Head of Research

Working for: LGIU International Ltd Working to: Chief Operating Officer Salary: £50,000 - £65,000 per annum, depending on experience Location: UK, with monthly attendance at LGIU's London office. About the role

The Head of Research is a critical role responsible for leading and managing LGIU's research and thought leadership work in a way that responds to our members' needs. With unprecedented changes afoot in English local government, as well as significant challenges arising from demographic change and technology development, this opening provides an opportunity for an experienced research leader to directly support the local government sector in a unique and unparalleled way.

In this role you will be responsible for the direction and oversight of LGU's research and thought leadership work.

You will create and execute a wide range of outputs that directly speak to the needs of our members around the world. In doing so you will be agile and responsive to changing member needs, as well as political and sector events.

You will be one of the public faces of the organisation, representing LGIU at events and conferences, and communicating our work and recommendations to senior sector leaders, the government and the media.

You will have a wide and varied network across local government and academia. You will be able to build strong relationships with key funders, partners and decision-makers; proactively generating income and business.

You will also be an essential member of LGIU's senior leadership team, helping to foster and support an effective and supportive organisational culture. You will be highly collaborative - working closely with LGIU colleagues to integrate content, research and insights, engagement and membership - to support our members to overcome challenges and grasp opportunities.

If you are passionate and knowledgeable about local government, have expertise in applied research, a track record in leading projects and in partnership development, we want to hear from you.

Responsibilities Strategic

• Working with the Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer on strategy to develop LGIU's research work, with a view to impact for the sector and LGIU members.

• Leading thought leadership work within LGIU.

People Management

• Line management of team members.

Research and insights

• Designing and commissioning projects which focus on the challenges facing the sector, and which result in solutions and recommendations.

Partnerships and networks

• Developing LGIU's academic partnerships.

• Supporting LGIU's strategic partner programme.

Commercial/financial

• Managing the budgets and fundraising to agreed targets.

Communication and outreach

• Leading and facilitating events and discussions designed to gauge member needs or showcase LGIU's work.

• Representing LGIU on national and international platforms.

• Engaging and influencing senior stakeholders, helping to further ideas and recommendations which support the sector.

Internal

• Working with the membership team to ensure that outputs and activities programme reflects member needs and priorities.

• Ensuring insights work feeds into other LGIU services including content, training and events.

Experience and expertise Essential

• A minimum of a Masters degree in a relevant subject.

• Outstanding knowledge of public policy and the challenges faced today in the local government sector.

• Proven track record in designing and delivering programmes of research and insights.

• Proven track record in securing sources of funding and revenue.

• Experience of delivering a range of research outputs - reports, articles, blogs and also digital data outputs.

• Excellent quantitative and qualitative research skills, including the ability to critically appraise data.

• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex information clearly.

• Supervision or management experience.

Desirable but not essential

• A doctorate in a relevant topic.

• Experience of press and media management.

• Experience of managing budgets.

• Experience in facilitating events and discussions.

Behaviours

• Alignment with LGIU's values - consistently demonstrating our organisational values.

• Influential and credible - capable of conveying the value of research and data and of communicating complex topics to a wide range of audiences and stakeholders.

• Strategic thinker - able to look at the challenges facing local government and tailor research and outcomes according to the situation and context.

• Strong leadership and management skills - a management approach that values clarity, collaboration, team development and support; and a visible leader with confidence and emotional intelligence.

• Highly self-motivated with excellent organisational planning and delivery skills.

• Agile and flexible - able to make strategic shifts if required due to changes in policy/the external environment.

• Full of ideas and entrepreneurial - able to identify and leverage opportunities that raise awareness of the LGIU and its work.

Values

LGIU has a set of organisational values - these are what we value in our colleagues and what we look for when we are recruiting into the organisation:

• We are passionate about local democracy - We believe the world is a better place when local democracy is stronger and strive to embody that in our daily work.

• We are a collective force - We believe every part of the organisation is equally important and we achieve more through working together and embracing diversity.

• We are decent humans - We treat each other and our work with respect. We listen and try to understand each other's perspectives. We conduct ourselves professionally and show up ready for work.

• We are trustworthy - As an organisation and as colleagues we strive to be honest, reliable and accountable.

• We are bold - We are prepared to push boundaries and take risks. We are comfortable with ambiguity and we learn from failure.

Benefits Contractual

• Role - this is a permanent full-time position (35 hours per week) working for LGIU International.

• Salary - £50,000 - £65,000 per annum, dependent on experience.

• Pension - we offer the Nest pension plan.

• Location - hybrid working, but with monthly attendance at London office per month. Occasional UK and International travel will be required.

• Flexible working - we support flexible working arrangements to promote a healthy work-life balance so if you have a preferred working pattern, we'll do everything we can to accommodate it.

• Holiday - you'll get a very generous holiday allowance of 30 days per year plus bank holidays, well above the UK average.

Non contractual

• Family policies - LGIU is committed to helping employees who are parents, or are becoming parents, to balance work with their other responsibilities and commitments. To reflect that we offer enhanced pay above the statutory minimum for eligible employees taking family leave as follows:

• Six months' maternity/adoption/shared parental leave at full pay.

• Four weeks paternity leave at full pay.

• Health and wellbeing - LGIU provides support through our corporate Health Assured membership, which includes free confidential counselling sessions and other mental health resources.

• Learning - there are loads of opportunities to learn more about local government policy and politics and to develop your skills. You're free to attend any of our learning and development sessions and we support staff to upskill through attending events and courses and through further study.

• Cycle to work - we have a cycle to work scheme with CycleScheme.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, ethnicities, sexualities, gender identities and ages. If you have a disability for which you need adjustments in the interview process or the role itself, please let us know so we can make sure you're able to participate fully.

To apply

If you have the right to work in the UK, and the skills, experience and ambition for this role, then we'd love to hear from you.

To apply please email your CV (no more than 2 pages of A4) and a cover letter (no more than 2 pages of A4) outlining how you meet the role requirements to .

The deadline for applications is 11.59 pm 9th March 2025.

Shortlisted candidates will be notified by 14th March.

Interviews will be in person and will take place on 21st, 24th or 25th March at LGIU's London office.

For an informal chat about the role, please contact Heather Yedigaroff, Chief Operations Officer by emailing .