FSA Food & You 2 Knowledge Exchange Fellowship (five months)

This is an exciting opportunity to help bridge the gap between research and policy. The successful applicant will be embedded within the FSA’s Analytics Unit for five months, with the aim of raising the profile of our Food and You 2 survey amongst the academic community and third sector, to help increase use and generate impact from this unique dataset.

Background

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is an independent non-ministerial government department. We work across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to protect public health and consumers’ wider interests in food.

One of the key principles in the FSA's Strategy is that we base our decisions on science and evidence. The Analytics Unit (AU) is responsible for delivering research, analysis and advice to inform policy-decision making and is made up of around 45 specialists across a range of analytical professions including social science, statistics, economics, operational research, and foresight. The successful applicant will be embedded within the Analytics Unit working within a small interdisciplinary sub-team who lead on the delivery of the Food and You 2 survey.

Food and You 2 is FSA’s official statistic survey measuring the public’s self-reported attitudes, knowledge and behaviour regarding food safety and other food issues, such as food insecurity. The survey has a key role in measuring the FSA’s progress towards its strategy, providing robust evidence to support policy decision-making and helping to identify where further action or research is required. The survey is conducted biannually with approximately 6,000 adults using a push-to-web methodology. Reports are published on the FSA website and underpinning data is published on the Agency’s open-access data catalogue, and UK Data Service.

Fellowship description

We are seeking an ambitious early career researcher to help increase the awareness and use of the Food and You 2 dataset amongst external stakeholders, including the academic community and third sector. You will be expected to:

• Strengthen existing partnerships with academia and third sector organisations
• Develop new relationships that could lead to collaborative projects
• Host regular sessions with academics using Food and You 2 data to encourage and facilitate use
• Explore further options for co-funding exploratory secondary analysis
• Lead on proactive dissemination and engagement with external audiences
• Attend and present at conferences and other events to promote the Food and You 2 survey
• Deliver tailored reports, briefings and presentations for external audiences
• Secondary analysis of Food and You 2 data in response to ad hoc requests

You will also have the opportunity to conduct and write up secondary analysis of Food and You 2 data to add to the academic evidence base on consumers’ relationship with food. Research questions must be aligned with FSA’s strategic priorities and will need be agreed with FSA. You will be allocated time (approx. one day a week) to focus on academic publications.

Skills, knowledge and experience

You should have:

• A strong academic background with a PhD in a social science discipline
• Excellent communication (verbal and written) skills
• Excellent relationship-building skills
• Experience in stakeholder engagement
• Experience writing research reports and briefings for a range of audiences
• Experience working with large survey datasets
• Advanced statistical analysis skills and knowledge including logistic regression
• Excellent working knowledge and experience of R and/or SPSS
• Experience delivering at pace and working to tight deadlines
• Experience working independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team

Fellowship and funding details

This is a full-time role with the FSA where you will be embedded within the FSA’s Analytics Unit. You will be allocated an FSA supervisor who you will meet with on a weekly or fortnightly basis and will be expected to provide a written update to FSA on your progress every two months. You will be allocated time (approx. one day a week) to focus on academic publications, however these should be aligned to FSA priorities.

This fellowship is for an initial period of five months (1 Nov 2024 – 31 March 2025). There may be an opportunity to extend the fellowship, however this is subject to funding.

You must be based at a UK higher education institution. You will be employed under the terms and conditions of your home university, with the FSA covering salary costs and associated indirect and overhead costs for the duration of the fellowship – you will not be employed by the FSA and will not be a Civil Servant. Your host institution is expected to provide practical resources and support to this fellowship and to your development as an early career researcher via a mentor.

You may choose to be home-based or spend 50% of you time in one of FSA’s hubs (London, York, Belfast or Cardiff). Some travel to in-person meetings may be required.

The FSA has ringfenced appropriate budget for delivering this fellowship and its associated research, with up to £37,000 available for the five-month fellowship duration to cover total costs. Travel and conference costs will be covered by FSA.

Application process

To apply for this opportunity, please send the following to lucy.murray@food.gov.uk: 

• Research fellow personal statement and CV – you should provide a personal statement (not exceeding 750 words) alongside your CV (max. four pages) detailing how your skills and experience meet the requirements for this fellowship
• Mentor supporting statement and CV – your prospective mentor should provide a supporting statement (not exceeding 250 words) alongside their CV (max. four pages), detailing why you would be suitable for the role, and how they will support you for the duration of the fellowship
• Letter of support from your host institution – this should be provided by the relevant director/ head of department confirming their support
• Costs – applicants should provide a detailed cost breakdown, including the salary and associated costs of the research fellowship. Costs should be quoted excluding VAT. This should be completed with the support of your host institution’s research office

Following an initial quality control sift to ensure all relevant information has been provided, we will assess your application on your ability to deliver on the expected responsibilities of the fellowship, as well as the appropriateness of the financial costing submitted. Chosen applicants will be invited for interview (expected to be held remotely in August). Following candidate selection, we aim to agree a start date for 1 November 2024, subject to negotiation of terms and conditions with your supporting host institution.

Applicants must comply with Home Office/UK Visa and Immigration requirements and hold a valid work permit where appropriate. Applicants who require a visa must ensure this is in place before the start date of the award. Successful candidates will be required to undergo applicable security checks.

Closing date

Applications for the programme close midnight on Sunday 14 July. Those received after this date will not be considered. 

If you have any questions about this fellowship, please email Lucy Murray.