Research and Outcomes Officer

Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Hours
28 hours per week

About the Organisation

Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) is the professional body for speech and language therapists across the UK. The RCSLT has over 22,000 members and employs around 65 staff, predominantly based in a London office. The RCSLT also has offices in Belfast, Edinburgh, and Cardiff. 
 
Our mission is to improve the lives of people with communication and swallowing needs by facilitating and promoting research, producing guidance, holding events, and influencing government. We aim to promote better education and training for speech and language therapists and provide information to our members and the public about speech and language therapy.

About the role

As a Research & Outcomes Officer, you’ll play a key role in shaping and delivering the RCSLT’s research and outcomes work, helping to strengthen research culture, champion evidence-based practice and support the profession to make better use of evidence and data. 

You’ll take operational responsibility for a varied portfolio of projects and initiatives, from research priority setting and engagement, to collecting and analysing data, supporting evidence synthesis and monitoring impact. You’ll also help bring this work to life through engaging communications across RCSLT research channels, as well as presentations, webinars, conferences and events. 

Working closely with RCSLT members, colleagues and external stakeholders, you’ll provide expert, evidence-based advice on research, outcomes, clinical and professional issues, while responding to enquiries and supporting teams across the organisation to identify, understand and apply research evidence. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys combining research, project delivery, data, communication and stakeholder engagement, and who wants to make a tangible difference to the future of speech and language therapy.

Responsibilities

Main Responsibilities:

• Operational responsibility for the scoping, planning, facilitation, delivery and evaluation of a portfolio of Research & Outcomes projects and initiatives, for example the RCSLT’s research priority setting project, or engagement with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
• Manage communications via key RCSLT Research channels, ensuring that content is shared in an engaging way that aligns with organisational priorities.
• Manage broader communications for specific RCSLT Research & Outcomes work as appropriate.
• Support the dissemination of evidence by helping to search for, identify and synthesise areas of emerging, priority research.
• Support the planning, collecting, and analysis of data about the profession and within the profession (including within the RCSLT).
• Lead on elements of responses to enquiries from RCSLT members, staff and other interest holders on a variety of issues relating to evidence-based practice, research, outcome measurement, and/or data as appropriate.
• Provide evidence-based advice to RCSLT members, staff and other stakeholders on a variety of clinical and professional issues.
• Plan, deliver and evaluate Research & Outcomes projects as delegated. This may involve. project planning, facilitating member and patient-and-public involvement, data collection, data analysis, dissemination and impact monitoring.
• Liaise with external interest holders to support the delivery of programmes of work.
• Present and support RCSLT work at conferences, webinars and events.
• Represent team/RCSLT on external groups where delegated.
• Support programmes of work as delegated by the Research Manager.
• In collaboration with colleagues from other teams and members, where appropriate, lead, coordinate and/or develop (or contribute to) responses to external consultations.
• Educate, advise, or support other RCSLT teams (Communications and Policy) in identifying, accessing, understanding and applying research evidence.
• Delegate appropriate tasks to the Project Assistant.
• Support the Enquiries and wider Professional Development team as a point of contact and source of expert insight for the membership in relation to various research, clinical and professional issues.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Experience:

• Carrying out literature searches and synthesising evidence, using a recognised referencing system
• Critical appraisal of evidence and application of evidence to practice
• Carrying out evaluation using a range of outcome measures, data analysis, service evaluation, audit, quality improvement and/or research
• Verbal and written presentation of the evidence base, evaluations and research
• Managing multiple ongoing tasks and processes
• Working collaboratively as part of a team environment in health, education or social care. This includes working with people with communication difficulties and differences
• Experience of creating written copy and delivering communications via a variety of channels, ideally including social media

Knowledge & Qualifications:

• Speech & Language Therapy qualification
• Current member of the RCSLT
• Good clinical & professional knowledge of SLT
• Good knowledge of evidence-based practice
• Knowledge of research, data analysis, outcome measures and improvement approaches
• Good understanding of the remit of the professional body ideally

Skills & Abilities:

• Able to prioritise and organise tasks across different projects to effectively meet the demands of ongoing work as well as addressing reactive unanticipated tasks, such as wider organisational work and queries from contacts
• Able to collate and organise large amounts of information clearly and methodically
• Able to work collaboratively within a team and with wider networks of colleagues and external contacts
• Able to guide others in a way that is appropriate to their needs and concerns, including signposting to sources of information
• Excellent verbal and written presentation skills to enable effective communication with a wide range of different audiences, adapting the means and style of communication as required. This includes knowledge, skills, and experience of academic publications and presentations. It also includes planning, implementing and evaluating communications for people with communication difficulties and differences.

Problem Solving & Analytical Abilities:

• Able to critically appraise and synthesise different sources of evidence to produce clear and concise summaries
• Able to analyse and summarise qualitative and quantitative information, present this information clearly to others and use this information to inform further work. Technology
• Able to use online databases and web-based technologies to conduct literature searches
• Able to use Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and other document management systems
• Able to produce resources in relation to projects. Posters, infographics
• Able to use social media effectively to disseminate information

Personal Qualities:

• Commitment to driving forward evidence-based practice and research and enabling others to deliver evidence-based services to improve outcomes for service users
• Commitment to collaborative, facilitative and partnership working with internal and external stakeholder groups
• Commitment to equality and valuing diversity and understanding of how this applies to delivery of own area of work
• Commitment to the aims and charitable objectives of the RCSLT
• Willingness to travel across the UK, with overnight stay occasionally, when required

Compensation & Benefits

• Generous annual leave entitlement: 25 days paid holiday (plus bank holidays), which increases with service, plus additional closure days between Christmas and New Year.
• Pension scheme: Stakeholder pension contribution of 9% from the RCSLT.
• Employee Assistance Programme: Access to a free, 24/7, completely confidential telephone helpline for all employees and their family members.
• Life Assurance: Group life assurance scheme which pays out 4x salary in the event of death in service. 
• Access to training and development opportunities
• Flexible working/hybrid working arrangements.
• Season Ticket Loan scheme.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Family-friendly policies and procedures, including enhanced maternity and paternity leave and pay.
• Occupational Sick Pay scheme
• Eye care voucher scheme
• Opportunity to become a member of our affinity groups and more!

Conditions of employment

• Candidate must have the right to work in the UK.

Working locations

• Home-based
• Occasional travel within the UK if required.
• Must be able to attend the London office at least twice per month if working remotely

How to apply

• Your application should consist of:
  • A full CV including the names and addresses of two referees (at least one should be from your current/most recent employer). Referees will not be approached until the final stages and not without your consent.
  • A cover letter of no more than 2 sides of A4 detailing why you are interested in joining RCSLT as the Research and Outcomes Officer and how your skills and experience meet the essential criteria of the role. (Please note that for your application to be considered, you need to submit both your CV and cover letter). 
  • Completed applications should be submitted through our recruitment portal, Personio.
• Should you wish to discuss the role in strict confidence, or for more details about the role, please contact Caroline Bagnall at [email protected].

Interviews

• The interview date is w/c Monday 2nd November 2026 (held virtually).
• There may be a task that will need to be completed as part of the interview process.

Policies

We are committed to a fair, transparent, and inclusive recruitment process. All applications are handled with strict confidentiality to protect your privacy and encourage openness throughout the process. The RCSLT is committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where everyone feels valued and has a sense of belonging.

We aim to embed equity, diversity, and belonging practices throughout our recruitment and selection procedures. We strive to ensure everyone is valued equally for their contribution, experience, knowledge, and skills. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.

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