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Senior Researcher – Maternity Cover

Full-time | 37.5 hours per week | Fixed-term contract until January 2028

Salary: £43,134 – £45,134 per annum, dependent on location

Location: Wigan or London with hybrid working, or remote-based with occasional travel across England

Are you an experienced researcher looking for an opportunity to use your expertise to create meaningful environmental and social change?

Our client is a leading environmental charity committed to reducing resource use, waste and litter, improving the quality of public spaces and helping people live more sustainably. Through its award-winning Centre for Social Innovation, the organisation uses research, innovation and evidence to develop practical solutions to some of the environmental challenges facing communities across the UK.

They are now looking for an experienced Senior Researcher to join their team on a maternity cover contract.

About the role

As Senior Researcher, you will design, manage and deliver a range of research and innovation projects, working with minimal support and taking responsibility for delivering high-quality work on time and to budget.

You’ll work closely with colleagues, clients, partners and stakeholders to understand research needs, develop appropriate methodologies and generate robust evidence and insight. You’ll also play an important role in monitoring and evaluating projects, ensuring that learning and evidence are used to improve services, inform campaigns and support future activity.

This is a varied role where you’ll have the opportunity to work across quantitative and qualitative research, behavioural science, social innovation and monitoring and evaluation.

Key responsibilities

• Design and deliver research and innovation projects of strategic significance.
• Work with clients and stakeholders to establish research aims, objectives and requirements.
• Develop appropriate research methodologies and detailed project plans, including budgets, timelines, risk analysis, communications and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
• Manage projects from inception through to delivery, ensuring they are completed on time and within budget.
• Manage internal and external project partners, suppliers and stakeholders.
• Ensure research is robust, statistically reliable and meets high standards of evaluation rigour.
• Conduct high-quality analysis of data to assess outcomes, including changes in awareness, attitudes and behaviour.
• Produce clear and engaging reports and present research findings both internally and externally.
• Translate research findings into practical recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.
• Support colleagues to develop effective monitoring and evaluation frameworks for their projects and programmes.
• Ensure learning from research projects informs wider policy, communications and campaign activity.
• Facilitate cross-organisation working groups to encourage collaboration and identify opportunities for new work.
• Contribute to the development of new projects, approaches, bids and budgets.
• Help raise the profile of the Centre for Social Innovation through training, bite-sized learning sessions, case studies and digital content.
• Manage your own workload, priorities and project deliverables with a high degree of autonomy.

About you

You’ll be an experienced researcher with a strong understanding of contemporary market and social research and a proven track record of delivering high-quality research projects on time and to budget.

You’ll be analytical, curious and highly organised, with the ability to work independently while building effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. You’ll also be confident presenting research and translating complex findings into clear, practical recommendations.

We’re looking for someone with:

• Substantial experience delivering high-quality market and/or social research.
• Experience designing, managing and delivering large-scale quantitative and/or qualitative research projects.
• Experience conducting secondary research to identify insights and trends that can inform future activity.
• Strong data management skills, including sampling and statistical analysis.
• Excellent analytical, research and report-writing skills, with a high level of attention to detail.
• A proven track record in project management.
• Strong verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Knowledge of, and experience applying, behavioural science to projects.
• An understanding of environmental issues and/or behaviour change relating to resource use, waste and litter.
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office packages such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams.
• Experience using research tools and software such as SurveyMonkey, Q and/or NVivo.
• Strong group facilitation skills.

Knowledge of behaviour change methodologies such as the EAST Framework, COM-B model, Behaviour Change Wheel/APEASE or MINDSPACE would be advantageous, as would experience designing and delivering social innovation projects and developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

What you'll bring

Above all, you'll bring genuine curiosity, enthusiasm and a ‘can-do’ attitude. You'll be comfortable working across a diverse range of projects and situations and able to adapt your approach depending on the needs of the work.

You'll need to be confident working independently with minimal support, while also enjoying collaboration and contributing to wider organisational thinking.

Why join?

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced researcher to use their skills for a genuine purpose, working on projects that can influence behaviour, improve services and contribute to a more sustainable future.

You’ll be joining an innovative team where research and evidence sit at the heart of developing practical solutions to environmental challenges. You’ll have the opportunity to work across a varied portfolio of projects and collaborate with colleagues, clients and partners to turn research into meaningful change.

If you’re an experienced researcher who is passionate about using evidence, insight and innovation to make a positive difference, we’d love to hear from you.