Research Manager - Government & Society (Mixed Methods) 

Great opportunity to join a leading social research agency into a team working within the Government and Society team, a group of mixed-methods researchers working for clients from across the public and third sector.

The role…
As a Research Manager, you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team managing projects. These may be research projects or the research elements of evaluations. They will be with a range of audiences including the public (ranging from global studies to niche groups and with a focus on vulnerable audiences) and senior stakeholders. Our work contributes to the development and evaluation of policies across a range of topics, including food safety, online harms, diversity and inclusion, and levelling up.
The ideal candidate will be a mixed methods researcher with experience managing small to medium sized teams to deliver research projects. The role will involve:

• Building and managing effective client relationships through strong communication with client teams and their stakeholders (including policy makers).
• Being the key point of contact on the project; running internal meetings and providing project updates.
• Ensuring projects are delivered to budget and timescale through effective project planning (including planning ahead and managing risks), resourcing and managing project teams.
• Managing relationships with partners, suppliers and internal operations colleagues to ensure we meet our research objectives. Making suggestions for more efficient approaches or ways of working.
• Designing questionnaires and discussion guides, managing the recruitment of research participants and developing sample frames etc. to meet client/study objectives.
• Drafting data specifications and checking data files. Quality assuring data outputs.
• Moderating discussion groups and depth interviews, analysing qualitative data;
• Drafting sections of reports in PowerPoint and Word; delivering accessible and concise findings with clear conclusions and recommendations. Presenting results to clients and stakeholders.
• Monitoring projects’ financial progress, identifying problems and suggesting solutions.
• Expanding your methodological knowledge and sharing learning across projects.
• Providing support and coaching to junior team members; potential for line management opportunities.
• Contributing to business development and proposals.
• Taking a proactive approach to understanding our clients’ business; reading around key topics to contribute to knowledge reviews/ add context to proposals or reporting.

What do I need to bring with me?

• Strong quantitative and/or qualitative skills’ social research skills, and the ability to comfortably support projects and deliver day-to-day;
• A high level of attention to detail and a solutions-focused approach;
• Excellent time management skills, including the ability to work across multiple projects and prioritise tasks effectively;
• Strong people management, including management of small to medium-sized teams to deliver research studies;
• The ability to work to tight and demanding deadlines whilst maintaining high quality outputs;
• Experience in writing questionnaires, discussion guides and fieldwork materials;
• The ability to understand and interpret qualitative and quantitative data;
• Very good communication, client handling and supplier negotiation skills;
• Confident and clear written and verbal communication skills, including experience of preparing written reports and presentations to a publishable standard;
• Policy knowledge and expertise in relevant areas or interest in/ability to pick up new policy areas.
• Experience in contributing to proposals and business development activities;
• Proficiency in SPSS and other data analysis packages desirable but not essential.