Freelance Research Project Manager

The BFI is seeking a Research Project Manager to design, develop, commission and project manage research studies to be conducted by the BFI for the benefit of the UK screen sector and the wider public.

Background

The BFI’s Research and Statistics Unit (RSU) commissions independent research studies designed to inform the UK screen based industries and the general public and which are disseminated widely across the industry. The research studies cover a variety of topics identified by the BFI’s Screen Industries Research Advisory Group which is a steering group of external participants drawn from across the public and private research and screen industry sectors. The studies are commissioned to fill gaps in knowledge and understanding of screen based issues and are funded by the BFI’s Research Fund, part of its National Lottery funded industry commitments.

By way of example, projects commissioned most recently have included:

• Workforce Diversity in the UK screen sector – an evidence review
• Screen Business – how screen sector tax reliefs power economic growth across the UK
• The impacts of leaving the EU on the UK’s screen sector

More information and copies of reports can be found here.

Current situation

There are several projects in the pipeline for which the BFI now wishes to appoint consultant project managers. The role of the project manager will be to design the scope and objectives, manage an external Steering Group of advisors from appropriate sector bodies or organisations, to run the tendering process and to kick off the research processes managing and supervising the appointed consultants, research companies or academic bodies, preparation of a project plan and timeline and providing regular project updates throughout. Design and methodology for each project is different depending on scope and complexity of the subject matter.

For information, brief descriptions of the projects in the pipeline are as follows:

1. The Wider World of Film – a multi platform, multi screen single source study to identify individual’s total engagement with film. Whilst we have many sources of data that give us granular detail of eg. films at the box office or films transmitted on TV, we have no single source that shows us how these all fit together and which can quantify ‘total consumption’ of film. Equally, we know that there are also many sources that are not necessarily adequately identified in current studies eg. SVoD services, so our intention is to provide the industry with a more granular picture of current behaviours and attitudes and how these might change in the future amongst a range of different demographic or lifestage groups.
2. Mapping the animation sector – the recent Screen Business study identified a gap in knowledge of the total make up, size and economic value of the animation sector. This project will aim to fill this gap and will involve a mix of industry surveys and research to quantify and map this sector. The project is likely to involve persuasive communication skills since data gathering may be a challenge. As an illustration, Ukie have conducted a similar study of the video games sector which can be found here.
3. International Territories – it is over five years since we last conducted an international project of any size and scale. Given the challenges and opportunities of Brexit, we need to update this and inform the industry on the current opportunities for achieving exports and promoting inward investment in the future. Imperatives come not just from industry but also in order to inform government and the various industry trade associations and marketing bodies. The 2012 study is available here, the new study will need to focus on the legal, regulatory, economic and cultural challenges of a number of key territories around the world.
4. The Economic Case for Workforce Diversity – as a follow up to the Workforce Diversity study published earlier this year, more work is necessary to provide information about how a diverse workforce is essential not just for providing opportunities for all (Inclusion) but is also economically valuable in promoting and attracting universal consumption of visual screen content.
5. The Cultural Value of film, television and video games – work has already started on this important new review of the cultural value of the production, dissemination and consumption of screen sector content. This has not been reviewed since the last study in 2015 and there is a need for a comprehensive and actionable study to inform policy making, innovation and development. The study will be conducted in 3 separate phases, the first, stakeholder consultation, has been completed. The second phase, an evidence review, is underway and will be delivered in April/May 2019. The project manager will come on board after that to manage the primary research to be conducted in Phase 3. Previous studies can be found here.

To apply, visit: https://bfijobsandopportunities.bfi.org.uk

The closing date for this position is 03/03/2019 at 23:59