The Alan Turing Institute is the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. The Institute is named in honour of the scientist Alan Turing and its mission is to make great leaps in data science and artificial intelligence research in order to change the world for the better.

THE ROLE

We are seeking to appoint a talented and highly motivated individual to join the Alan Turing Institute as a Research Application Manager. Your primary role will be to create and sustain positive relationships with stakeholders across government offices, industry and third sector policy making organisations. You will be responsible for bi-directional communication between researchers and policy makers. Success in the role will require clear expectation management across multiple dimensions. You will be expected to contribute to defining objectives and requirements that work across the stakeholder and researcher ecosystem.

You will work within the AI for Science and Government (ASG): a major integrated research programme with a goal to deploy AI and data science in priority areas to support the UK economy.

ASG researchers are working to transform the following key challenge areas:

• Engineering and urban analytics through digital twins;
• Health through delivering personalised medicine with early disease detection and machine-learning based diagnosis;
• Government through data-linking for policy development, particularly through the criminal justice system;
• AI for Science, by applying data science and AI to experiment outputs.

These technologies will have a significant impact on Government and promise to transform the way departments develop public policy and the ways in which they work and deliver services. In each of these themes, our research will contribute directly to these developments. AI will transform the way we live and work, and this fourth industrial revolution will blur the lines between the physical, digital and biological worlds. The applications of this research will focus on meeting the challenges of Government and science in the UK, though it will have wider implications internationally. Collaboration on a wider geographical scale is one of our ambitions. The postholder will be an integral part of developing and delivering this national and international impact.

You will work alongside senior members of the ASG programme and other Turing members, to help them reach out to potential partners in government and beyond. The aim will be to scope the opportunities for innovation in decision-making driven by data science and AI and discuss potential alignment between the needs of end-users and ASG researchers. In the first instance, the focus of the role will be on identifying and managing collaborative relationships with government departments and other stakeholders around AI innovations related to the urban context. However, we expect that the role will widen to include other sectors. You will be responsible for identifying synergies across ongoing Turing projects to design and deliver coordinated solutions to important problems for potential end-users of data science and AI in various sectors (government and beyond).

You will work closely with Kirstie Whitaker, Programme Lead for Tools, Practices and Systems, and Allaine Cerwonka, Associate Director for the ASG Programme, both of whom are responsible for ensuring that ASG delivers “more than the sum of its parts”.

Successful candidates should have a strong background in stakeholder engagement, research application or related responsibilities. This may include – but is not limited to – working in collaborative research projects, business development management, or agile software development experience. Prior experience of the research, data science and AI sectors is highly desirable but not required. There is scope for the successful candidate to produce and publish original work arising from these collaborations.

DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

• Maximise the impact of ASG by taking responsibility for embedding its research in the real-world: your goal is to ensure that the outcomes of the research process (‘research products’) are translated into real-world outcomes by finding appropriate partners and managing their engagement with ASG;
• Identify and prioritise key stakeholders and end-users in accordance with the mission of the Institute and the ASG vision and in collaboration with ASG Theme Leads, project researchers and other colleagues;
• Understand and align stakeholder expectations: Specifically, drawing on an understanding of AI and data science, work with researchers, policy makers and end-users to identify and prioritise user needs that can be addressed by ongoing and future ASG research. E.g. you might wish to create a stakeholder engagement roadmap at the end of such a discovery phase to inform priorities;
• Working closely with ASG leadership, manage engagement with project stakeholders across local authorities, Central Government & Whitehall, statutory and non-statutory bodies (including environment & technical organisations), industry & business, land & property, communities and other parties to establish strong working relationships;
• Collaborate with researchers on an individual basis to understand the goals of their work and how the application possibilities can be clearly communicated to internal and external stakeholders. Be proactive in identifying novel application possibilities and prospective end-users. In collaboration with researchers, you might wish to create written materials that synthesise research across various projects in ways that are stakeholder-centric;
• Develop and deliver research application plan with relevant stakeholders/end-user communities in accordance with the overarching programme and, or Institute objectives for stakeholder engagement;
• Arrange and attend stakeholder meetings with technical team members and ensure feedback of stakeholder responses and requests to technical teams are responded to within agreed timescales;
• Planning and managing workshops, roundtable and forum logistics including developing agendas, project plans, minute taking and production of reports;
• Work with the ASG Associate Director and Turing Communications team to promote achievements and capabilities in a way which is meaningful for stakeholders and potential end-users across relevant sectors;
• Manage the engagement process from early conversations (discovery phase, engagement plan, specified deliverables) to mature stages (solicit feedback, identify new projects) Work with the programme team and research project manager to enhance and implement user-led designs to research project outputs and systems;
• If appropriate for given project, take part in technical discussions during weekly team meetings, be active on Github and other collaboration tools as a ‘user advocate’. Communicate desired feature prioritisation based on user needs;
• To read and synthesise research across multiple applied and theoretical domains, work independently, liaise with stakeholders with expertise across all government domains, and present their work to diverse audiences.

Essential

• An undergraduate degree in a field relevant to the position or equivalent experience;
• Experience of working in a diverse and distributed team, including experience navigating conflict and building consensus;
• Track record of previous engagement with local authorities is a particular strength for the role;
• Experience of managing engagement with stakeholders, ideally in government, industry, and, or technical fields on major high-profile, public sector projects;
• Experience in developing and successfully implementing strategic planning and project management of stakeholder engagement plans;
• Ability to use appropriate styles and arguments to influence and negotiate satisfactory outcomes. Presents complex information in formats appropriate to audiences without compromising meaning;
• Presents complex information in formats appropriate to audiences without compromising meaning;
• Proven ability to work and multi-task under pressure, respond quickly to changing situations in complex project environments, prepare responses/narrative quickly and clearly and use personal initiative;
• Ability to assess and ensure appropriate resources and support are available to enable their team and individual members to achieve both team and individual objectives;
• Ensures that all members of the team understand what is expected of them whilst delegating work fairly and according to individual ability;
• Leads, oversees and monitors progress of key deliverables and timescales through probation/appraisal and takes appropriate action to deal with any issues or problems;
• Experience of leading large project team/ service area with responsibility for developing and communicating action plans and objectives linked to organisational strategy;
• Holds a substantial leadership role on an external group and is responsible for negotiating on the organisation's behalf and enhancing its reputation;
• Adapts services and systems to meet customers’ needs and identifies ways of improving standards. Learns from complaints and takes action to resolve them. Collates feedback and views from customers and keeps up to date with market trends to inform service development and make changes. Actively promotes services;
• Uses judgement to analyse and solve problems. Takes action to prevent recurrence of problems;
• Considers possible solutions to identify those which offer wider benefits. Obtains evidence to support thinking;
• Good analytical and problem-solving capability, particularly with respect to policy/strategy, with the personal skills and initiative to achieve the solution;
• Designs and uses data gathering and analytical methods appropriate for each investigation;
• Produces reports that identify key issues and findings;
• Manages time and resources effectively; routinely monitoring and reviewing progress to ensure effective working of self and others;
• Ensures work is completed to expected standards, timeframes and budgets and in line with personal/team/service area objectives;
• Commitment to meeting deadlines;
• Flexible attitude towards work;
• Commitment to EDI principles and to the Organisation values.

Desirable

• A PhD or equivalent research experience in a quantitative field. Or equivalent research experience through working as an industry data scientist or lead web developer, as a research assistant within a university or research institute, or as a research software engineer;
• Demonstrable interest and, ideally, experience in the use of modelling, analytics and decision-support tools in government and policy;
• Knowledge of – or an interest in learning – git for version control and GitHub (or GitLab) for project management and community engagement;
• Experience in a policy or research environment, such as think tanks, learned societies, tech companies, consultancies, universities, or academic institutes;
• Experience managing communities online and offline, including how to build an inclusive space, and transparent governance and decision making;
• Experience organising participatory, collaborative events for a diverse group of participants;
• Experience in a policy or research environment, such as think tanks, learned societies, tech companies, consultancies, universities, or academic institutes.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This role is offered on two-year, fixed term contract on full time and part time basis.

Location: the Alan Turing Institute, the British Library, 96 Euston Road, London

Salary: £45,000 pro rata to part time hours plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies, https://www.turing.ac.uk/work-turing/why-work-turing/employee-benefits

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

If you are interested in this opportunity, please click the apply button below. You will need to register on the applicant portal and complete the application form including your CV, covering letter and contact details for your referees. If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please contact them on 020 3862 3575, or email [email protected].

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 22 November 2020

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The Alan Turing Institute is committed to creating an environment where diversity is valued and everyone is treated fairly. In accordance with the Equality Act, we welcome applications from anyone who meets the specific criteria of the post regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Reasonable adjustments to the interview process will be made for any candidates with a disability.

Please note all offers of employment are subject to obtaining and retaining the right to work in the UK and satisfactory pre-employment security screening which includes a DBS Check.

Full details on the pre-employment screening process can be requested from [email protected].