Description
Research Director - CWI
Contributing to new business generation in policy areas relating to Communities, Work & Income, identifying new business opportunities and leading on bids.
Managing and delivering mixed method, survey or qualitative research projects to budget and timetable.
Supporting the leadership of the team with line management responsibility.
Playing an active role in the wider life of NatCen, contributing to its success and development.
Promoting NatCen, maintaining a visible presence in external networks.
Key Responsibilities
Have a proven record of delivering high quality social research and leading on multiple projects at any given time;
Have a proven record of working independently and autonomously to lead research projects with minimal oversight;
Be a mixed-methods researcher; with direct experience designing and leading qualitative and quantitative projects;
Be a strong proposal writer, with demonstrable experience of winning work;
Be excellent at analysis, report writing and communicating research outputs in different formats, including presenting to senior audiences;
A proven track record of managing and delivering high-quality studies and helping to ensure their delivery to time and budget;
Have strong project management skills and be able to work well under pressure and to manage competing deadlines effectively;
Have line management experience and the ability to effectively lead project teams;
Be a good communicator and work well as part of a team;
Have a track record of building positive relationships with customers, funders, and/or partners.
Skills Knowledge and Expertise
An undergraduate degree;
Experience of directing social research projects and programmes, ideally within Communities, Work or Income;
A track record of securing funding for high quality social research;
Strong methodological skills in one or more of the following: surveys, quantitative analysis, qualitative approaches or evaluation and ability to lead mixed-methods research projects;
Experience of leading and managing teams and developing the skills of junior colleagues;
Excellent project management skills and the ability to manage project budgets;
Ability to work flexibly and proactively on multiple concurrent research projects;
Commitment to building and maintaining good relationships with partners and customers;
Ability to communicate clearly, in different styles and for different audiences (including reporting)
Benefits
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Holiday
25 days’ holiday (three of which must be taken during Christmas closure) plus 8 bank holidays. Leave increases to 30 days after 3 years’ employment.
Pension
All new employees will be automatically enrolled on the pension scheme 3 months from their start date unless stated otherwise. The minimum employee contribution is 3% and the maximum employer contribution is 5% of salary. If the employee does not wish to contribute to the pension scheme, there will be a process that will be in place for them to follow to opt out of the scheme for a limited period.
Staff can also join our defined contribution pension scheme. The minimum employee contribution is 4% and the maximum employer contribution is 7.5% of salary. You can join this pension from when you start working with us.
Life Insurance
All employees are eligible for a lump sum benefit payable to the named beneficiary (this does not have to be a spouse, partner or dependent, and can be split between beneficiaries) on the employee’s death of 5 times their annual salary. Beneficiary form must be completed – further details can be found when you start working with us.
NatCen Rewards
This is an online employee benefits scheme featuring discounts at over 800 retailers and service providers in the UK, both online and in store.
Health Cash Plan
Employees can sign up to healthcare cash plan which lets you claim back the cost of treatments, such as laser eye treatment, dental treatment, physiotherapy, hospital scans etc. You can pay as little as £1.20 per week, and when you receive treatment, you send the details to the provider and it reimburses you, depending on the terms of your cash plan.
Professional Subscriptions
We will pay the cost of one professional membership subscription per individual per annum, where that subscription is required for the job.
Cycle to work scheme
This is a government initiative which allows NatCen to provide bikes and associated safety equipment to employees to use as a means of transport for work purposes.
Season ticket loan
We offer an interest free loan to buy annual season tickets for travel to work. This is available once you have completed your probation period.
Eye care vouchers
NatCen will contribute up to £30 per year for an eye test. If the glasses/contacts are solely for VDU use then NatCen will contribute up to £100.
Flexible working
Flexible working is supported where it helps to meet the aims of the company, as it increases motivation and reduces the level of stress. Examples of this include home working and job sharing. Some flexibility in working hours may be possible. Core hours of work are 10am – 4pm.
Parental leave
Employees who meet the qualifying criteria can claim up to 18 working weeks unpaid leave per child under 5, or up to 18 years of age if the child has a disability. Employees can take parental leave in blocks of one week and no more than 4 weeks per year.
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
EAP is a confidential helpline designed to help you deal with personal and professional problems that could be affecting your home life or work life, health and general wellbeing.
Career Development
We are passionate about learning and the value it brings to the organisation and our clients.
Everyone has access to training and development which supports them in the work they do and personal learning & development plans are tailored to help develop individuals and teams achieve our goals. We aim for a culture of continuous improvement which includes active reflection on development needs and goals.
About the National Centre for Social Research
At The National Centre for Social Research we believe that social research has the power to make life better. By really understanding the complexity of people’s lives and what they think about the issues that affect them, we give the public a powerful and influential role in shaping services that can make a difference to everyone. And as an independent, not-for-profit organisation we’re able to focus our time and energy on meeting our clients’ needs and delivering social research that works for society.
