160 Social development research officer jobs

Use your research skills to help create meaningful change for kinship families.

At Kinship, we’re looking for a curious, organised and analytical Research Officer to join our Research and Practice team. You’ll help us build a strong evidence base about the experiences, perspectives and needs of kinship families, ensuring that lived experience is at the heart of our research and influencing work.

Working closely with our Research Manager, you’ll contribute to a varied programme of applied social research, using qualitative, quantitative and participatory approaches. From surveys, interviews and focus groups to data analysis and reporting, you’ll help turn evidence into meaningful insights that inform policy, campaigning, practice and service development.

You’ll also contribute to some exciting areas of our research programme, including our annual survey of kinship carers and the development of our first national survey of children and young people in kinship care. You’ll work collaboratively with colleagues, research partners and people with lived experience to ensure our research is inclusive, ethical and impactful.

This is a great opportunity for an early-career or developing researcher who wants to build their experience across a range of research methods while doing work that can make a real difference to children and families.

Essential experience

We're looking for someone who has:

• A postgraduate degree in a social science discipline, such as Psychology, Sociology, Social Policy or Social Research, or equivalent research experience.
• Experience supporting qualitative, quantitative and/or mixed-methods research projects.
• Experience collecting, analysing and interpreting qualitative and/or quantitative research data.
• Experience conducting or supporting interviews, focus groups, workshops or consultations.
• Experience producing research reports, briefings or other written outputs.
• Experience working collaboratively with colleagues, research partners or other stakeholders to deliver projects.
• An understanding of participatory approaches and the value of lived experience in research.
• An understanding of research ethics, good research practice, safeguarding and GDPR requirements.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple competing priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to work collaboratively and build positive relationships with a range of stakeholders.

Desirable experience

It would be an advantage if you have:

• Personal experience of kinship care.
• Experience of participatory research methods.
• Experience involving children and young people in research.
• Experience working with vulnerable children, families or communities.
• Experience supporting externally funded research projects.
• Experience of programme evaluation or impact measurement.
• An understanding of kinship care and children’s social care in the UK.
• Experience using Salesforce, Asana or other project management or CRM systems.

Key dates

• Application deadline: 11.30pm on 19 October 2026
• First interviews: Week commencing 2 November 2026

We reserve the right to close applications early if we receive sufficient applications, so we encourage you to apply early.

Ready to apply?

Please submit your CV and a cover letter of no more than two pages, demonstrating how your experience meets the requirements of the role and using examples where possible. Please also include your notice period or earliest availability to start.

Full details about the role, Kinship and what it’s like to work with us can be found in the job pack attached to this advert.