Impact and Knowledge Exchange Officer

Role Description

Department

The ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre is seeking a dynamic and experienced individual to take on the role of Impact and Knowledge Exchange Officer. 

The Centre was established in May 2022, with £10 million funding for five years, to 30 April 2027, and is large and complex in nature, with a portfolio of 40+ research projects. The Centre is jointly led from the University of York and the University of Leeds, with the core team split across the two institutions. 

The Centre comprises a team of 26 academics at York, Leeds and other universities, 4 professional support staff (including this role), 11 postdoctoral researchers and 4 Associated PGRs across Leeds and York, and 38 project partners, including police forces, non-governmental organisations, and government departments.

The police have always dealt with vulnerable people but over the past decade, the nature and extent of this involvement has changed dramatically. Increasingly, the police have been drawn into policing modern slavery, County Lines, mental health, child sexual exploitation and other issues where the police are having to step into the gaps left by underfunded public services. The Centre is undertaking a ground-breaking programme of research and knowledge exchange, working at regional, national and international levels.

Further information about the ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre is available at https://vulnerabilitypolicing.org.uk/ and in our ‘about us’ video at https://vulnerabilitypolicing.org.uk/about/. 

Role

As Impact and Knowledge Exchange Officer you will play a pivotal role in the Centre team, providing expert input in order to turn the Centre’s research into impact within the fields of policy, professional practice and public engagement. You will help to raise the profile of the Centre’s work, developing relationships and working with wide-ranging partners and communities to advance social change through research, and playing a key role in upskilling and supporting the team in impact capacity and capability. You will drive forward key aspects of the Centre’s impact agenda including further development and implementation of the impact strategy, project management of Demonstration Projects and evidence-based Continuous Professional Development for practitioners, as well as planning and delivery of impact and knowledge exchange events. You will report to the Centre Manager (York) and work in close collaboration with the Communications & Engagement Officer (Leeds) and the Centre Coordinator (York), as well as the Centre’s academic leadership and core research staff team (York/Leeds). 

Skills, Experience & Qualifications needed

• Level 3 qualification. (Qualifications at this level include A levels. Please view the full list.) We also welcome applicants with equivalent non-UK qualifications or equivalent professional experience
• Experience of successfully delivering impact and knowledge exchange work within a university, charity, advocacy, policy/public sector or similar
• Proven ability to support the translation and/or application of research evidence into practical guidance, tools or designs to effect change.
• Experience of managing projects and delivering events proactively and in collaboration with multiple internal and external stakeholders 

This is a fixed term contract until 30 April 2027

Interview date: 15th September 2025

For informal enquiries: please contact Roz Cumming, Centre Manager, roslyn.cumming@york.ac.uk

The University strives to be diverse and inclusive  – a place where we can ALL be ourselves.

We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, who are underrepresented at the University. 

We offer family friendly, flexible working arrangements, with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff. #EqualityatYork