Co-Director recruitment
Our recent changes
The Scottish Policy & Research Exchange was founded in 2019 as a project within the Academy of Social Sciences. Over the past year we have re-formed as an independent charity (SCIO), recruited a new Board of Trustees and shifted to a Co-Director model of leadership.
Dave Bell has just been appointed as one new Co-Director, and this page outlines our approach to recruiting a second.
Embedded within these organisational changes, we have re-imagined our approach to supporting the needs of Scottish research-policy communities. This involves placing values, equity, learning and improvement at the root of everything we do, as we grow into a new organisation. We refer to this as an ‘intersectional praxis’.
Meet Dave – SPRE’s new Co-Director
A conversation between Freya Collier-Sewell, one of SPRE’s new Trustees, and Dave Bell, the first of SPRE’s new Co-Directors.
In this discussion, Dave shares personal and professional reflections on his values and beliefs, what he finds exciting about working for SPRE, and his thoughts on SPRE’s new direction of travel.
Our values
Last year, SPRE did some initial work to surface the values that will guide our work, and we used these 6 ‘values’ as key criteria for recruiting our Board of Trustees. Once the second Co-Director is in place, we will be revisiting them with a view to engaging more deeply with their meaning and practical implications.
The following descriptions are an indication of where we might go with this…
- Creativity – Shifting perspectives, prototyping, embracing paradox, rejecting binaries, co-production, joy, intrinsic motivation…
- Inclusivity – Accountability, transparency, belonging, equity, anti-oppression, participation, responsiveness, accessibility…
- Reflexivity – Exploring taken-for-granted framings and assumptions, learning to ‘see’ and name power relations, illuminating our own ‘blind spots’ and ‘deaf spots’…
- Relationality – Trust, mutuality, solidarity, care, respect, response-ability, attention to context and everyday interactions, being holistic…
- Collaboration – working through partnerships and networks, recognising and respecting overlaps and differences in agendas, building shared ownership…
- Praxis – theory and practice, learning by doing, dialogue, listening, relational rigour, purpose, curiosity, humility, responsiveness, adaptability…
Our approach to Co-Director recruitment
We are taking a two-phased approach to recruitment. Our aim is to hold ourselves accountable to candidates for making this process relational, equitable, inclusive, accessible and responsive to their needs.
In the first phase, anyone interested can provide feedback on SPRE, the job description and the recruitment process, until 10th August. We will then adapt our approach to phase two in response to the feedback we receive, when formal recruitment opens.
Draft Co-Director Job Description
Context
Scottish Policy and Research Exchange (SPRE) has recently spun out and reformed as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). We have begun work to establish a core set of values and have committed to operationalising and embedding equity, learning and improvement, in a rigorous, transparent and accountable way. We refer to this as a values-led ‘intersectional praxis’, and you can read more about what we mean by this here.
As part of this transition, we have recently recruited a new Board of Trustees and shifted to a Co-Directorship model. We have just appointed one Co-Director, Dave Bell, and are now seeking to appoint a second. The two new Co-Directors will work in partnership to co-lead the organisation at this very exciting time, ensuring that our values and a commitment to engaging in an ‘intersectional praxis’ are placed at the centre of everything we do.
As SPRE is at an early stage of this journey, this role provides a unique opportunity to further develop and shape the values, principles, vision and mission of the organisation, working with the Board of Trustees, and reporting to the Chair.
Given the importance of the relationship between the two Co-Directors, you can learn more about Dave Bell in this video, where he shares his values and beliefs, what he finds exciting about working for SPRE, and his thoughts on SPRE’s new direction of travel.
Between our two Co-Directors, we envisage they will hold a common set of core capacities and a broader set of complementary capacities. These are described below.
What SPRE can offer
Contract: Open-ended/Full time (37.5 hours per week) – but can consider candidates on a part time basis.
Salary: £47,000 per annum
Agile Working: flexibility to work in accordance with both business needs and personal needs.
Location: Remote working from home, however there is a need for business travel primarily across Scotland and possibly the UK. (Travel needs will vary but will be more at a monthly, rather than weekly, frequency.)
A small and supportive working environment with a commitment to staff development (e.g. funded training courses, coaching, and mentorship – currently budgeted at £1,500 per person per year).
Responsibilities
- To lead on the effective development and delivery of SPRE’s vision and the strategic goals of the organisation, constantly practising our values.
- To identify, develop and maintain a range of key relationships for SPRE across the research and policy landscape.
- To ensure the sustainability and growth of the organisation by being open to new ideas and innovation, driving continuous improvement and evolution.
- To work with the Board of Trustees in the governance of the organisation as set out in the articles of association.
- To lead by consensus and collaboration with the other Co-Director on all strategic, management and operational requirements.
Core capacities
- Good knowledge of the Scottish (and wider) research-policy landscape and how interpersonal and structural issues relating to equity, diversity and inclusion shape it.
- An ability to develop, embed and apply SPRE’s approach to a values-led intersectional praxis.
- An ability to lead and contribute meaningfully to strategy, to develop strategic implementation plans that effectively operationalise strategic objectives and to consistently review and analyse performance against agreed objectives.
- Experience of working with a Board of Trustees or Management Committees or similar (such as Steering or Advisory Groups concerned with knowledge mobilisation)
- Experience of developing and maintaining strong professional relationships with people across a wide range of organisation types, that are grounded in the values we hold as an organisation.
- An ability to ensure the operational effectiveness of the organisation, including risk management, financial management, compliance and people management and proactively seek guidance, support, challenge, input and approval, as needed.
- An ability to lead on communications and engagement strategy to raise the profile and reach of SPRE through a track record of effective communication and network development.
Complementary capacities
- An ability to design and facilitate of co-productive and participatory processes in equitable, creative and diverse ways.
- A clear strategic and operational understanding of how to navigate complex processes of change, in the context of equitable research-policy relations.
- Practical and theoretical knowledge of monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches that are appropriate for navigating complex processes of change.
- An understanding of and experience in applying the practical implications of intersectionality, equity, equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in a wide range of contexts.
- An ability to attract and generate funding through donations, grants and other means.
- An ability to produce and design resources, and manage processes, to support research-policy networks and collaborative project work.
Phase 1 – Influence the process
Timeline: 25th May – 10th August
Purpose: Opportunity for potential candidates to shape the Co-Director role and approach to recruitment, as well as to asking probing questions about SPRE. We will adapt our approach to phase two in response to the feedback we receive.
Phase 2 – Formal recruitment period
Timeline: 10th August – 31st October
Purpose: Applying a relational, equitable, inclusive, accessible and responsive approach to Co-Director recruitment.
Proposed timeline of events:
- 10th August – 31st September: Applications open to all
- SPRE shares finalised details of job description, assessment criteria and recruitment process
- SPRE hosts Q&A events for potential applicants
- Applications based on questions, not CVs, and we will accept multiple different formats (e.g. written, video, audio)
- Applications will be managed via BeApplied (ethical recruitment software)
- 1st – 31st October
- Shortlisted candidates invited to have informal conversations with SPRE staff and trustees
- Selection process:
- Collaborative task, with current Co-Director (e.g. designing a workshop) – candidates will be paid for their time for this
- Interview, including presentation of the collaborative task, a scenario and questions (scenario and questions provided in advance)
- December onwards
- Feedback provided on request to shortlisted candidates