Journalist jobs

The Research Associate will work closely with the UK Team across our core areas of research, communications, partnership, and client work. The Research Associate will serve as a key member of the UK team, working on quantitative and qualitative research projects for our clients and partners and as part of our wider thought leadership, delivering high quality outputs and supporting More in Common’s communications and dissemination work. 

ABOUT THIS ROLE

The Research Associate role involves:

Research

• Support and execute a range of quantitative and qualitative research projects for More in Common’s own thought leadership work and our client/partner work 

• Manage external research vendors’ relationship, including scheduling focus groups and project managing opinion polling research 

• Analysis, interpretation and manipulation of quantitative data, and willingness to learn how to perform statistical/econometric analysis 

• End-to-end project management for quantitative and qualitative public opinion research projects from design, execution (drafting surveys and discussion guides, and with time, moderating focus groups), analysis, report writing and presentation of insights (including data analysis) 

• Drafting and co-authoring public-facing research reports for More in Common and reports and briefings for clients and partners

Partnership / Client management:

• Day-to-day support and project management for a range of our client and partner projects 

• Identifying new partners, clients, and opportunities across various sectors from business to civil society to the public sector 

• Drafting proposals and responding to tenders for those potential partners and clients and supporting on pitches. 

• Delivering trainings and briefings for clients and partners drawing on insights from More in Common’s research 

• Drafting grant reports and taking responsibility for day-to-day account management on client-facing projects 

• Producing timely and high-quality outputs and deliverables as agreed with clients and partners 

Comms and dissemination

• Drafting and developing data briefings and press releases for journalists, conducting data checks, and designing and publishing reports on our website 

• Drafting op-eds, Twitter threads, blogs and newsletters using More in Common’s insights 

• Designing and delivering webinars and short insights products to disseminate our latest insights and research to partners and the wider eco-system

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

We look for great people before we look for specific qualifications and experience. However, the following will be an asset for this role: 

• The ability to write well and at pace for a range of audiences is essential for this role
• An understanding of how to interpret quantitative and qualitative data and to tell a story from that data  

• Curiosity for understanding and engaging people, and a desire to tell new stories that focus on building upon common ground in Britain today

• Managing tasks and projects independently and in a team - from inception through to delivery and evaluation 

• Experience of translating research and insight into products, briefings, and training programmes for a range of partners 

• An understanding of the UK political system and a keen interest in current affairs and UK public policy 

• A hunger for disseminating More in Common’s work, particularly through traditional and social media outlets 

• Professional background in research, public affairs, policy or strategic consultancy, or civil society would be desirable, but we welcome applications from any background

OTHER INFORMATION

Simultaneously, we are also recruiting for a Data Analyst, anyone with skill sets more suited for this role, can apply here.

COMPENSATION AND CONDITIONS

Competitive salary (£33,000-£40,000) plus excellent benefits including private health insurance, generous leave policy, and a personal learning and growth budget.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

We will have a better chance of uniting divided societies if our team reflects a broad range of social and cultural backgrounds, beliefs, political opinions, and life experiences. We particularly encourage applications from underrepresented and minority communities.

More in Common wants to meet the aims and commitments set out in our equality policy. This includes not discriminating under the Equality Act 2010. We will include a set of questions related to this in our email acknowledging your application for this role - this will help us understand the diversity of our job applicants.  Answering these questions are completely voluntary and anonymous. The information provided will be kept confidential and will not be linked to your application. The information is going to be used to help us understand the diversity of our organisation.
 

DEADLINES AND HOW TO APPLY

The application deadline is Thursday 27 November at 23:59.

Applications should include a short cover letter (max. one page) and a CV. 

Indicative Timeline (please note these dates remain subject to change) 

• Initial conversation with a hiring manager - w/c 1st December 

• Meetings with Team Members and final interviews: w/c 15th December  

• We expect to make an offer to the successful candidate by w/c 22nd December

§  Salary: £30,600

§  Contract: 6-month fixed term contract, with potential to extend to 12 months

§  Working pattern: Full time (4 days a week or condensed hours considered)

§  Location: Hybrid until March with one or two days required in the office in Farringdon. (Think Ahead’s hybrid working model is currently under review).

§  Closing date: 9am, Wednesday 26 November

§  Interview dates: Tuesday 9 December and Wednesday 10 December

If you have a passion for storytelling, digital communications and using your creativity to make a social impact, this is an exciting opportunity to join our mental health charity as our communications officer, working across the full communications mix.

Think Ahead supports people living with mental health needs by supporting a strong and thriving mental health workforce. We know that good mental health care means looking at the whole person and the social determinants of their health – their home, relationships, finances, work and community.

As communications officer you will:

§  Support the organisation to secure new work and diversify our income streams through effective, targeted communications.

§  Advocate for mental health practitioners, and for social approaches in mental health, including through our campaigning, research and external engagement.

§  Amplify Think Ahead’s profile and key messages through compelling storytelling, content creation and media work. 

This is an excellent opportunity for a creative and pro-active communicator to develop their skills in a small, collaborative team and make a real difference at a pivotal time for Think Ahead.

It is an exciting time to join Think Ahead as we diversify our income and drive new business across our portfolio of training, workforce development, research and campaigning. 

We are currently funded by Department of Health and Social Care until August 2027.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone who is creative, proactive and motivated, with a talent for clear, compelling and engaging communication, and a genuine interest in mental health and social change. You’ll bring strong writing and digital skills, and an eye for engaging content that connects with different audiences.

You’ll have experience working in a communications or media role, ideally within a charity, public sector or values-driven organisation. You’ll be confident managing content across websites, social media and email marketing. An understanding of media relations and curiosity about how communications can support growth, influence and impact will also be valuable.

You’ll be comfortable juggling multiple priorities, collaborating with colleagues, and taking initiative in a fast-paced environment. Most importantly, you’ll share our commitment to improving the lives of people with mental health needs.

What we can offer you

We offer excellent employee benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement (28 days) plus additional office closure over Christmas, enhanced family-friendly leave, flexible working around our core hours of 10am to 4pm, a matched pension scheme with up to 7% employer contributions, an employee assistance programme and more. 

How to apply 

Please provide a CV and a supporting statement (max 2 pages) outlining your fit for the role based on the person specification in the candidate pack on our website together with the completed Equality and Diversity questionnaire.

We will use both the CV and the supporting statement to enable us to shortlist and invite candidates for interview.

We are looking for a new Head of Influencing to lead Switchback’s work driving change across the justice system, with the voice of young prison leavers at its heart.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the leadership team of an organisation delivering sector-leading impact. You will be growing Switchback’s work to tackle social and racial injustice through creative policy influencing and media campaigns based on insights from our frontline delivery, as well as overseeing our work co-producing research and policy solutions with our Experts by Experience Board and partners across the sector.

We are looking for someone to build on our fantastic progress shifting policy and perceptions – such as our most recent work influencing government policy on recall with insights from our participatory action research and through convening a third sector Recall Reform Coalition to build momentum and a compelling evidence-based case for change.

As Head of Influencing you will work closely with the CEO and your small but mighty Influencing team to campaign for a more human, more effective approach to resettlement. You will harness the powerful insights of Switchback Trainees, alongside the rich evidence from our delivery programme, and grow our collaborative influencing partnerships, including our ambitions to build a national participatory research programme building the business case for a national resettlement framework.

We are looking for a highly creative and collaborative individual with a strong strategic mindset and ability to see the bigger picture, helping Switchback punch even further above our weight. You will bring engaging communication skills and a strong track record of securing policy change through targeted policy work and public campaigning with lived experience at its heart.

You will see the value in shifting wider narratives about young people from poor or ethnic minority backgrounds and understand how to influence decision-makers. Above all, you will be driven to do this by centering the powerful voice and experience of the young men we support and working in collaboration with others across the sector to achieve our aims.