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Overview of the job
This is a non-operational, specialist research and assurance role within HMPPS Operational and System Assurance Group. The MQPL Research Officer will report to the Head of Survey Delivery who is a Band 9 Surveys Senior Manager within the Custodial Assurance team.
The Operational and System Assurance Group (OSAG) provide the necessary operational audit and quality assurance service to HMPPS and Ministry of Justice (MOJ) stakeholders. This service provides assurance on delivery of service outcomes and value for money across the offender system.
The Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) and Staff Quality of Life (SQL) surveys are carried out as part of the wider assurance role for HMPPS and the MOJ. The surveys are designed to provide an understanding and measurement of the most important aspects of a prison’s performance from the perspective of prisoners and staff, measuring the ‘difficult to measure’ in an accessible way and providing insights into prison culture in a timely fashion. The information from the surveys is used to hold prison governors to account.
The MQPL Research Officer is responsible for providing support, training and line management to the team of Research Assistants who carry out the surveys of prisoners and staff in prisons across England and Wales. The Research Officer will also lead on ensuring the analysis and interpretation process is conducted effectively and will produce timely reports that clearly communicate a holistic view of the prisons culture to a wide range of stakeholders including Prison Governors, Executive Directors, Chief Executive Officer of HMPPS and MOJ. They will also quality assure the data produced by the team within both regular reports, bespoke analysis and contribution to the Custodial Performance Tool (CPT).
Summary
The MQPL Research Officer is pivotal to the team’s success and as a group will work together to fulfil key supervisory responsibilities. This includes oversight of the Research Assistants’ training plan and continual development along with the allocation of work.
The job holder is required to:
· manage an allocated programme of the MQPL surveys (prisoners and staff) conducted primarily by Research Assistants – although may be involved in conducting them on occasion;
· analyse and interpret MQPL data to identify findings and produce reports of these findings using both technical skills and experience of MQPL research or other relevant research knowledge;
· provide quality assurance for MQPL data and final reports for a wide audience from establishments to the HMPPS board etc.; and
· present the results of analysis to Governing Governors and other Senior Managers, facilitate discussions about the findings and use own judgement to answer queries and comment on relationships/patterns within the data.
Responsibilities, Activities and Duties
The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:
· Act as line manager for MQPL Research Assistants and/or Business Support staff (includes: providing training, feedback, support and supervision in all aspects of the role as necessary - either in person or by co-ordination with other third parties). As manager for the office based Business Support Officer, the job holder is responsible for the training and supervision of this member of staff and for all aspects of the ‘office based’ support function roles this member of staff completes.
· Take a lead in the training and supervision of new Research Officers in all elements of the role (including report writing and feedback presentations).
· Take responsibility for managing all aspects of the MQPL surveys allocated to the job holder, providing advice and support to Research Assistants completing these tasks to ensure that surveys are completed within the appropriate ethical guidelines and as efficiently as possible.
· Take responsibility for the accuracy of MQPL data by following established MQPL protocols regarding the cleaning and analysis of MQPL data (includes: providing advice and feedback to other MQPL team members and identifying issues/anomalies to the Senior Research Analyst if necessary).
· Take responsibility for the initial edit of draft reports completed by Research Assistants, ensuring accuracy; further analyse and fully interpret data to write and complete the report; review/edit the summary sections produced by other Research Officers to provide a final report for sign off by the Head of MQPL.
· Facilitate MQPL survey feedback sessions and telephone discussions, delivered to the Governing Governors/SMTs or establishment staff as required. (This includes: selecting materials for inclusion and ensuring the timely production and accuracy of these; preparing for questions and queries; providing considered advice about the meaning and interpretation of the report and its statistical findings based on MQPL data and previous experience; and facilitating discussion with the aim of increasing understanding of the findings and how these might relate to contextual information.)
· Where applicable record contextual information throughout the survey or feedback session, and complete bespoke analysis as required before final checks by the Senior Research Officer and/or the Head of MQPL.
· Contribute to the maintenance of collated data sets and perform management checks as required.
· Undertake management visits to MQPL surveys providing Research Assistants with feedback on performance and management with feedback on the MQPL process.
· Contribute to the ongoing development of MQPL methodology, survey procedure, MQPL reports, feedback sessions and other key aspects of the work.
· Attend and contribute to team meetings, functional group meetings and other ad hoc meetings as required.
· Contribute to other non-standard research/thematic reviews as necessary.
In addition to the above, Research Officers are required to complete all tasks pertaining to the Research Assistant role both in order to ensure their skills and knowledge are up to date, to provide cover to meet the business plan and also in order to review MQPL systems, procedures and performance of Research Assistants.
· Liaise with establishments prior to survey visits to plan the schedule, publicise and explain the survey approach and ensure that the survey samples are appropriate.
· Facilitate focus/discussion groups (prisoners or staff), arranging the sessions and resources required, taking responsibility for resolving ad hoc issues, ensuring sufficient numbers are surveyed and informed consent is gained.
· Complete comprehensive notes during discussion groups and ensure these are placed accurately into the MQPL dimensions. Complete a similar categorisation task with qualitative data from the survey itself. These tasks require the job holder to make informed decisions based on the data and the context.
· Hand out surveys to individual prisoners who cannot attend groups when required, explaining the survey and gaining informed consent. Also support individuals who have difficulty completing the questionnaire.
· Input and organise both qualitative and quantitative data collected, cleaning the data and introducing individual establishment data to the collated data sets to deadline.
· Analyse data as required using Excel and SPSS, checking for errors or issues in outputs, templates and syntax to deadline.
· Prepare first draft survey reports accurately to deadline.
· Facilitate an initial meeting at the establishment with the Governor and/or members of the SMT detailing the MQPL process, responding to queries and collecting contextual information about the establishment for use in the report.
· Attend feedback sessions and co-facilitate where appropriate, ensuring materials are prepared accurately and notes taken are clear, thorough and an informative contribution to the report context section.
· Undertake required supervision and attend/contribute to practitioner meetings in order to ensure continued good practice and high standard of delivery.
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
· Making Effective Decisions
· Communicating and Influencing
· Managing a Quality Service
· Delivering at Pace
· Changing and Improving
Experience
· The job holder will be required to have experience and knowledge of MQPL research and reporting, or experience and knowledge of other research and reporting in a similar field.
· Experience of analysing data using statistical methods is also required.
Technical Requirements
· A first degree in social sciences or equivalent is required.
Hours of Work (Unsocial Hours) Allowances
37
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