We are recruiting for a Policy Advisor based in Nesta’s Scotland Office.

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet.

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation.

Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more atnesta.org.uk.

Whatever it takes

Everyone works at Nesta because we are driven by a deep commitment to our missions. A guiding principle of our culture is that we do whatever it takes to achieve them, bringing our best to all our work.

How will a Policy Advisor contribute to Nesta’s success?

The Policy Advisor will work to drive impact across Nesta’s three missions.

We believe policy change is a major route to impact at scale and this role will bring direct policy expertise, policy and political insights to our work, and ensure innovation is a cornerstone of policy thinking and development.

Team

You will be part of Nesta’s policy team. Based in the Scotland office, you will work closely with the Head of Scotland, Scotland based Mission teams, UK policy and communications colleagues as well as wider teams across Nesta as required.

Role

You will be expected to:

• Develop targeted engagement plans to build awareness, influence and credibility with key government, political and wider sector stakeholders
• Support influencing on set-piece opportunities e.g Holyrood election, Bill processes and party conferences
• Identify opportunities, scope, deliver and iterate specific policy projects
• Provide political/governmental/sector intelligence and insights to inform the evolution of policy work and maximise policy impact of wider Nesta projects
• Develop policy change proposals, policy notes, briefings and support development and delivery of a policy communications plan
• Support development of policy maker thinking to improve the design and delivery of policy via events, products and direct engagement.
• Support work to collaborate and convene across a wide range of stakeholders as required
• Understand and learn from what works, building and honing Nesta’s policy shaping capabilities
• Provide rapid responsive support on priority requests as required.

The person

Essential

• Demonstrable understanding of how the Scottish government and parliament develops and implements policy and the role of evidence in this process
• Proven experience in influencing Scottish Government policy, expertise and a strong professional network preferrably in one of our three mission areas
• Excellent communication and presentation skills. You can explain complex topics in simple terms and write clearly and concisely, adapting your communication to suit different audiences
• Strong ability and experience in building relationships with senior level policy stakeholders and decision makers
• Strong ability to manage and develop yourself at work. You demonstrate high levels of initiative, ability to meet deadlines while juggling multiple priorities and willingness to take responsibility for your own workload and professional development
• Excellent teamwork and collaboration with a collaborative and solution-focused approach to problem-solving.
• Willingness to work flexibly on policy topics outside of immediate expertise or preferred areas of interest
• Ability to interpret and summarise qualitative and quantitative data, academic evidence and government policy papers and to quality check and synthesise findings with ease.

Desirable

• Experience influencing the legislative process
• Experience in working with media and policy team colleagues to shape political discourse and respond to relevant policy debates.

What we offer

Salary:£49,200 - £65,800 (offers are expected to be made towards the bottom of the band) plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more

Location: This role is based in Edinburgh, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office

Term: Fixed term contract/Secondments considered / 12 months

Hours:This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do.

Reports to:Head of Scotland

Flexibility:This role is available to be a job-share.

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future.

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation.

Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more at nesta.org.uk.

Whatever it takes

Everyone works at Nesta because we are driven by a deep commitment to our missions. A guiding principle of our culture is that we do whatever it takes to achieve them, bringing our best to all our work.

The role

Analysts in Nesta’s Sustainable Future Mission team provide the research and analysis that underpin our projects, as well as getting stuck in to the practical delivery of those projects. This role will suit someone who is curious and excited to develop new skills through working on a range of activities relevant to the mission: over a given week you might be conducting qualitative user research to understand how a service works (or doesn’t), interpreting findings from quantitative survey results, and working with partners to test and implement a new way of doing things to improve outcomes.

This role will contribute to our Sustainable Future Mission work across the UK, but will be based in our Edinburgh office with a primary focus on supporting our work in Scotland.

The following list sets out the core tasks an Analyst in the team will be expected to participate in. We don’t expect you to be an expert at this stage, but we want you to come to Nesta with a growth mindset where you are ready to experiment and learn.

• Undertake high quality research ranging from light touch information gathering to deep dives, including the following elements:
• Identifying and gathering relevant information using primary research methods, for example interviews, observations, case studies, and data analysis.
• Identifying and gathering relevant information using secondary research methods. You should be able to critically and accurately appraise and summarise existing evidence on the problem and potential solutions. This means you should be able to undertake literature reviews, interpret common research reporting statistics, and critique research designs.
• Synthesise the material collected as part of your research activity and select the key ideas from this, taking into account the aims of the project and the needs of the project team.
• Communicate the findings to project teams in a way that enables colleagues to act on them, including through spoken feedback in meetings, informal notes, internal briefing papers, and oral presentations.
• Play a key role in the delivery of innovation projects, including the following elements:
• Undertaking practical and administrative tasks necessary for the coordination, deployment and management of a project, including liaising with partners, preparing agendas and minutes for meetings and coordinating updates.
• Using knowledge gathered from research to help devise novel solutions to problems, and then work with a mixed methods project team to pilot or prototype these before implementation, and evaluate whether or not they work.
• Working closely with stakeholders throughout, keeping in mind what is important to them and why, and keeping the project moving by proactively resolving issues and mitigating risks.
• Communicate and disseminate the team’s work externally, which may include producing reports and publications, content for the Nesta website, and slide decks for partners. It may also include managing social media, public speaking, stakeholder engagement, networking, and leading new and creative ways to communicate ideas to different audiences.
• Take responsibility for managing your own contribution to the project components you’re working on.
• Get to grips with new areas, topics and contexts that the range and variety of your projects take place in.
• Support development of new work, including generating ideas, scoping, research, writing bids and proposals.

This is a role with the potential for a lot of variety. We set aside dedicated time every week for personal learning related to the mission or to skills development; we work in multidisciplinary teams by default; and run ad hoc projects with other teams in Nesta. Through these you will have the opportunity to grow your skills and experience and learn new ways of working.

Skills specification

Essential

• Some knowledge of at least one aspect of our Sustainable Future Mission work in Scotland, such as the devolved policy context, specific challenges and opportunities in Scotland, and/or relevant stakeholders in Scotland.
• Some knowledge or experience in the practice, policy or research context of the Sustainable Future mission. This can be derived from a wide variety of contexts including campaigning, study, work experience, or a mixture. For example:
• Knowledge or practical experience of policy around the decarbonisation agenda,
• Research experience on home decarbonisation or decarbonisation in heating or in an adjacent area like transport,
• Practical experience such as having worked in energy, retrofit or the low carbon heating sector.
• Research and analysis skills: you understand the fundamentals of exploratory research and evaluation and can develop hunches or take a well evidenced position based on such research. Ability to quickly build contextual competence in unfamiliar topics (e.g. learn what key jargon means, be credible in conversations with stakeholders, understand what is measured and what is important).
• Project organisation skills: you can work independently to organise practical elements of a project such as organising meetings or interviews, making payments, or acting as a go-between for different stakeholders.
• Presentation skills: you can report back on research findings in a range of settings, including presentations, slide decks, research reports and blog posts.

Desirable

• Technical expertise in one or more of the following areas: behavioural science; design thinking; experimental/quasi-experimental design.
• Experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams making use of mixed research or innovation methods.
• Project and programme management skills:
• you can plan work, execute against the plan, identify and act on risks and issues, ensure that key stakeholders are engaged throughout, and keep track of spend against budget,
• facilitation skills, e.g. running workshops,
• excellent writing skills to tailor content to different audiences,
• ovisual communication skills (e.g. advanced PowerPoint, data visualisation).

What we offer

Salary:£37,400 - £51,400 (note that we typically place new starters towards the bottom of this salary band) plus array of benefits, including health cash plans, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more.

Location: The postholder will be based at our Scotland office and would be expected to attend the workplace twice per week. The postholder must also be available for monthly travel to London.

Term: Permanent

Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do.

Reports to: Mission Manager, A Sustainable Future, Nesta Scotland