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HQ Job Description (JD)
Band 5
Directorate: Rehabilitation
Job Description - Research Support Officer
Document Ref.
HQ-JES-1509 Research Support Officer v5.0
Document Type
Management
Version
5.0
Classification
Official
Date of Issue
1 December 2025
Status
Baselined
Produced by
Job Evaluation Assurance and Support Team
Authorised by
Reward Team
JD Evidence
OFFICIAL
HQ-JES-1509 Research Support Officer v5.0
OFFICIAL
Job Description
Job Title
Research Support Officer
Directorate
Rehabilitation
Band
5
Overview of the
HMPPS Creating Future Opportunities (CFO) is a large-scale
job
national employability programme working across all Prisons and
Probation areas. The CFO programme combines activity,
funding and governance across all programme delivery areas for
HMPPS and as such the post holder requires detailed
knowledge of and effective links to the majority of departments
across HMPPS and MoJ.
The post sits within the CFO’s Research & Statistics team,
tasked with the research, evaluation, analysis and reporting of
CFO activity. The post holder will provide support to the
Research Statisticians and Information & Analysis Lead, being
required to help conduct both offender facing research activities,
such as interviews and surveys, and desk-based activities, such
as data collation, analysis and report writing.
There are no line management responsibilities.
The post reports to the Research Statistician, and through them
to the Research & Statistics Lead Manager.
This is a HQ post.
The post is non-operational.
To work 100% on externally funded projects.
Summary
To support and assist a close-knit team of Social Researchers
and Statisticians in the ongoing research and evaluation of the
rehabilitative programmes administered by HMPPS CFO
throughout England.
The applicant will be expected to perform a range of desk-based
quantitative and field-based qualitative research techniques;
work both collaboratively and independently; adhere to
professional standards; help design and plan research projects;
write and present reports for an array of audiences, both internal
and external; and assist the Research & Statistics team with ad-
hoc pieces of work as they arise.
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HQ-JES-1509 Research Support Officer v5.0
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Responsibilities,
The primary duty of the Research Support Officer will be to
Activities and
support the Research Statisticians in their research and
Duties
evaluation of CFO programmes. The job holder will be required
to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:
• Work closely and collaboratively with the Research
Statisticians.
• Assist the Research Statisticians in conducting qualitative
research through offender interviews, discussion groups and
surveys. The post holder will provide support through
comprehensive and accurate note taking and supporting
offenders who have difficulty completing forms or surveys.
• The post holder will be required to deputise the Research
Statistician on occasion and conduct the interviews/ surveys
themselves.
• Work with large quantities of highly sensitive data including
external/ non-MOJ datasets.
• With little or no supervision, be responsible for developing
and maintaining data analysis tools to summarise and
present complex data in an understandable and usable
format for internal and external stakeholders.
• Collate, organise, transcribe and input interview/survey
results in an accurate and timely manner in order to facilitate
analysis using NVivo and Excel.
• Ensure information security protocols are adhered to at all
steps of the research process.
• Conduct descriptive, basic and complex statistical analysis of
data held by CFO, using Excel, SPSS and R.
• Produce short-form descriptive reports with little or no
supervision.
• Responsible for monitoring and responding to all external
data requests into the team within the specified timescales.
• Adhere to Analytical Quality Assurance policies and the Code
of Practice for Statistics.
• Assist the Research & Statistics team with non-routine and
ad-hoc tasks.
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is
at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is
expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of
a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments
may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme
and shall be discussed in the first instance with the job holder.
Behaviours
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
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HQ-JES-1509 Research Support Officer v5.0
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Strengths
Note: We recommend you choose 4 to 8 strengths locally - select
from the list of Civil Service strength definitions on the intranet.
Ability
• Proficient user of IT, able to use Excel, SPSS and NVivo to a
high standard
• Able to work with a high attention to detail and under scrutiny.
• Able to adhere to Information Assurance principles, Analytical
Quality Assurance principles and the Code of Practise for
Statistics.
Experience
• Experience of conducting qualitative research in the field
under supervision.
• Knowledge of analytical and statistical practices, and
experience of using them.
• Experience is working collaboratively within a close-knit team.
Technical
• Undergraduate degree in social sciences, social research,
Requirements
criminology, statistics or similar.
Minimum
Please do not alter this box
Eligibility
• All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to
taking up post.
• All external candidates are subject to 6 months’
probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they
have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS.
• All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a
group or organisation which HMPPS consider to be racist.
Hours of Work
Leave Blank
(Unsocial Hours)
Allowances
To be used by the JES Team only
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HQ-JES-1509 Research Support Officer v5.0