King's Policy Translation Intern

King’s Policy Translation Intern

Reference: KPRI23

Department: King’s Careers & Employability/The Policy Institute 

Role Structure: Part-time (0.4 FTE) alongside your studies / Flexible hours / Fixed-term Contract 

Start Date: October 2023 for 9 months 

Role Location: Hybrid, working remotely and also on the Parliamentary Estate, Westminster 

Deadline: Midnight, 21 August 2023 

Contact Details: Miss Maria Sanz Taberner – Work-based Learning Senior Support Officer via internships@kcl.ac.uk    

Restriction: Open to current PhD students and Post-doctoral staff only. We encourage applicants to discuss their interest in the Programme with their Academic Supervisor to both support their application and determine whether such an application is achievable alongside the academic and research commitment of their studies. 

About the Internship

The King's Parliamentary Research Internships programme is a unique opportunity for King's PhD and post-doc researchers to engage directly with the inner workings of government and policy, alongside their academic studies.

Alongside our interns who are partnered with individual Peers, this distinct post of a Policy Translation Intern will have a broader role, helping to explore how the university and its academic community could maximise engagement with policy discussions and legislative debates, focused on the House of Lords.

It is an exceptional opportunity for candidates interested in broadening their awareness and understanding of the policymaking process - heightening their knowledge of the work of Parliament, developing new skills and gaining experience and networks to help build future career success.

The successful candidate will work up to 14 hours per week (0.4 FTE) for 9 months, alongside their academic studies or existing role, though there may be the opportunity to fulfil the role with a lower time commitment, at a minimum of 7 hours per week. You must liaise with your academic supervisor or line manager to confirm that you are able to undertake this role based on your research funding and other responsibilities.

About the Role

Academics across King’s College London regularly produce important research that could usefully inform topical questions, policy discussions and legislative debates. In order to achieve this type of impact, this research must be effectively ‘translated’, presented in an immediately accessible format and made available to (busy) policymakers in a timeframe appropriate to the business of the House. Identifying relevant research, synthesising and effecting this level of translation to create briefings that are both useful and timely for policy makers presents a challenge to universities; and neither is it immediately obvious how to ensure that these briefings reach the right people, at the right time.

This role is intended to help King’s explore how the university might meet this challenge in a cost-effective, light touch way, taking account of existing routes through which Parliamentarians can access academic research while adding something that is distinctive to King’s. This is the second year of this post. The previous post-holder developed a draft handbook for researchers, which provides guidance on identifying topics that are a priority for Parliament, communicating research findings for a policy audience and engaging with parliamentarians to drive impact. In the next phase of this role, we are aiming to

• further refine this through a consultative process


• identify and utilise communication routes to disseminate it among academics at King’s, with the aim of building stronger institutional awareness and capabilities for timely policy engagement


• further explore institutional opportunities to systematise and maximise the impact of academic research among Parliamentarians.

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates looking to develop their knowledge, attributes and skills through new experiences which help bring academic research to life. It would be especially appropriate to a candidate with an existing interest in or knowledge of Parliament and the legislative process, enabling them to expand that interest through connections into the House of Lords.

We encourage applicants to discuss their interest in the Programme with their Academic Supervisor or line manager to both support their application and determine whether such an application is achievable alongside the academic and research commitment of their studies/work.

Core tasks will include:

• Building on the work completed in the first year of this role, in which a draft handbook was developed, by refining and iterating through desk research and consultation.


• Supporting dissemination of the handbook’s content within King’s, including identifying existing examples of effective engagement and ways to begin to embed more widely the principles it sets out


• Working with the Policy Institute and agreed contacts in the Lords to explore additional institutional opportunities for systematic engagement between the university and Parliament, including reviewing approaches taken by groups within Parliament, such as POST and the Library as well as other HEIs; and recommending mechanisms through which King’s could seize these opportunities.
  
  
  
  • As appropriate, piloting new approaches, on a small scale or with a small cohort of Peers
  
  
  
  


• Liaising as appropriate with the cohort of Peer-hosted interns in order to capture learning from their experiences and/or test ideas.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post

ALL APPLICANTS MUST BE A CURRENT (2023-24 ACADEMIC YEAR) KING'S COLLEGE LONDON PhD STUDENT OR POST-DOC RESEARCHER. 

Applicants from other programmes or individuals who do not meet this criteria will be automatically rejected as ineligible. 

Desirable criteria only 

• Current King’s College London PhD student or post-doc in a related discipline to the role specific tasks outlined above. 

Experience / Skills Essential criteria

Knowledge

• Knowledge and/or awareness of the UK policy landscape


• Demonstratable interest and understanding of the Parliamentary and legislative processes

Skills and Attributes

• Familiarity with a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods


• Excellent and concise writing skills, including reports and message-led briefings


• Ability to review documentation, policy and reports and clearly articulate salient points to different audiences


• Ability to confidently present findings to a range of audiences


• Confidence and ability to work flexibly, coping with multiple tasks, projects and reports and competing demands in an agile fashion


• A collaborative working approach


• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate complex information clearly and concisely to people from a range of backgrounds


• Ability to work independently and pro-actively where needed

Experience

• Experience working in a policy-related research field


• Experience synthesising large amounts of complex evidence for a non-academic audience

Application & Assessment 

Your application should consist of a CV and cover letter, clearly setting out how you meet the essential criteria as this is how we shortlist applications. 

Find tips on writing your application and supporting statement on our website: https://keats.kcl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=41567

Successful candidates will be shortlisted by King’s Careers & Employability and invited to interview with a King’s panel. Interviews will take place 12 and 13 September 2023.