REF Support Analyst

An exciting opportunity to support UK's next research assessment exercise. We require systems to be delivered to enable:

• Administration of the exercise
• The submission of large volumes of research data from all participating HEIs
• The dissemination and assessment of all elements of the research data submitted.
We are seeking proactive and passionate support analysts to assist a broad user base with a variety of systems. You will be working in the heart of an agile development team following a user centred design approach. This is an exciting opportunity for an IT support professional to be exposed to all aspects of software development lifecycle, in a close-knit team. OUTPUTS & ACTIVITIES
• Take full ownership of incoming contact enquiries and follow through to successful resolution following investigation on a range of system queries. Where applicable transfer queries to the policy team for resolution
• Liaise with users where issue resolution is dependent on their input or action
• Proactively resolve complex queries and errors investigating and reporting any REF system related issues, with suggested solutions to the functional specialist leads or process owners
• Contribute to the maintenance of an effective and efficient REF systems
• Review user guidance documents ensuring they are clear and match with the specification/operation of the systems
• Where appropriate identify any standard responses for users of REF systems
• Where appropriate identify trends based on customer feedback and analysis of contact data to drive improvement and increase service standards
• Provide support to other areas within the REF team, in the systems team
• Contribute to meetings where appropriate that are for the benefit of continuous improvement
• Share, help and mentor staff from other areas to increase knowledge and expertise across the funding service teams for more flexible working
• Provide support for system releases at appropriate times including assisting with User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
• There are several systems and associated information to enable the REF to run. Instruction will be provided as part on induction, and you will be involved in the development/testing of systems to aid onboarding. The following list applies:
+ REF admin system + Submission system (used by HEIs) + Panel members' website (used by Panel members) + Systems in use: o Microsoft (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint) o SharePoint o Zoom/Email/Teams o Freshdesk o Jira/Confluence, We are committed to developing employees in their roles throughout their career. Learning and development plans enable employees to continue their professional development through training and development opportunities such as e-learning, classroom training and on-the-job experiences. We encourage our employees to share their learning across teams and organisations.


• Experience of a support environment (IT or non-IT) (S&I)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills (S&I)
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills (S&I)
• Proficient in information technology (IT), including a good working knowledge or MS Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint (S&I)
• Confident supporting users in ad-hoc scenarios, using multiple devices (Microsoft/Apple/Mobile/Tablet) (S&I)
• Proven ability to work flexibly in a small team, demonstrate good teamwork and support for other team members (S&I)
• Strong documentation skills (articles, knowledgebase, videos, training) (S&I)
• General understanding of application areas e.g. front end, back end, database, etc. (S&I)
• Ticket/support system experience (S&I)
Desirable:
• Knowledge of Research England and/or research assessment (I)
• Ability to quickly familiarise themselves with new systems (I)
• Previous experience with testing software (I)
• Knowledge of APIs & data interchange formats e.g. JSON/XML (I)
• Website/CMS experience (I)
  
  The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions, with the most recent exercise concluding in 2021. It is a peer review assessment process involving submissions from higher education institutions across the UK. Research England delivered REF 2021 on behalf of the four UK funding bodies and the results have driven the annual distribution of approximately £2 billion of research funding to UK higher education institutions (HEIs)., At interview, all shortlisted candidates are required to bring with them identification documents and original documents that prove they hold or can obtain the right to work in the UK. You can check your eligibility here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y
About Research England Research England is one of the nine Councils within UK Research and Innovation. As a key component of the research funding system, Research England will oversee UKRI's England-only functions in relation to university research and knowledge exchange (KE). This includes providing grant funding to English universities for related activities; developing and implementing the Research Excellence Framework in partnership with the UK Higher Education funding bodies; supervising the sustainability of the Higher Education research base in England; guide the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund; and coordinate the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF). Research England will build and sustain the conditions for a healthy and dynamic research and KE system in English universities. They also work closely with their counterparts in the Devolved Administrations., UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. Supporting some of the world's most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation., UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion - a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.

UKRI can offer the successful candidate:
• Flexible Working
• 30 days annual leave + Public Holidays
• Access to Civil Service Pension Scheme
• Various everyday discounts through our dedicated provider, Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI.
The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.