Project Officer – Participatory Research (Consolidation & Partnerships)

Help shape the future of participatory research. Build meaningful partnerships. Turn learning into lasting impact.

If you're passionate about working alongside communities, skilled at building trusted relationships, and excited by the challenge of turning insights into action, we'd love to hear from you!

This is an opportunity to play a key role in the final phase of ParticipatoryResearch@Bath, helping us understand what works, strengthen partnerships across our region, and create the foundations for future collaboration between researchers and communities. You'll join a supportive team that values curiosity, reflection, and learning, where your work will directly influence how research is shaped and delivered in partnership with society. 

About the role

As our Project Officer you'll contribute to a programme of relationship-building, evaluation and learning across a diverse network of community organisations, researchers and partners.
  
This is an action-learning role. You'll spend time listening, reflecting, analysing & bringing together different forms of evidence to help us better understand how universities and communities can work together to address shared challenges. You'll work closely with colleagues in the Public Engagement Unit to gather and synthesise learning from participatory research & upstream engagement activities, helping to identify opportunities, barriers & future directions. You'll maintain and strengthen community relationships, support connections between researchers & local organisations, and develop practical recommendations that will inform future strategy and investment. 

One day you might be meeting with community partners to understand the long-term impact of a project, the next analysing feedback from multiple engagement activities, developing a stakeholder database, or creating guidance to help researchers build stronger community partnerships. 

About you

You enjoy working with people & understanding different perspectives. You're curious about how research can connect with communities and create positive change. You like bringing together ideas, experiences and evidence to help others make better decisions.

You're comfortable working independently, building trusted relationships, and managing multiple strands of activity. You enjoy making sense of complex information and communicating insights in a clear and practical way.

You believe that meaningful partnerships take time, trust and listening, and you're motivated by helping create the conditions for successful collaboration.

You'll succeed if you are:

• an excellent relationship-builder who enjoys working with diverse communities and stakeholders. 
• skilled at gathering, analysing and synthesising qualitative information into clear recommendations. 
• organised and proactive, with the ability to manage competing priorities effectively. 
• a confident communicator, both verbally and in writing. 
• comfortable working independently while contributing to a collaborative team environment. 
• motivated by strengthening connections between research, communities and society.

During the project you'll deliver a range of outputs that will help shape future engagement activity, including:

• an evaluation report capturing impact, learning and recommendations from previous activities. 
• a community readiness assessment highlighting opportunities, barriers and local priorities. 
• guidance to support effective collaboration between researchers and communities. 
• a maintained stakeholder database and community contact network. 
• a community communications plan to support ongoing engagement and partnership working. 

Further information

This is a part-time role, working 21.9 hours per week (0.6 fte), for a fixed-term period until July 2027.

We'll offer flexibility through hybrid working and a strong commitment to professional development, as well as a unique opportunity to influence the future direction of participatory research and upstream engagement.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact:

Bentley Crudgington, Deputy Head of Public Engagement (bsc50@bath.ac.uk) or

Helen Featherstone, Head of Public Engagement (hf362@bath.ac.uk).

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