Public Service Research Manager

Role : Public Sector Research Manager

Location: London

Career Level : Manager

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. With our thought leadership and culture of innovation, we apply industry expertise, diverse skill sets and next-generation technology to each business challenge.

We believe in inclusion and diversity and supporting the whole person. Our core values comprise of Stewardship, Best People, Client Value Creation, One Global Network, Respect for the Individual and Integrity. Year after year, Accenture is recognized worldwide not just for business performance but for inclusion and diversity too.

“Across the globe, one thing is universally true of the people of Accenture: We care deeply about what we do and the impact we have with our clients and with the communities in which we work and live. It is personal to all of us.” – Julie Sweet, Accenture CEO

About the Role

• This opening is for the role of Public Sector Research Manager. This role will support the European needs of Accenture’s public sector practice as well as inform our Europe thought-leadership agenda. The European Public Sector practice is especially focused on macroeconomic advisory, digital transitions, government administration and transformation, and cloud.
• This position sits within our global Public Sector research team which is a team of about 10 researchers based in 6 countries. The successful candidate will work closely with the Global Public Sector Lead, European Research Director, and the European practice leads to help define and establish the strategy and priorities for the Europe Public sector research agenda.  He/she will support thought leadership projects, client projects, primary research activity and business or market development.
• While it is assumed the researcher will focus on their area of expertise, there will be occasions in which he/she will work on projects outside this core area that could require other capabilities, such as those aligning to traditional technology research areas.

Key responsibilities:

• Supporting senior researchers and colleagues at all stages of a project:
  • Scope and define research project requirements, as well as set stakeholder expectations for research deliverables.
  • Assemble data from multiple sources and conduct high-quality analysis with a significant degree of autonomy.
  • Create high-quality PowerPoint slides and briefing material for speeches and presentations by Accenture leadership.
  • Support the transfer of thought leadership and research capabilities within immediate team and identify opportunities for skills building.
• Developing own set of expertise and embracing innovation in our research methods
  • Develop own “brand” as a highly skilled researcher on issues relevant to Accenture’s business agenda and strategy.
  • Develop own network of contacts internally and externally to raise personal as well as Accenture Research visibility.
  • Be an Innovation Agent by embrace innovation and transfer it to Accenture Research methods and culture.
• Working with Practice teams and presenting research findings internally and externally
  • Present findings of your work on a regular basis both internally and externally and answer specific questions
  • Work together with client teams to develop research findings at business development stages as well as client proposals or engagements.

Profile

• Educational background: Master’s degree, with evidence of research experience and interest.  A post-graduate degree/qualification in public policy, economics or business will be considered a plus.

• Work experience
  • Minimum 7+ or more years of business research experience in the public sector environment in Europe, preferably in a consulting environment, government, academia, or a think-tank.
  • Working with senior leadership sponsors, who are the high-end users of the research output
  • Experience of writing reports, and presentation slides for delivery to internal and external audiences
  • Work experience collaborating in a team of research professionals, coaching of team members would be a plus.
  • Experience with alternative modes of research delivery/data visualization tools also a plus (e.g., Tableau, PowerBI etc.)
  • Awareness and interest of specific technology topics and trends in applied to the Public sector is required
  • A proven track record of published content and/or projects in the public service or government policy space would be a definite advantage

• We are looking for someone with

• Strong leadership, client engagement, and people management capabilities
• Exceptional knowledge of government and technology trends applied to the European public sectors – ie European Union as well as the largest European markets including the UK, Germany, and France and/or direct experience working with the European Commission
• Strong writing and communication skills, preferably having published previously
• Skills, experience, and passion for innovative research methods such as surveys, econometric modeling, sentiment analysis
• Experience working in a client-facing role

Skills

• Core skills:

• Issue-based problem solving and structured communication skills:  We want researchers who can identify key issues and, in a logical, structured manner, use these issues to drive their efforts. We also expect individuals to draw out the implications of the research they conduct and tell a compelling, business-focused story about the data that is relevant to Accenture’s business and clients.  We are looking for insights, not just information.

• Research skills: We expect researchers to be able to take an issue and turn it into a researchable question, adeptly scope the research effort, and expertly use most (but not necessarily all) research techniques such as secondary database searching, company analysis, market analysis, strategic analysis frameworks, interview-based research and financial analysis. Researchers must also be detail-oriented and follow quality assurance procedures.

• Business acumen: Individuals must possess a fundamental understanding of micro and macroeconomic drivers that influence industry opportunities and ability to use strategic frameworks (e.g., Porter’s five forces, 4 Ps, 3 Cs) to analyze market conditions, competitive landscape and individual company performance.

• Subject Matter Expertise: Passion for public policy and government with a strong understanding of the macroeconomic, geopolitical, policy and technology context within which government operates, as well as the internal challenges and pain points of government administration.

• Other skills and knowledge:

• Solid experience in secondary/business research, information retrieval methods, insight generation and thought leadership
• Solid experience in packaging, synthesizing and presenting research deliverables
• Technical, and analytical expertise.
• Critical thinking skills (ability to quickly grasp complex and unfamiliar subjects, willingness and desire to challenge the team’s current thinking and help take it to the next level)
• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize/delegate appropriately and effectively
• Ability to synthesize and deliver outputs on time, to spec, and with original insights
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel; PowerPoint, Power BI, i.e., charting)
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize fragmented information from multiple sources into a coherent summary, and to develop structured communications
• Strong written and oral communication and presentation skills
• Fluency in English (spoken and written) is required; additional language skills are also valued
• Strong PowerPoint, Excel, Power BI, and Word skills; knowledge of visualization tools is a plus

What to expect

• First few weeks/months:

• Your first weeks will be spent getting to know the organization. Building an effective working relationship with other researchers in the Public Sector and the Europe Thought-leadership team in Accenture is critical so your early days will involve many meetings (mostly virtual) and lots of networking.

• At the same time, you’ll be getting to know the other researchers in the local team and establishing a relationship with them. As you become more familiar with Accenture you can expect to start work on one or more projects. There is no typical day or project at Accenture Research but you might start by working on an analysis of one of our clients or potential clients, developing industry trends analysis or being part of an international study on European  public service topics ranging from EU skills policies, to States green transition programs through citizens new expectations or a local ministry digital transformation program.

• Over time you will find a varied project load develops and that you may be working on between two and four projects at any given time, of different durations and scope. Your success in developing and managing such project will depend on a good working relationship with the other researchers worldwide.

• Career development: In terms of career development there will be tremendous scope to expand and build on this role. We offer customized training opportunities and mentorship to support the development of researchers. A dynamic, proactive researcher will find many opportunities to learn and grow at Accenture. Promotion opportunities are not based on time in the role but on the business need (demand) and the readiness of an individual. 

• Accenture Research way of working: Accenture Research is genuinely a great place to work. There will be times when you work long and hard but we put life/work balance very high on our agenda.  In addition, as part of a global team, we seek to maintain flexibility in our work style. This is a unique opportunity to work for a highly skilled, respected and growing global Research team, particular to only a few consultancies worldwide.