsequently pass then a permanent post may be possible, although that is not guaranteed.
Applicants will be assessed initially for the Senior Research Officer roles at the SEO grade. However if the applicant is not found appointable at the grade, they will be assessed for the Research Officer role at the HEO grade.
If an applicant is graded at SEO (SRO), they will have a starting salary of – £ £47,675
If an applicant is graded at the lower grade HEO (RO), they will have a starting salary of -£37,111
For more information and news about the GSR please visit the GSR website –
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-government-social-research-profession.

Vetting level

Basic

Number of posts

Contact point for further information regarding the post

socialresearch.recruitment@gov.wales