Purpose

The Research Manager will support and collaborate with the Head of Research to deliver a number of research projects, and work within Flood Re’s Transition team. Flood Re is also embarking on a major initiative to implement a Homes, Floods and Insurance Hub. This will involve the establishment of a new entity and governance arrangements, and operationalising this entity by convening initial committee meetings, establishing and maintaining the partnerships, and starting to deliver the first projects. This will represent a significant expansion of the organisation’s research capacity and partnerships, in a very short time. You will work with partners to get the Hub and its projects up and running, and support the Hub’s operations including the Steering Committee meetings.

Principal Responsibilities

• Project management: manage the implementation of governance/operations, partnerships, research project initiation, and initial Hub operations, ensuring continued progress and addressing any roadblocks, reporting and informing decisions at relevant milestones.
• Analysis: collating information, analysing relevant facts, communicating key developments and findings. Translation and synthesis of technical research for non-technical audiences or other project partners.
• Outreach, engagement, and people skills: scheduling and conducting meetings with relevant partners, including background research, designing materials to present project and findings, and following up. Managing steering committee operations. Collaboration with partners to ensure deliverables are completed and strategic objectives achieved.
• Research and advice: Ensuring the relevance of all research to Flood Re’s transition objectives, including advising researchers on how to communicate these aspects. Some direct supporting research as needed, awareness of broader flood research in order to ensure join-up, and understanding UK institutions’ research and processes.
• Internal and external communication and reporting: Provide regular updates on progress to Flood Re’s Executive Committee, Board, the Hub’s Steering Committee, and project partners.
• Supporting Flood Re’s Transition objectives: Understand the organization’s goals and dynamics present in the market, and aligning the Hub’s outputs to these objectives.
• Support Head of Research: with research and analysis support as needed.
• Writing and editing: clearly written documents to communicate and progress (research, data analysis, internal/external reporting.

Knowledge and Experience

• Project management skills, able to plan and conduct a multi-faceted workstream with different strands and deliverables, and attention to detail
• Strong research and analysis skills and ability to understand different strands of research and connect them back to a larger strategic vision
• Experience of conducting/managing complex projects, balancing research-related tasks with outreach and engagement, and managing multi-disciplinary projects and partnerships
• Good stakeholder management, and people skills, able to capably represent organisation and build and maintain internal and external relationships
• Good communication and presentation skills, both face to face and written; ability to explain technical questions to different audiences and integrate concepts
• Experience with partnerships and collaboration, able to balance internal and external objectives, integrate and reframe concepts, and find win-wins
• Uses initiative to find solutions and approaches problems with curiosity and open mindedness
• Ability to work independently and autonomously
• Experience in any or all of flooding, risk management, insurance, homes and buildings, climate, industry-relevant research, and research institutions is desirable