Senior Researcher

Based in London, with flexibility to be based in either or Edinburgh or Cardiff offices – hybrid working arrangement

We are recruiting for a Senior Researcher to support the implementation of responsible research practices at Nesta

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet.

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation.

Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more at nesta.org.uk.

How will a Senior Researcher contribute to Nesta’s success?

• Passionate about research integrity, you will assist us in setting and maintaining rigorous, transparent and ethical research standards for our organisation.
• Collaborating across teams, you will support Nesta’s Mission and Practice teams to help them maintain best research practice, and make the most out of different disciplines and methods.
• You will play a key role in helping Nesta maintain its status as an Independent Research Organisation.

The role

Your main role in the team will be to support the delivery of Nesta’s programme of work aimed at implementing responsible research practices. We don’t expect you to be an expert at this stage, but we want you to come to Nesta willing to learn. Activities may include:

• Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of the policies, systems and procedures that enable research excellence at Nesta, including policies and practices for data protection, transparent research reporting (e.g. hosting project pages in the Open Science Framework), research ethics and integrity.
• In collaboration with our Central Programmes Office and Programme Management Office, assist in setting up, maintaining and updating the techniques, systems and resources that are deployed to give assurance about the care and control with which research is conducted at Nesta.
• Critically appraise and summarise existing evidence on a given problem. You should be able to critique research designs and evaluate the strength of existing evidence.
• Communication - disseminate the team’s work internally and externally, which may include producing slide decks, writing blogs, producing reports, stakeholder engagement and leading new and creative ways to communicate ideas to different audiences.
• With support from the Head of Statistical Methods and Quality Assurance, you’ll help to ensure your colleagues consider good practice in research as a routine part of their work, and support them to develop their skills in research design and analysis.
• Promote research integrity and transparency across the organisation, and work with the Mission and Practice teams to help to ensure we produce work of the highest quality and promote a culture of research excellence.
• Work closely with our Data Analytics and Legal teams to ensure our data protection policies and practice are fit for purpose and that Mission Teams and Practice Teams consider data protection as a routine part of their work.

The person

Essential qualifications or experiences

• Masters degree-level education or equivalent experience.
• Research skills: you understand the fundamentals of research and evaluation and can develop hunches or take a well evidenced position based on such research. For example, you can interpret research findings of others, understand common statistics (such as standard deviation, confidence intervals, p-values, and correlation coefficients), assess the strength of evidence for something, understand good practice for key research activities (such as interviewing). You have experience conducting primary research.
• Passion for supporting high quality research, and ability to make good judgements about how to balance rigour and other project considerations (e.g. speed, resource constraints).
• Awareness and willingness to engage in the practicalities of topics relating to research governance, quality assurance, and ethics.
• Collaborative and solution-focused approach to problem solving.
• Willingness to work flexibly on topics outside of your immediate expertise.
• Excellent communication skills. You can explain complex topics in simple terms and write clearly and concisely. You can adapt your communication to suit different audiences.

Desirable qualifications or experiences

• You have worked in multi-disciplinary teams.
• You have conducted mixed methods research to an academic quality.
• Ability and enthusiasm to guide others in selecting the best approaches to answer their research questions taking into account practical as well as methodological needs.
• You are familiar with quality assurance processes in research settings.
• You have knowledge of research project management.
• You are familiar with, or have an interest in the planning, development and delivery of learning opportunities in a non-academic context.
• You have a PhD, potentially aligned with Nesta’s areas of interest.

What we offer

Salary: £43k - £58k plus array of benefits, including Private Medical Insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more

Location: This role is based in London, with flexibility to be based in either our Edinburgh or Cardiff offices. Hybrid working arrangement.

Term: This is a permanent position.

Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do.

Reports to: Head of Statistical Methods and Quality Assurance.

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your application before 8:00am on the 13th of February 2023.

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results.

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements.

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.