Role Overview
The Trade, Innovation and Enterprise team within Ipsos Public Affairs is a fast-growing team of social researchers and evaluators. We work to understand and shape the interactions between businesses, government and the public. We carry out a wide range of qualitative and quantitative projects. These address some of the most important challenges facing society, including:
1. How and why businesses grow and prosper
2. The challenges faced by different types of businesses, such as SMEs, or those in creative and tech industries
3. How the UK works and trades with other countries, and what businesses and the UK public think about this
4. How UK organisations can meet their Net Zero commitments
Our work has influenced trade policies (. around the NI Protocol) and strategies (. the National AI Strategy), strengthened the evidence base for various business tax reliefs (. Video Games Tax Relief) and supported new businesses to deal with challenges like cyber crime.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced mixed- methods Research Manager to run high profile studies which influence government policy and decisions. You will work with a range of research participants, including businesses, industry bodies, and policy experts. You will be able to lead project teams and be the first point of contact for our clients. You will have the chance to train, mentor and delegate to junior team members, while learning from experienced project directors who will give support and guidance.
You will be able to work closely with our associated policy teams, the Energy and Environment team, and Transport and Infrastructure team, as well as our evaluation, economic analysis, stats analysis and qualitative methods experts in Ipsos Public Affairs.
Our team is a diverse and exciting place to work within Ipsos Public Affairs. We run regular knowledge sharing sessions across projects, have dedicated wellbeing leads within the team, and have regular social activities.
What will I be doing?
The overarching responsibilities, and the key opportunities this role offers, include:
5. Managing qualitative and mixed-methods research projects from inception through to the final reports and presentations
6. Regularly contributing to research proposals, to help us win exciting new work and develop your proposal writing skills
7. Supporting the development of our team in a range of ways. This might include getting involved in line managing junior staff, being supported to run training for the team, or taking on specific business development roles (. building your policy knowledge for specific client accounts)
8. Specific responsibilities might include:
9. Ensuring projects are delivered on budget and to time, through effective project planning (including planning ahead and managing risks) and delegation
10. Designing high-quality drafts of questionnaires and topic guides to meet client/study objectives (and for review by project directors)
11. Designing effective sampling and weighting strategies for surveys and/or setting appropriate recruitment quotas for qualitative projects
12. Reviewing draft deliverables (. data tables) to ensure that they are client-ready and providing feedback to junior team members
13. Leading on narrative-driven reports and presentations that deliver the insights to meet our clients’ objectives
14. Effectively managing relationships with suppliers and our internal operations colleagues, to ensure successful survey fieldwork across a range of methods (like telephone and online)
15. Building and managing effective client relationships through strong communication with individual client teams and their stakeholders (. policymakers)
16. Moderating in-depth interviews and discussion groups
17. Monitoring projects’ financial progress, identifying problems and suggesting solutions
Ipsos UK offers a hybrid working environment, 3 days in the office and working the rest from home.
What do I need to bring with me?
18. A keen interest in our policy areas, such as trade, enterprise and/or economic policy
19. Expertise in qualitative and quantitative social research skills, and ability to comfortably manage projects and deliver day-to-day
20. Experience in writing questionnaires and fieldwork materials (. advance letters)
21. Ability to interrogate quantitative data to find insights and narratives
22. Experience in contributing to proposals and business development activities
23. Time management skills, working across multiple projects, prioritising tasks efficiently and meeting demanding deadlines
24. Excellent attention to detail, organisational skills, and a focus on solutions
25. Proven ability to work well in teams, handle clients and negotiate with suppliers
26. Confident and clear written and verbal communication skills, with a high level of accurate use of English, and the ability to write in a variety of styles
27. Curiosity and drive to help to grow our business
Desirable:
28. Policy knowledge and expertise in trade, enterprise and/or economic policy
29. Experience of leading on primary research components of wider evaluation studies
30. Use of analysis software, such as NVivo, SPSS or other statistics packages
What is in it for me?
Ipsos UK offer an attractive basic salary and a rewards package including 25 days annual leave, a pension scheme and a great range of flexible benefits to suit your personal needs. For roles at Research Manager level and above we also offer private healthcare.
In addition to this we have a fantastic Learning & Development offer delivered through a mix of face to face, online or on-demand; you can read more by clicking .
We realise you may have commitments outside of work and will consider flexible working applications - please highlight what you are looking for when you make your application.
Ipsos is committed to equality, treating people fairly, promoting a positive and inclusive working environment and ensuring we have diversity of people and views. We also recognise that this is important for our business success - a more diverse workforce will enable us to better reflect and understand the world we research and ultimately deliver better research and insight to our clients.