This role has a starting salary of £45,680 per annum, based on a 36 hour working week.
This is a 2-year fixed term contract/ secondment opportunity.
Rewards and Benefits
*26 days’ holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years’ service and 30 days after 5 years’ service
*Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
*An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
*Up to 5 days of carer’s leave per year
*Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
*A generous local government salary related pension
*Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
*2 paid volunteering days per year
*Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
About the Team
Surrey County Council has been award £5m from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) to implement a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). This a 5-year initiative aiming to boost research capacity and capability within local government and embed a culture of always using evidence when making decisions. HDRC Surrey will be delivered through five workstreams:
*Research infrastructure and governance: Improving tools, processes and support systems to help people conduct research and gather evidence.
*Capacity building: supporting local authority staff, communities and residents to develop and build the research skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to carry out effective research on important issues and find potential solutions.
*Knowledge sharing: promoting research and evidence, ensuring it is a seen important and relevant, and supporting knowledge mobilisation, transfer and dissemination.
*Research practice, evaluation and impact: embedding research evidence in everyday practice at the local authority, focusing on conducting robust research, impact assessments and evaluations to measure effectiveness and impact.
*Public involvement: Embedding meaningful public involvement at the heart of Surrey HDRC’s work, ensuring the voice of people drives HDRC Surrey’s strategies and methods.

About the Role
Surrey’s communities are vital to shaping, delivering and implementing impactful research that can be used when making decisions to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes for all our residents. In this role you will champion community voice and will work with communities to design and conduct research on wider determinants of health, with a particular focus on co-production and other forms of participatory research. You will provide essential participatory research skills to the HDRC team and will use your demonstrable skills in co-production and participatory research methods to support meaningful public involvement in the HDRC.
You will support with HDRC Surrey’s public involvement workstream, helping Surrey residents to become more research-active and bringing together evidence for what works best to improve and protect the health of our residents. By working together, we aim to achieve a research-led and evidence-based approach to meeting health priorities in Surrey.
The HDRC Community Researcher will form an integral part of Workstream 5 on public involvement, with a predominant focus on carrying out research with Surrey’s communities and supporting their involvement in research activities, panels, and networks. This role would also seek to increase the capacity of local authorities to carry out their own participatory research, as well as supporting the HDRC delivery team in promoting participatory research methods across Surrey and building the local evidence base on the wider determinants of health.
Shortlisting Criteria
To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:
*A degree in Social Policy, Public Health, Social Research, Community Development, or equivalent professional experience.
*Knowledge and experience of public engagement and involvement in an academic/research/local government environment.
*Knowledge and experience of methodologies towards effective community engagement.
*The ability to inspire and equip others to use creative solutions to integrate and strengthen public involvement and community engagement in their work.

As part of your application you will be asked to upload your CV and answer the following questions:
*What has motivated you to apply for this position?
*Please provide examples of your experience with public involvement in an academic, research, or local government environment. What methodologies did you use to ensure effective community involvement?
*Describe a situation where you used co-production or other participatory research methods to support meaningful public involvement in a research project. What was the impact of these methods on the project’s outcomes?
*What strategies would you use to promote participatory research methods across Surrey and build the local evidence base on the wider determinants of health?
If you are an internal candidate applying for a new position/secondment, please discuss your intention to apply with your line manager before submitting your application.
The job advert closes at 23:59 on 20/04/2025 with interviews planned for week commencing 28/04/2025.
Our Commitment
Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applicants where:
*The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
*The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form
Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.