The Scottish Sentencing Council have a unique and exciting opportunity for the right candidate to join the unit as a Senior Research Officer.
Working closely with the Lord Justice Clerk, and other members of the Scottish Sentencing Council and its secretariat team, you will support the Council in fulfilling its statutory objectives and functions, and delivery of its work programme as set out in its business plan. In particular, your work will support the Council’s statutory objective to promote greater awareness and understanding of sentencing policy and practice.
You will be responsible for providing research and analytical support to the Council and its Chair, the Lord Justice Clerk. You will report to the Principal Research Officer to the Council and will work proactively and positively with the secretariat, justice partners, and other stakeholders to promote awareness among the public as well as practitioners, policymakers and those with experience of the criminal justice system.
The Key Responsibilities:
The Scottish Sentencing Council is an independent advisory body chaired by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Beckett. The Council’s statutory objectives are to:
*Promote consistency in sentencing across Scotland;
*Assist in the development of sentencing policy; and
*Promote greater awareness and understanding of sentencing policy and practice.
A key part of the Council’s role is to prepare sentencing guidelines for the Scottish courts. It also publishes information about sentencing, carries out research into sentencing, and provides advice and guidance of a general nature on sentencing matters.
Reporting to the Principal Research Officer to the Council, your work will involve:
Maintaining and supporting the delivery of the Council’s programme of work as set out in its business plan for 2024-27.
Possessing a working understanding of both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Preparing and undertaking multi-disciplinary analysis of sentencing data related to current Scottish sentencing practice.
Undertaking qualitative research work, including developing research materials and carrying out qualitative research as well as analysis of collected data.
Contributing to the development, collection, and analysis of quantitative data, including conducting surveys on diverse topics. supporting the analysis of both consultation and survey responses.
Proactively overseeing data requests, including those necessary for impact assessments, conducting analysis for these assessments, and preparing and finalising related documentation.
Presenting findings to secretariat and Council members as well as other relevant stakeholders as necessary, both through written briefings and oral presentations.
Applications will be accepted until 11:59pm on the closing date stated on the advert, 2 March 2025.
Interviews are expected to be held on 19&20 March 2025.
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