Research Associate - National Youth Agency
Contract: 12-month Fixed Term Contract (with potential to extend)
Hours: Full-time - 37 hours per week
Salary: £30,000 – £35,000 per annum, dependent on experience
Remote: This role is 100% homebased with occasional travel for staff residentials and other events.
What we do
As the national body for youth work, the NYA has a dual function. We are the professional statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) responsible for qualifications, quality standards, and safeguarding for youth work and services in England. In line with our charity mission and aims, we also champion youth work through research, advocacy, campaigns, and programmes.
We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work
About the Role
This is an exciting opportunity to join our Knowledge Team, working alongside two existing Research Associates and a Data Analyst.
You will be integral in delivering research, data, and insights that support organisational development and programme delivery across NYA.
We are looking for an experienced mixed-methods researcher with a strong understanding of social research and evaluation approaches. Ideally, you will have experience working in or alongside the youth sector and be confident using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
You’ll need to be flexible, proactive, and a strong communicator, able to explain complex ideas to varied audiences.
This role is ideal for someone looking to make a tangible difference through evidence-led approaches that shape policy, practice, and impact in youth work.
Key responsibilities for this role will include:
- Designing and delivering research projects using a range of methods including surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
- Supporting the development of the NYA research and data hub, including external research collation and data visualisation.
- Leading on evaluations to meet funder requirements and contribute to NYA’s growing evidence base.
- Analysing data from NYA programmes to support impact measurement.
- Promoting evidence-based practice across NYA and the wider youth sector.
- Communicating findings clearly through reports, briefings, and presentations.
- Managing research projects and collaborating with internal and external partners to deliver on time and to quality.
- Responding to internal and external research enquiries.
The ideal candidate will have experience in social research, familiarity with various research methodologies, and the ability to communicate complex findings to diverse audiences.
Please refer to our Candidate Pack for more information on the role and the requirements.
Why Work for NYA?
NYA operates as a people-first organisation, prioritising the well-being and needs of its employees.
NYA offers an exceptional flexible working approach which encourages our team to balance professional responsibilities with their personal life.
A remote based team, spread across England, fostering inclusivity and diverse talent. Despite geographical distances between team members, NYA maintains a highly motivated and connected team through the optimisation of digital tools.
NYA is committed to supporting the continual personal and professional development of our team and helping them achieve their ambitions.
We provide 25 days leave plus 8 days, life assurance scheme, 5% employer pension contribution and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme via Spectrum.life with unlimited specialist support available to all NYA employees.
How to Apply:
Please download our applicant pack to find out more about the role and requirements
To apply, please submit the following via our online application platform by 11:59pm on Monday 12th May 2025:
A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements in line with the person specification in the About You section.
A covering letter (maximum two sides) highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the requirements in the
About You section.
We will request data for our EEDI monitoring purposes, providing this is optional.
Please note: the covering letter is an essential part of the application process and will be assessed as part of your full application. We use AI detector software, so cover letters or CV’s with over 30% AI generated content with be disregarded. We understand that AI tools can offer support to candidates who have learning differences, which is why we will accept applications with some AI assistance. CV’s will not be accepted without a cover letter.
The National Youth Agency is an equal opportunities employer.
At NYA our inclusive culture means that we embrace individual differences and understand that we need a diverse team to achieve our organisations mission.
We wish to recruit candidates from all backgrounds to ensure our team reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applications from anyone regardless of disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background and political beliefs but we particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates and those from other minoritised ethnic groups in the UK as they are currently underrepresented in our team.
Youth Work changes lives
Which is why we’re committed to ensuring that as many young people as possible get to benefit from it. As the national body for youth work in England, the National Youth Agency (NYA) exists to champion its transformative power. We believe all young people should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing impact of extraordinary youth workers and trained volunteers.
We help to grow youth work provision in ways that keep it effective, relevant, safe and engaging, to help millions of young people reach their potential and thrive. We do this by providing guidance, support, advice, training and staff development opportunities for youth workers and youth work organisations. At the heart of everything we do are young people themselves. We work hard to ensure their voices are integrated into all our work, to develop provision that truly meets their needs.
REF-221126
Registered Charity 
21 - 50
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Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Senior Education Officer
Are you passionate about environmental issues, in particular nature restoration, climate resilience and biodiversity?
Do you have experience working with young audiences, preferably within a wildlife or conservation setting? Do you have a good grasp of ecology and be willing to travel around the country to support learning education opportunities as well as being confident running sessions or delivering train-the-trainer sessions online?
We are looking for a Senior Education Officer, with the skill set to inspire people to connect with nature, support teachers, deliver talks, presentations and education sessions, while developing further opportunities within the team for learning through the subject of beavers.
Position: Senior Education Officer
Location: Remote (his role requires frequent travel and overnight stays)
Hours: Full time (37.5 hours per week)
Contract: Fixed (2 years)
Salary: £32,827 pa
Benefits Include: 25 days holiday, plus Christmas day through to New Year’s Day paid, plus 6 days of floating holidays, pro-rata. Flexible approach to hours of work. Pension contribution of 3% of your total pay each month. One-off contributions toward the cost of an ergonomic office chair and toward purchases of essential devices (laptop, mouse and smartphone), monthly home working allowance, plus an annual contribution toward the maintenance and/or replacement of the essential devices.
Closing Date: 5pm on Tuesday 20th May We reserve the right to interview candidates and close the ad ahead of the closing date, should a strong candidate be identified.
About the Role
We are looking to hire a skilled and engaging Senior Education Officer to join a busy team, to further develop and implement an educational outreach programme which reaches children in Wales, Scotland and England. At present, this post has funding for three years from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, one year of which is now complete and we are looking to deliver the second two years of the project.
The purpose of the role is to extend the passion and knowledge of beavers into communities around Britain, to engage and enthuse young people and to reconnect (or reinforce) their love of nature. Using current materials and resources you will do so by delivering high-quality learning sessions within schools, community groups or virtual training sessions, sometimes delivered in conjunction with our beaver site partners and their education teams.
You will also be responsible for developing further aspects of the programme according to the requirements for each country and in partnership with relevant organisations
Key responsibilities include:
- Deliver a range of exciting, curriculum-linked workshops, talks, school and group sessions associated with beaver release sites.
- Network and build contacts and relationships with key personnel in schools, youth groups and community groups in order to create engagement with the education programme and expand its reach.
- Develop further resources and engaging activities or projects for group learning.
- Deliver standard level beaver ecology training to a range of age groups.
- Ensure the education programmes are up-to-date, accurate and complement the wider delivery of our mission.
- Monitor, collate and report on impact, working with the communications team to support the effective evaluation of our programme.
- Support volunteers and build capacity working with partner staff in the delivery of beaver education programmes.
- Work with the team to allocate resources ensuring education initiatives are well planned, deliver maximum value for money and remain within budget.
- Consider equality, diversity and inclusion in the approach to all education initiatives, supported with external expertise.
- Follow policies, standard operating procedures and safe working practices to ensure our work with visiting education groups complies with all relevant guidelines and legislation, including health and safety, safeguarding, copyright and GDPR.
About You
You will have the skill set to inspire people to connect with nature, support teachers, deliver talks, presentations and education sessions, while developing further opportunities within our team for learning through the subject of beavers. The successful candidate will have experience working with young audiences, preferably within a wildlife or conservation setting. You will have a good grasp of ecology and be willing to travel around the country to support learning education opportunities as well as being confident running sessions or delivering train-the-trainer sessions online.
Essential:
- A degree in a zoology, biology or conservation-related field, or a teaching/education qualification or equivalent experience in teaching across a wide range of ages and abilities, using different delivery methods including virtual delivery.
- The ability to communicate complex concepts in an innovative and engaging way to a wide (and/or young) audience.
- Good organisation skills including time management, administration, workload planning and meeting deadlines.
- A strong interest in nature, conservation and restoration and an understanding of the role beavers can play in our landscapes’ recovery.
- Working knowledge of safeguarding legislation and policies and procedures.
- Be prepared to undergo an Enhanced DBS with barred list.
- Experience in confidently using IT packages for teaching delivery, including the use of tablets, presentation software and audiovisual.
You will need to have a full valid UK driving licence and the right to work in the UK.
About the Organisation
Join a nature restoration charity, restoring beavers to regenerate our landscapes. Beavers were once a common and influential part of the British countryside, and as such, the team wants to reconnect people to this part of our heritage. As we continue to reintroduce beavers and support their expansion across Britain, it has never been more important to help people learn to coexist with this dynamic and impactful species.
The charity strives to be diverse and inclusive and a place where we can all be ourselves and we positively welcome applications from people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and encourage applications from individuals regardless of their religion, beliefs, age, gender, race, disability or sexual orientation.
You may also have experience in areas such as Education, School, Programme, Campaign, Advocacy, Education Officer, School Officer, Programme Officer, Campaign Officer, Advocacy Officer, Conservation Officer, Nature, Trainer, Teacher, Coach, Mentor, Programme Manager. #INDNFP
PLEASE NOTE: This role is being advertised by NFP People on behalf of the organisation.
