HM Inspectorate of Prisons – Research Officer
| Working Pattern: Full Time | Vacancy Approach : External |
| Location: London | Closing Date: 05-May-2026 |
| Post Type : Permanent | Civil Service Grade : HEO |
| Number of jobs available : 1 | Reserve List : 12 Months |
About the role
This post offers the opportunity for the successful candidate to utilise their existing research and analytical expertise and develop and put into practice their people and project management skills. Much of the day-to-day work of the 12-strong Research, Data & Thematics (RDT) team involves conducting surveys in places of detention and analysing the results for use by inspectors. Reporting to one of our Senior Research Officers, the post holder will also conduct fieldwork, provide analysis for thematic and other reports, help to maintain HMIP’s databases, and act as an ambassador for the Inspectorate while on inspections. The job involves regular travel and time away from home carrying out surveys in places of detention (including transporting questionnaires) – on average one or two nights per fortnight.
Responsibilities:
- Organising and attending visits to custodial establishments on a regular basis to conduct detainee surveys.
- Processing and analysing survey data, including for detainee and staff surveys, and checking survey findings for publication in inspection reports.
- Contributing research expertise to thematic reviews and other HMIP publications. This could involve conducting literature reviews, developing research methodology (including cognitive testing), carrying out fieldwork, interviews, data analysis and contributing to the drafting of published reports.
- Acting as research lead for a specific policy area. This includes keeping up to date with relevant research, statistics and policy developments and providing ad hoc support to inspection and policy colleagues.
- Managing and supporting research assistants.
- Supporting the work of the team in ensuring data and our research findings are utilised and presented in the most impactful and inclusive way.
- Updating and maintaining HMI Prisons’ databases and providing analysis for governance meetings and annual report.
- Contact: For further information about the role, please contact Helen Ranns on Helen.Ranns@hmiprisons.gov.uk.
Candidates
Successful candidates must meet the following essential criteria and physical requirements of the role:
Essential criteria:
- Ability to prioritise and deliver work on time.
- A member of the Government Social Research Group (GSR) profession, or meet the criteria for that profession (see below under professional requirements).
- You must meet the following GSR technical skills:
- Has good knowledge of research methodology, methods, and the latest techniques (i.e. demonstrated through qualifications and/or experience) and ability to apply these in small scale research projects.
- Able to design small scale and less complex research projects, defining research questions and writing draft specifications.
- Able to summarise and interpret information accurately, making use of different sources and to conduct basic analyses of key data sets utilising a working knowledge of relevant data analysis packages.
- Has good working knowledge of departmental procurement procedures, quality assurance processes, legal and ethical issues and principles relating to social research. Uses ability to critically assess and evaluate information and evidence, to support team members in managing more complex external research projects (judging merits of research tenders, assessing research findings, evaluating new ideas or methodologies).
Professional requirements:
- Profession criteria: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-government-social-research-profession-membership
- Candidates will need to have passed the GSR test prior to being considered for interview. If you are already a member of GSR, or have already passed this test, please provide details. If you have not already passed this test there will be the opportunity to take the test as part of the recruitment process.
Desirable criteria:
- Experience in questionnaire and survey design
- Experience of using IBM SPSS or R or other statistical analysis package
- Experience in analysing performance data
- Experience of working as part of a team
- Experience of using MS Office applications, specifically Word, PowerBI, Excel, OneNote and Outlook
- Interest in the criminal justice system
- Commitment to the values of HM Inspectorate of Prisons.