Impact and engagement officer

Jisc grade: PRS2

Salary: PRS2 £30,000 - £33,000 negotiable depending on experience

Job Type: Permanent

Hours: 35 hours per week

Reports into: Research Impact and Engagement Manager

Working style: Hybrid - A blend of working from home and your nominated hub office. We have hubs located in London, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford.

About Jisc:

At Jisc, we're driven by a simple ambition: to use technology to transform education, research and innovation.

For more than 30 years, we've been the digital partner for the UK's education and research sectors, providing world-class networks, innovative digital services and expert guidance that help universities, colleges and research institutions thrive.

Our work supports millions of learners, educators and researchers every day, enabling everything from groundbreaking discoveries and life-changing research to exceptional digital learning experiences. While many people may not realise it, the technology and services we provide help power some of the UK's most important educational and research achievements.

Join Jisc and you'll be part of a purpose-driven organisation where your ideas can have a real impact. Together, we're shaping the future of learning, research and innovation for the benefit of society.

About the Role

Do you love uncovering great stories and sharing them with the world?

The UK Data Service is looking for an enthusiastic and organised Impact and Engagement Officer to help shine a spotlight on the real-world difference that data and research make to society.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a team dedicated to demonstrating how data drives change, informs policy, supports communities, and improves lives. Working closely with the Research Impact and Engagement Manager, you will play a key role in identifying compelling impact stories, transforming them into engaging content, and promoting them to audiences across the UK and beyond.

You'll be at the heart of our impact and engagement programme, managing the day-to-day processes, communications channels, and campaigns that help ensure important research reaches the people who need to see it. Whether you're publishing blog content, coordinating events, supporting researchers, or amplifying success stories across social media, you'll help showcase the value and impact of one of the UK's leading research data services.

This role would suit someone who enjoys combining storytelling, communications, relationship building, and project coordination in a purpose-driven environment.

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables

As our Impact and Engagement Officer, you will:

• Identify emerging impact stories by monitoring research outputs, media coverage, alerts and other sources, spotting opportunities that demonstrate the value of UK Data Service collections.
• Gather and bring together quotes, statistics, case studies and supporting evidence to help build compelling impact narratives.
• Act as sub-editor for the UK Data Service Data Impact Blog, ensuring content is accurate, engaging, accessible and optimised for online audiences.
• Manage the publication and promotion of impact stories across digital channels, helping maximise engagement and reach.
• Coordinate impact-focused events and webinars, including registrations, speaker support, logistics and post-event communications.
• Support the delivery and administration of the Data Impact Fellows Scheme, helping Early Career Researchers showcase the impact of their work.
• Collaborate with colleagues across communications, training, user support and partner organisations to deliver a joined-up approach to engagement and impact activities.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of workflows, systems and processes that support the impact and engagement programme.

Experience

Need to Have

We're looking for someone who can demonstrate experience in:

• Creating, editing and publishing digital content such as blogs, web content and social media posts using Content Management Systems (CMS) and digital communication platforms.
• Researching and gathering information to identify themes, trends, stories and engagement opportunities.
• Supporting the planning and delivery of events, webinars, workshops or similar activities.
• Managing organisational social media accounts and helping deliver successful promotional campaigns.
• Building effective working relationships across teams, organisations or partnership environments.
• Using digital planning and workflow tools such as Trello, Asana, Kanban boards, or similar platforms to organise and track activity.

Nice to Have

It's a bonus if you also have experience of:

• Using Jira to coordinate projects and team workflows.
• Analysing engagement data and using insights to improve communications performance.
• Working within higher education, research, data services, charities, the VCSE sector, or another knowledge-based environment.

Skills & Personal Qualities

Need to Have

You'll be someone who:

• Has exceptional writing, editing and proofreading skills with a keen eye for detail.
• Is naturally curious and enjoys uncovering stories that demonstrate real-world impact.
• Can translate complex information into engaging content for a wide range of audiences.
• Is highly organised and able to manage multiple priorities, projects and deadlines effectively.
• Builds strong relationships and communicates confidently with colleagues, researchers, partners and external contributors.
• Takes initiative, works independently and uses sound judgement to make decisions and solve problems.
• Enjoys working collaboratively while taking ownership of their own work.

Nice to Have

We'd particularly welcome applicants with:

• Knowledge of web accessibility standards (WCAG) or digital user experience best practice.
• Basic image, video or audio editing skills.

Qualifications & Training

Need to Have

• A degree or equivalent professional experience in a communications, engagement, research, marketing, content or related role.

Nice to Have

• A degree in a relevant discipline such as communications, journalism, marketing, social sciences, research, media, or a related field.

Why Join Us?

This is a chance to help tell stories that matter. You'll work with researchers, data experts and communications professionals to showcase the impact that data has on policy, practice and society. If you're passionate about communications, storytelling and making a difference through evidence and research

Don’t meet every single requirement?

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can’t tick every box, so we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but if you feel this role is perfect for you. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!

Hybrid working:

Specific patterns for working in the office are not mandated, and the frequency of time worked in the office is agreed with your manager. Meeting in person is something we value, so you may need to travel on occasion to any of our hub offices.

Why work for us?

At Jisc, every role is meaningful, and every individual is valued. We foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth, offering opportunities to develop new skills and make a real impact in education and research. With a strong focus on work-life balance, we embrace flexible working that prioritises outcomes over hours, empowering you to create a rhythm that energises both your professional and personal life.

Our Guiding Principles:

Jisc’s culture is powered by our four guiding principles: putting customers first, driving innovation, creating impact, and championing inclusive collaboration to deliver sustainable outcomes and shape a better future.

Discover the amazing benefits we provide! Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Flexible work pattern, which can adapt to suit your schedules and personal commitments
• 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) that includes three closure days over Christmas
• Buy up to an additional 5 days leave during the flexible benefits window
• Generous flexible pension schemes
• A range of wellbeing lifestyle benefits including company paid health care cash plan, mental health first aiders and support
• A company culture of continuous learning with access to thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses, and lots of resources and opportunities to support your development
• Allocated allowance of up to £250 to equip your home office
• Financial well-being support including access to preferential loan and savings plans, mortgage advice, will writing tools and support and resources to help you make the most of your money
• A wide range of discounts and cashback from retailers and big-name high-street stores
• Family friendly policies including enhanced parental, maternity and paternity and co-parental leave as well as opportunity for career breaks
• Support your volunteering with up to 3 days volunteer leave

Equity, diversity and inclusion:

Jisc believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging.

We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status.

Application process:

Please let us know how we can best accommodate you throughout the recruitment process. We’re committed to making our process accessible and comfortable for everyone - just tell us what works best for you.

Interested? Don’t leave it too late to apply. We may close the vacancy early once we’ve received enough applications.

Just so you know, we review CVs as soon as we can and aim to provide an update on your application within 4 weeks of receiving it. However, you may hear from us a lot sooner, so please keep an eye out for our emails or calls!

We’re really looking forward to getting to know the real you. While we encourage the use of AI tools to help you get started on your CV or cover letter, we encourage you to review your application before submitting. Make sure it truly reflects your own voice, experiences, and personality.

If you are currently a Jisc employee, please apply through your Dayforce Employee profile.

We have a thorough background screening process that verifies the details you share with us in your CV and your application. Any inaccurate information supplied during the application stages can lead to a job offer being withdrawn.

Sponsorship:

Please note that this role is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. This decision is based on current Home Office eligibility criteria, which require specific conditions to be met in terms of job type, salary level, and other factors. As such, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this position.

No agencies please.

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