---

Job description

You will be part of a skilled communications team collaborating with other communications professionals, campaign leads, researchers and behavioural science experts. Working closely with specialists across the team, together you will unlock insights from a wide range of sources, transforming them into clear, actionable recommendations that help shape communications strategy, inform SMART objectives and evaluate campaign performance. You will support delivery of a programme of communications research, both quantitative and qualitative - including creative and message testing, campaign and brand tracking research, as well as representing HMRC’s communications interests as a stakeholder in research projects owned by other parts of the department. You will use these projects to develop a deep understanding of our internal and external audiences, channels, and reputation as a department working closely with data analysts to identify areas for deeper analysis. You will use this deep understanding to support the development of strategic communications strategies and plans, inform SMART objectives for communications campaigns and activities, and support colleagues in evaluating campaign performance.

Responsibilities

• Deliver qualitative and quantitative research that helps to assess HMRC’s reputation ensuring that the narrative around the findings is clearly articulated and provides actionable insights for strategic plans.
• Deliver research to track and evaluate the department’s internal and external communications campaigns.
• Act as a central insight and evaluation expert to HMRC’s Communications colleagues, providing insight and evaluation advice and support for priority external and internal communications campaigns, drawing on HMRC’s own sources and those external.
• Provide guidance to colleagues on research proposals, methodology and findings as well as drawing their attention to actionable insight in an easily understandable way through written reports, webinars, presentations and databases.
• Build cross-HMRC relationships to access insight and evaluation from sources outside of Communications, proactively sharing and integrating audience insight and evaluation reports and targeting them to the right teams/campaign leads to inform cross d
• Develop evaluation frameworks for annual communications plans to track and report against objectives to ensure all communications activity has SMART objectives and evaluation criteria to support communications and organisational priorities.
• Support teams on developing metrics, baselines/benchmarks and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including through survey/historical trend data analysis, and the drafting of responses to strategic reporting commissions.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the team to deliver the quarterly communications reporting hubs, aggregating metrics, insight and lessons learned.
• Champion the new Communications Information Management System (CIMS), and integrate insight and evaluation products and tools, such as a new insight library and audience segmentation database, to CIMS to support campaign planning and track impact.
• Promote continuous improvement in insight and evaluation skills across the Communications team through delivery of training and guidance.
• Build networks across the department to access research and identify and share relevant insights with communications colleagues.

Skills and Qualifications

Essential Skills

• Experience in commissioning and managing research projects, including procuring and managing external agencies, overseeing tendering, setting up contracts, onboarding agencies and managing suppliers.
• A good understanding of a range of research methodologies, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and their application in evaluating communications, policy, or public service delivery.
• Good analytical skills, and the ability to harness information from a wide variety of sources within HMRC, across government and externally, and turn these into actionable insights clearly and persuasively.
• Good knowledge or experience of SMART objective setting and evaluation processes.
• Good stakeholder management skills, with experience of working with a range of stakeholders.