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About the Role

The Open University in Wales and the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport are seeking a Research and Innovation Fellow to support an applied research and innovation partnership with The Nature Service / Y Gwasanaeth Natur and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.  The programme will develop the evidence, stakeholder insight and practical frameworks needed to support The Nature Service - an emerging national initiative making nature based learning, participation, skills, experience and routes into work more visible, connected and accessible across Wales. The research will have a particular focus on young people aged 16–25 and on addressing unequal access to nature-based opportunities.

Working within an agreed programme and with academic and partnership supervision, the postholder will take responsibility for delivering substantial elements of the research. This will include leading evidence reviews and provision mapping, designing and undertaking fieldwork, planning and facilitating co-design activity, analysing and synthesizing findings and producing practical, policy focused outputs and recommendations. 

This position is contingent upon securing external funding; should the funding not proceed, the recruitment process will be discontinued.

Contact Sarah Allbeson, Senior Manager for Skills & Innovation for an informal conversation about the role: sarah.allbeson@open.ac.uk

Key Responsibilities

• Undertake literature, policy and comparator reviews covering nature-based learning, eco-literacy, youth participation, skills pathways, accreditation, employability and nature recovery.
• Map existing provision in Wales and relevant UK and international comparators, including formal, non-formal and informal learning routes.
• Design, undertake and evaluate qualitative, participatory or mixed-method research activity, such as interviews, focus groups, workshops, case studies, surveys or documentary analysis.
• Lead the analysis and synthesis of evidence and stakeholder insight to inform conceptual models, practical recommendations and options for a national pathway, recognition model and universal participation framework.
• Plan and deliver stakeholder engagement, co-design and knowledge exchange activity with partners such as eNGOs, youth groups, schools, FE and HE providers, employers, local authorities and policymakers.
• Take responsibility for drafting clear reports, briefings, presentations, decision papers and other outputs for academic, policy, practice and partnership audiences.
• Contribute to project planning, meeting coordination, milestone tracking, record keeping, data management and reporting in line with GDPR, ethical and institutional requirements.
• Support development of pilot concepts, scaling recommendations and future funding proposals, undertaking other duties commensurate with the grade and nature of the post.
• Manage agreed strands of work independently, maintaining momentum against project milestones and raising risks or dependencies promptly.

About You

Essential criteria:

Qualifications and research capability

• Postgraduate or doctoral academic study or equivalent professional research experience, in a relevant discipline such as social science, education, youth studies, environmental social science, sustainability, public policy, geography or community development.
• Strong academic skills, including the ability to interpret literature, synthesise evidence, develop frameworks and write clearly for different audiences.
• Experience of relevant research methods, particularly qualitative, participatory, applied or mixed-methods approaches, and of completing research activity within agreed timelines.
• Experience of research or practice relating to nature-based learning, environmental education, nature recovery, sustainability, eco-literacy, green skills, youth participation, or community-based learning.

• Demonstrable ability to design and undertake systematic scoping and narrative reviews, including the development of appropriate search strategies, transparent selection processes, critical appraisal and evidence synthesis
• Experience of designing and facilitating participatory or co-design research with young people, communities or other non-academic stakeholders, including the ability to create accessible and inclusive opportunities for participation
• Experience of ethical research involving young people or underrepresented groups

Applied innovation and stakeholder engagement

• Ability to work collaboratively across disciplinary, organisational and sector boundaries, building constructive relationships with internal and external partners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex subjects to academic, policy, practice and public audiences.
• Ability to contribute to knowledge exchange and impact activity, including workshops, briefings, presentations and stakeholder events.
• Demonstrable interest in nature-based learning, eco-literacy, youth participation, skills pathways, social purpose, inclusion or related areas of applied research and innovation.

Project delivery and professional practice

• Ability to plan and prioritise own workload, meet deadlines, maintain accurate records and work effectively in a live partnership development context.
• Good problem-solving skills and the ability to respond flexibly to changing project priorities, escalating matters as appropriate.
• IT literacy, including confidence with collaboration tools, secure storage, data management and, where relevant, qualitative or quantitative analysis software.

Values and ways of working

• Ability to carry out the role in a way that is consistent with equality legislation and University policies whilst having an understanding of equity, accessibility, youth voice, wellbeing, community engagement and social purpose.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, with a flexible, proactive and collaborative approach.
• Enthusiasm for applied research that has practical value for policy, practice, communities and learners.
• Ability to travel across Wales for fieldwork, meetings, workshops and stakeholder engagement activity as required.
• Prepare and support research ethics processes and ensure that fieldwork follows appropriate requirements relating to informed consent, safeguarding, confidentiality, accessibility and data protection.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of participatory, co-design or public engagement methods with young people, communities or diverse stakeholder groups.
• Experience of developing accreditation, recognition, digital badges, micro-credentials, skills frameworks, progression models or mapping formal, non-formal and informal learning routes.
• Experience of writing or contributing to research funding bids.
• Experience of using digital, mobile or technology-enabled approaches to engagement, data collection, learning or dissemination.
• Knowledge of the Welsh education landscape and/or nature sector and the ability to attend in person meetings in Wales.
• Ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh, or willingness to support bilingual engagement where appropriate.

Support with your application

If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

What's in it for you?

At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

Flexible working

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Working Location: It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Cardiff Office, it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be 2 days per week, but this could be more often if business needs dictate. Full-time working based from our Cardiff site is also supported if this is preferred by the candidate.  Expenses associated with travel to our Cardiff site are not reimbursable.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

Interviews are likely to be held in late October/early November.

Early closing date notification

While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications have been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented.

If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.

How to apply

To apply for this role, please submit the following documents:

• A Supporting Statement of up to 1500 words. You should set out in your statement why you are interested in the role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the essential criteria for this role as detailed above.
• CV

You can view your progress and application communications when you are logged into our recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive associated email updates.