Research Inclusion Manager

Are you passionate about making health and social care research more inclusive? Do you want to drive equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) efforts that deliver change?

We are seeking a Research Inclusion Manager to join our National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Wessex Applied Research Collaborative (ARC). In this vital role, you will lead and contribute to initiatives ensuring inclusive research reflective of our region's diverse communities.

Who are we?

The ARC pursues world-leading health and social care research. Research that improves people's health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth. To ensure the most benefit for the most people, we strive to make our research and organisation as inclusive as possible.

What will you be doing?

A champion for EDI, you will develop our research teams' inclusive practice. You will provide specialist expertise, guidance, and operational leadership. That will see you embed inclusive processes across our culture, processes, and systems.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading projects to review and strengthen research inclusion within projects and grant bids. Ensuring research inclusion aligned with NIHR’s strategic objectives and ARC partners' EDI policies.
• Delivering inclusion-focused training, resources, and events to enhance awareness and best practices. 
• Developing and putting in place monitoring and evaluation using quantitative and qualitative data.
• Building effective relationships with stakeholders across ARC, our partners and NIHR to promote inclusion practice.

Who are we looking for?

An experienced professional with a strong background in EDI and project management. You will be a confident advocate for inclusion.

Other key skills to be successful include:

• Proven experience in embedding EDI within a complex organisation.
• Strong project management and organisational skills. The ability to deliver work on time and responsively.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills. Able to present to diverse audiences and build positive working relationships.
• A proactive and solutions-focused approach to problem-solving. Attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Confidence in navigating and driving change within matrix-style organisations.

Knowledge of the Equality Act 2010 and familiarity with EDI challenges in research are desirable.

What can we offer you?

Our staff are at the heart of what we do so we make sure we look after you! As well as a generous benefits package (full details - here), we prioritise your wellbeing. That's reflected in five consecutive Golds in the Mind Workplace Wellbeing awards!

Our hybrid working approach allows a split between office and home, helping you with your work life balance. We strive for cohesive and collaborative teams so our expectation is you spend around 40% of your time in the office. We also know that personal development is important and have a range of ways to support you.

Post is full time (although part time considered, minimum 0.6FTE), fixed term until 31^st March 2026.

For further information/an informal discussion, please contact Richard Trowbridge (rmt2@soton.ac.uk).

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