Research and Policy Officer

January 2025

Research & Policy Officer Recruitment Pack

Welcome

Thank you for your interest in joining the team at the Community Transport Association (CTA). Community Transport supports people to live independently, participate in their communities and access local services and amenities. Community Transport operators have a great story to tell and it’s CTA’s job to help them tell it and support them to develop excellent services that can transform lives and communities.

We have around 1300 members and many other stakeholders that all help to provide accessible and inclusive transport solutions in their communities. As CTA’s Research and Policy Officer, you will be working with me and the Head of Research, as well as the wider CTA leadership team, to deliver an exciting research project which will investigate how Community Transport can play a greater role in fulfilling the transport needs of children, young people and their families.

The role will be varied and involve travel throughout the UK. You will have the opportunity to contribute to an important project that will provide both insight and practical advice.  Working with Community Transport operators and passengers, Disability Charities, Local Government and other stakeholders, you will analyse current policy, explore barriers to travel for disabled children and young people and map current levels of transport provision.

This insight will be used to co-produce guidance to help Community Transport operators and stakeholders provide services that reduce barriers to travel for disabled children and young people.

At CTA, you will be part of a team that prides itself on being supportive and productive and you will enjoy the flexibility our organisation offers and a generous benefits package. If this sounds like you, then we would encourage you to apply and let’s start the conversation.

Nick Mills

Research and Insight Manager

Working at CTA

Rewards & Benefits

• Our remuneration package includes £29,240 starting salary with annual increments up to £32,275 (Grade D) based on meeting key performance indicators.

• A defined contribution pension scheme including employer contributions of up to 5%.

• CTA contractual sick pay provides payment in addition to SSP after passing your probation period. Entitlement is first eight weeks at full pay, following eight weeks at half pay.

• Group Life Insurance cover, currently at three times your annual salary.

• 25 days’annual leave, plus public holidaysand additional days between Christmas and New Year.The annual entitlement increases one day per year until you reach the maximum of 29 days.

• A basic flexi-time system.

• A flexible approach to work – we encourage and support different ways of working in order to achieve our overall objectives

Diversity

We are dedicated to ensuring that our workforce reflects the diversity of the world and the communities we serve.

We actively encourage applications from individuals regardless of their gender, age, country of origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or disability.

As part of our commitment to fairness, all shortlisted candidates will receive the interview questions in advance, allowing those candidates the opportunity to prepare effectively.

Job Description and Person Specification

Research & Policy Officer

Location: Home-based with travel across the UK

Salary: £29,240 starting salary with annual increments up to £32,275 (Grade D)

Contract: Fixed Term (2 Years)

Reports to: Research and Insight Manager

Purpose of the Role

The Research and Policy Officer will play a key role in delivering a funded research project focused on exploring the unmet transport needs of disabled children and how community transport can improve travel experiences for children and young people with disabilities.

A key focus of the role is engaging with and working closely alongside community transport operators (CTOs), local authorities, disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), and other stakeholders. Together, you will identify transport barriers and develop practical, user-centred solutions.

You will build strong relationships with these groups to ensure the voices of disabled children, young people, and their families are at the heart of the project. This includes gathering and analysing information, organising consultations, running workshops, and facilitating co-designed sessions to generate meaningful ideas and solutions.

In addition, you will also be involved in creating accessible resources, such as toolkits and guidance, to support inclusive transport services. Working with the project lead, and other team members, you will focus on building strong relationships with stakeholders to raise awareness, drive improvements, influence policy and promote better transport options for everyone.

Key Responsibilities

Deliver the Research Project Objectives

• Be a key player in the development and delivery of the research project to explore unmet travel needs and improve travel experiences for children and young people with disabilities.

• Work with the wider Community Transport Association (CTA) team to ensure the project meets organisational goals and follows best practices in accessibility and inclusion.

Engage Stakeholders

• Gather information through interviews, focus groups, and discussions with children, young people with disabilities, their families, and key groups like community transport operators (CTOs), local councils, and disabled people’s organisations (DPOs).

• Work with stakeholders to review existing transport services, identify service gaps, and understand the barriers faced by disabled children and young people along with co-producing community-based solutions.

Assess Impact, Develop Policies and Advocate for Change

• Keep track of new policy developments and research to understand how they might affect community transport.

• Assist in creating practical policy recommendations to address transport challenges for disabled children.

• Advocate for community transport as a key solution for improving accessibility and inclusion in transport systems.

Project Monitoring and Reporting

• Track progress to ensure the project stays on schedule and meets its goals.

• Maintain database of participants and stakeholder activity.

• Share regular updates with stakeholders about what’s been achieved and next steps.

Experience and Qualifications: Essential

• Strong understanding of disability and accessibility issues in the community, voluntary sector and/or transport sector.
• Proven experience contributing to social or public policy research projects.
• Experience of engaging with disabled children and young people and their families.
• Evidence of relevant qualifications or continuing professional development aligned with the role.
• Experience representing organisations through working groups, partnerships, or alliances.
• Demonstrated ability to build strong working relationships with colleagues and external partners to deliver actionable research.

Key Responsibilities Continued

Experience and Qualifications: Desirable

• Understanding of the community transport sector and/or issues related to transport policy and services, particularly in transport services for children and young people.
• Developing professional resources and toolkits.
• Working within a membership and/or voluntary sector environment.

Knowledge, skills and abilities: Essential

• Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative research methods and analysis.
• Empathy and understanding of challenges faced by groups disadvantaged by limited transport accessibility.
• Excellent organisational and interpersonal skills, fostering effective collaboration within teams.
• Ability to facilitate and co-design processes and workshops with diverse groups.
• Proven experience in stakeholder engagement and relationship-building across a diverse range of individuals and organisations.
• Strong organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines.

Knowledge, skills and abilities: Desirable

• Advanced knowledge of excel and/or other analytical software packages. 

• Experience ensuring research follows co-production principles, emphasising a strong user-led voice

• Ability to interpret and analyse complex data and present insights clearly for different audiences.

Values and Attitude: Essential

• A demonstrable commitment to our organisation’s values. 

• Strong commitment to, and understanding of the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion

Values and Attitude: Desirable

• Professional and positive attitude in managing working relationships.

• Positive attitude to your own personal accountability for achieving agreed targets and outcomes.

Values: Be an enthusiastic advocate for CTA’s values. 

Planning: Contribute to the development, implementation and delivery of CTA’s strategy and operational plans. 

Contribute to service evaluation and development by listening and feeding back membership data, stories and intelligence. 

Reporting: Ensure personal record-keeping and reporting is conducted consistently and to a high standard, including generating data for management reporting, saving resources and documents on SharePoint and communicating outcomes and progress to colleagues. 

Participation: Contribute to staff meetings, team meetings, and other meetings as required. 

Attend and contribute to the facilitation of CTA national events. 

Maintain own professional networks and promote CTA on a local and national level.

Resources: Use the resources of the organisation effectively, including delivering your own activities within the agreed budget. 

Governance: Support good governance within CTA by providing relevant information for the Trustee Board and its sub-committees. 

Compliance: Take personal responsibility for ensuring your own work is compliant with relevant legislation, policies and good practice, including data protection and health and safety

How to Apply

Please send your application via email to jobs@ctauk.org  

The closing date for applications is Monday 17th February, 9am.

If you would like an initial, informal discussion about the role, you can contact Nick Mills, via nick@ctauk.org 

Interviews will be held in the week commencing Monday 24th February 2025