JOB DESCRIPTION
Information and Reviews Officer: Eurydice
Name:
Job Title:
Information and Reviews Officer G4 / 5
Department:
Research, Centre for Information and Reviews (CIR)
Responsible to:
Head of Eurydice Unit for England, Wales and Northern
Ireland
Purpose:
To conduct a range of information and reviews activities on a number of different
information, research or development projects, leading on particular aspects of work
as required.
Main Activities:
The majority of Information and Reviews Officer time (at least 75%) will be spent
working on charged for work (project work and Centre work).
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Project Work: this will include work on funded projects led by the CIR, such as
information services for external clients, or work on funded projects led by
other Centres, e.g. research projects, literature reviews, referencing for
literature reviews etc. This role will focus on work for the Eurydice project.
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Centre Work: this is work for the Centre for Information and Reviews, or work
for the NFER, for which a budget is allocated by the Foundation. This work is
in support of the Foundation’s objectives e.g. NFER intelligence and
information / current awareness; competitor and market intelligence;
information and intelligence work in support of innovation and development
across the Foundation and in the CIR, including new product development;
activities to support other NFER colleagues’ thinking, development, proposal
development and policy knowledge; and direct activities to support the CIR,
such as the promotion of our services throughout NFER and maintaining upto-date Intranet pages with access to our resources.
Key Responsibilities:
This role includes responsibilities for:
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Contributing to the Eurydice project at NFER and taking responsibility for
specific aspects of Eurydice project work, as agreed with the project director
or project leader.
Contributing to the preparation, verification and dissemination of products and
databases linked to Eurydice project work.
Contributing to the preparation and verification of contributions to comparative
(international) reports.
Updating the Eurydice at NFER website.
Responding to written and verbal enquiries.
Researching and writing articles for current awareness bulletins and policy
updates. Source documentation may be in languages other than English.
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Providing current awareness monitoring, information retrieval and intelligence
gathering services, including website scanning, scanning of alerts, RSS feeds,
and journals and publications. Source documents may be in languages other
than English.
Applying the principles of project management.
Contributing to the development of proposals.
Attending or helping to organise meetings, conferences and other events as
part of funded information projects or on behalf of the Centre and the
Foundation, and making presentations at such events, where appropriate.
Maintaining contacts and good relations with clients, external agencies and
NFER colleagues and services.
The role may also involve:
 Classifying, cataloguing, abstracting, indexing and filing items for project
specific and NFER information collections.
 Contributing to a number of different information and review, research or
development projects, as necessary, working independently to meet
deadlines.
 Leading on specific aspects of projects as appropriate.
 Undertaking literature searches using databases, printed resources and the
internet.
 Developing search strategies and keyword lists and writing up search
strategies for inclusion in project reports, working with the Information and
Reviews Librarian.
 Providing support for information- and research-based activities by, for
example, ordering resources and coordinating loans services.
 Taking appropriate actions to ensure that information and reviews projects
have an impact on learners, practitioners or policy makers.
Non-charged for work will include:
 Working with the line manager to discuss performance, targets and
development needs.
 Attending departmental or NFER-wide meetings.
 Attending training courses, seminars or conferences as required by the role
and agreed with the line manager.
 Participation in departmental or NFER-wide working groups as agreed with
the line manager.
 Presenting at seminars and conferences and contributing to general
dissemination activities.
 Conducting other professional duties from time to time, as directed by the line
manager or Head of Centre.
Person Specification:
 First degree or equivalent in a relevant subject.
 Knowledge and skills in information- or education-related fields, combined
with a strong interest in education, particularly policy and systems.
 Desk research/information skills.
 Excellent writing skills, particularly the ability to write concisely and to adapt
content for an international audience.
 The ability to organise information logically and to provide clearly reasoned
judgements.
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Ability to manage time effectively, prioritise own work and meet tight
deadlines.
Ability to establish effective, professional relationships with outside contacts
and a range of stakeholders.
Good organisational and communication skills, and attention to detail.
The ability to work collaboratively and well in a team.
Knowledge and use of the principles of project management.
December 2014