Operations Officer (Communications & Events)

Operations Officer (Communications & Events)

Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom (Hybrid)

Job Description

Council: ESRC (Economic & Social Research Council)

Band: C
Contract Type: Open ended - programmefunding is fixed term until 31 March 2031
Hours: Full-time
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire - Hybrid working available. Regular travel to London office required.

About the role

ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) is a partnership transforming the way researchers access the UK's wealth of public sector data, to enable better informed policy decisions that improve people's lives. The programme is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

This post will support two teams within the ADR UK Strategic Hub: Communications & Engagement, and Research Commissioning & Capacity Building, including responsibility for ADR UK's communications activities, digital communications, a growing virtual and in-person events programme, and leading on commissioning, funded fellowships and researcher training events.

You will primarily provide operational and administrative support to priority communication and events workstreams within the busy team, working collaboratively and supporting the administration of our commissioning and fellowship programme where needed.

This role is fundamentally an administrative role, tasked with the operational delivery of a range of projects within the team's objectives. Opportunities to develop skills and participate on specific workstreams and projects end to end are also provided.

Your responsibilities

• Providing general operational and organisational support for a range of projects within the ADR UK Strategic Hub, focusing on communications and events, including managing shared mailboxes, implementing and maintaining administrative processes such as project or publication trackers, and supporting the purchase order process.
• Being a first point of call for enquiries related to assigned projects, providing answers and guidance in a timely manner and escalating where needed.
• Engaging with continuous improvement project work and initiatives, seeking to refine processes and ways of working within the team and wider organisation.
• Supporting meetings, webinars, and events both internally and externally, in person and virtually; tasks include securing venues (or virtual meeting space), maintaining invitation lists, arranging logistics, making travel and accommodation arrangements, and processing expense claims.

Essential knowledge, skills and experience

• Excellent organisational and administrative skills gained within a communications, events, research or transferable context, with ability to work flexibly and multi task at pace.
• Sound numeric skills, including handling and analysing data sensitively, accurately, and responsibly.
• Excellent written communication skills, able to draft and understand complex written documents and interpret them clearly.
• Independent, creative, problem solving and decision making abilities.
• Great team player, able to provide support, share knowledge and information to achieve team and wider organisational goals.
• Excellent communicator with good social skills, working effectively with colleagues at different levels and serving as an effective ambassador.
• Good working knowledge of IT and programmes (Outlook, MS Word, Excel, MS Teams, etc.) with ability to quickly learn new software and systems.

Hybrid working

We support a hybrid approach, with a mix of working from home, the office, and occasionally other UK locations. ESRC staff will be assigned to Tier 2 meaning a standard expectation of 40-60% onsite attendance, including those hosted by ESRC, effective from 1 October 2026. At times, overnight stays and/or occasional work outside standard office hours may be required.

Employee Benefits

• 30 days holiday (in addition to 10.5 bank holidays and privilege days).
• Excellent defined salary pension scheme.
• Easily accessible public transport links / free parking.
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.

Equal opportunity

We support an inclusive workforce and encourage applications from all backgrounds. We are a Disability Confident Employer.