Field Researchers (x2)

We are looking for 2 enthusiastic, self-motivated, and results-oriented field researchers to support our Economics, Insight and Advice team in implementing the annual Seafish Fleet Survey by collecting socio-economic data related to UK fishing businesses.

Quick overview of the Field Researcher role

• Job status: This is a temporary post, with approximately 3.5 months contract
• Location: Office based or Homebased (in the UK) – Role requires extensive travel around the UK
• The starting salary for this post is: £22,274 per annum

What it’s like to work in the Economics, Insight and Advice Team at Seafish

The Seafish Economics, Insight and Advice team provides research and insight on a range of topics and sectors in the seafood industry including fishing, processing, trade and retail. We collect and analyse data on the economic performance of fishing and processing businesses, their workforce and seafood trade and retail among other areas. We provide key advice to Government, industry and researchers which helps inform fisheries, labour and trade policies. Our outputs include the Economics of the UK Fishing Fleet reports, Quay Issues magazine and our digital Enquiry Tools – have a look!  https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/seafish

Our annual survey of the fishing fleet is one of our key pieces of research looking into the health of the UK's fishing sector. The survey investigates the economic performance of the fleet and the demographics of the people who work in it. The outputs of the fleet survey allow us to better understand the social impact the industry has on coastal communities and the impacts of fisheries management policies.

Job role, responsibilities and relationships

The role of the Field Researcher is a fantastic opportunity to be part of our dynamic and busy team and gain experience within the seafood sector. The main purpose of this role is to support the Economics, Insight and Advice team’s activity by conducting the field work phase of the 2023 annual survey of the UK fishing fleet.

The Field Researchers visit ports around the UK speaking to fishing vessel owners and skippers to talk about the recent performance of their businesses, the challenges they face day to day and their expectations for the future.

The main dimensions of the role are:

• Travelling to ports and harbours across the UK to conduct research.
• Contributing to socioeconomic and financial data collection by undertaking in-person interviews of vessel owners and skippers in the UK’s fishing sector.
• Entering the data collected in digital survey forms to ensure that the Seafish economic data sets are comprehensive and robust.
• Encouraging participation of the fishing sector in data collection exercise.

Key accountabilities will be:

• Collecting primary and secondary data from the UK fishing sector, so that the Seafish Economics, Insight and Advice team can undertake evidence-based analysis.
• Managing and quality checking elements of primary and secondary research, to deliver raw data suitable for analysis.

Your responsibilities will be:

• Organising own research tasks, with guidance and advice from senior members of the team.
• Planning own travel and workload within the project on a day-to-day basis, prioritising as necessary to achieve results by agreed deadlines.
• Organising and delivering work via digital survey forms and Microsoft Teams channel.
• Exercising sound judgement in conducting project research and when interviewing members of industry.
• Ability to work under pressure against tight deadlines, and to work non-standard hours if/when required.

Knowledge, skills and experience required

To be a suitable candidate for this role you should be/have:

Essential:

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively and with confidence both face to face and in written form with colleagues and industry members.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Reliable, enthusiastic and self-motivated, with the ability to deliver agreed results and outputs in a timely manner.
• Results – oriented with the ability to work unsupervised using own initiative.
• A full, clean driving license.
• An HNC/HND or Undergraduate/Postgraduate Degree, preferably in social sciences/business studies/law, to include a research component.

Desirable:

• Competent in using Microsoft Teams & the Microsoft Office package.
• Knowledge of primary research techniques, ability to exercise critical thinking, and a good understanding of the importance of data quality.
• Experience working in professional project teams.

Special features of the role:

• This job will involve a considerable amount of travel and overnight stays around the UK.
• All travel and subsistence costs paid while working in the field.
• Opportunity to contribute to team publications.
• Training in interview techniques, health & safety and a background to the seafood industry will be provided during induction.

Salary and benefits

All roles within Seafish are graded and have defined salary bands. This role is a grade 2 post and the starting salary for this post is £22,274. A new member’s appointment on the pay spine is dependent on the experience they bring to the role when they start. New members normally start at the lower end of the range unless they can demonstrate considerable experience in the requirements of the role.

Additional benefits include:

• 25 days annual leave on top of Bank Holidays and Christmas office closure, and 5 days per year paid volunteering leave for an activity of your choice.
• Flexible working – with ROWE you get all of your work done to the expected standard in a way that suits you.
• A generous employer pension scheme – Seafish will double your contribution, up to a maximum employer contribution of 10%.
• A range of health and wellbeing benefits including the Cycle to Work scheme, Tech Scheme, private medical insurance and free eye tests.
• Our unlimited employee assistance scheme is a support service available 24/7 – it offers confidential, impartial advice on anything you need such as work, family, finance support or anything else personal to you. 
• We have a professional development culture with plenty of learning opportunities.
• We also have a high performing culture and we reward those that do well each year.

Application process

To apply for the post you should email your application to recruitment@seafish.co.uk. Please include ‘Field Researcher’ in the subject line of your email.

Your application should include:

• A covering letter or a short video explaining why you are a suitable candidate.
• A recent copy of your CV so we can find out more about your skills and experience.
• A completed copy of our recruitment consent form.

The deadline for applications is Tuesday 25th April 2023.[IM2] 

Candidates invited to interview will be given at least one weeks’ notice of proposed interview date to allow you to prepare. At this stage you may be asked to complete a short task in advance of interview and then answer some competency-based questions during interview.

Further information

For any queries about the job description or the salary and benefits on offer, please email recruitment@seafish.co.uk.

Watch our film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecz-hy86ras