Behavioural Insights Principal

About Ofcom

As the UK’s communications regulator, we’re delivering vital work that helps keep the UK connected and shapes the future of how we’ll stay connected with each other.

Our work covers everything from phones and broadband, through to TV, radio, the postal service, and wireless devices. We’re also taking on the challenge of making the online world a safer place. And we need people of all backgrounds, skill sets, and experiences to help us achieve our goal of making communications work for everyone.

About the Team - Ofcom's BI Hub

Behavioural insights (BI) is widely used by governments and regulators in the UK. It can help us understand how people make decisions which we can then use to inform and design better policy, improve services and ultimately deliver positive results for citizens and consumers. BI is also being used to better understand how companies make decisions e.g. to understand service and product design decisions, and it can be used in compliance testing and monitoring.

Ofcom set up a Behavioural Insights Hub in 2020 and has since expanded its dedicated team of experts.

The BI Hub brings together colleagues with a range of different skills: behavioural scientists, behavioural economists, market researchers and statisticians. Ofcom’s BI Hub:

• Conducts its own primary research – such as online randomised control trials – to understand decision-making and drivers of behaviour change.
• Translates academic research to inform policy.
• Applies evidence-based frameworks and techniques to design and test behaviour change interventions.
• Advises colleagues on how to use our research in their policy design.
• Designs and implements behaviour change communication campaigns.
• Publishes and blogs about our innovative work.

Purpose of the Role

This role sits alongside two other Principals in the Hub and together you will provide leadership and development for the BI Hub, scoping and overseeing its work programme, managing resources, and developing colleagues as BI specialists.

Key aspects of this role will be to lead a programme of behavioural research and analysis, identify and resource priority BI work areas across all the sectors Ofcom regulates, advise policy colleagues, embed behavioural thinking, and promote the benefits of behavioural insights to policy development across the organisation, and lead Ofcom’s knowledge and learnings of BI.

Working with other Principal/s:

• Co-lead the development of the BI Hub’s strategy and programme of work, ensuring this supports policy priorities.
• Review, scope and deliver workstreams aimed at driving evidence-based policy making.
• Lead BI projects and help develop junior colleagues’ expertise to conduct experiments and run behavioural audits on online choice architecture.
• Collaborate by building and maintaining strong links (communication and collaboration) between researchers, economists, statisticians and policy colleagues – working across and as part of multi-disciplinary teams.
• Provide BI representation/influence at relevant steering groups.
• Highlight the benefits of innovation and change for Ofcom, promoting an environment of constant improvement.
• Strengthen external networks as appropriate and stay abreast of relevant developments.
• Engage with academics to support work that can further Ofcom’s BI evidence base.

Co-Lead a Hub that;

• Acts as the first point of contact and expert voice for BI requirements and resourcing e.g.  advising policy colleagues in the use of BI to inform regulatory decisions.
• Supports the provision of resource, guidance, and leadership for BI projects across the organisation.
• Keeps abreast of developments and BI tools/techniques and methods being used by our stakeholders, central government, and commercial and not for profit organisations.
• Manages a programme of BI research and analysis that builds skills within Ofcom and drives thought leadership.
• Promotes Ofcom’s research in external forums, raising Ofcom’s profile in the UK and internationally.

The skills, knowledge and experience you will need for success

Empowering Development- (Teamwork and leadership) able to inspire, lead a team and ensure timely delivery as well as manage colleagues at different stages of their professional development.

Articulating Ideas- (Excellent communication skills) confident and articulate, able to communicate effectively to different audiences and levels of seniority.

Forming Relationships- (Excellent stakeholder management and interpersonal skills) able to build internal and external networks.

Executing Plans - (Strong project management skills) with the ability to delegate as appropriate, Including career and line management responsibilities.

Building Solutions- Demonstrable ability to think strategically: deal with complex problems and develop innovative solutions.

Background in behavioural psychology/behavioural science/economics and demonstrable experience of applied behavioural thinking (e.g. influencing development of public or regulatory policy) required.

Qualifications

Degree or equivalent experience in behavioural science, economics, market research or statistics.

Please note that this role will close at 00:01 on Monday 14th October, and therefore we advise getting your application in no later than midnight on Sunday 13th October.

Please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining how your experience to date makes you a good fit for the role. You should submit these as one document and upload it at the point where you are asked for your CV.

Closing Date: 14/10/2024