Deputy Director of Research

The Deputy Director for Research will work closely with the UK Team across our core areas of research, communications, partnership, and client work. The Deputy Director will lead More in Common’s research team, training new recruits, setting strategic priorities, and acting as quality control for our research outputs. 

Permanent employee, Full-time - London

The Deputy Director for Research role involves:

• With the Deputy Director (Strategy and Development) manage More in Common UK’s work programme and oversee the activity of junior staff.
• Ensure that More in Common’s UK outputs are of the highest quality and genuinely lead to impact in line with our mission.
• Design and support the creation of new and innovative additions to More in Common’s UK research offer.
• Support the development of More in Common’s research team, including identifying skills gaps and supporting training of junior staff.
• Lead strategic communications projects across the UK team’s programme of work for both clients/partners and More in Common’s own communications activity.
• Play a leading role in More in Common’s UK business development and fundraising with a particular focus on managing the consultancy arm of our work and revenue generation – including inculcating a programme of ‘new business’ across junior staff.
• Work closely with More in Common’s communications consultants to maximise opportunities for dissemination of the UK team’s work.
• Deputise for the UK Director in meetings with clients, funders and with global colleagues along with the Deputy Director (Strategy and Development).
• With the UK Director and Deputy Director (Strategy and Development) help to design the strategy for the UK team’s work.
• Support More in Common’s programme of events and partner engagement – including More in Common’s Party Conference events.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

This role requires someone who has experience managing research teams within the polling industry. 5+ years of experience in market research, polling, or political analysis is essential for this role. 

(Anyone who lacks this experience can consider applying for the Research Associate role).

In addition, the following will be an asset for this role: 

• Track record of delivering genuinely interesting and high-quality research into public opinion in the UK. 
• Experience with and deep understanding of quantitative and quantitative research methods.
• A desire to work on both long-running years’ long research projects, whilst also responding to the news of the day and working fast to produce rapid insights for the media and clients.
• Deep understanding of UK politics and the role research and communications play in shaping public policy outcomes. 
• An ability to write well, at pace, and for a range of audiences, and to give feedback on other team members’ writing to improve their quality. 
• A public profile presenting public opinion analysis to the media and/or on social media.
• An ability to manage projects from start to finish, handling both budget and time management, and dealing with large and complex clients. 
• An eye for a good story; an ability to design research projects that will perform well in the media and experience of writing press releases to make research understandable and interesting to the media. 
• An entrepreneurial mindset and a history of securing new business and writing funding proposals to large funders.
• A desire to help foster a collaborative, supportive, and high-performing research culture where team members are motivated and enjoy their work.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop early- and mid-career researchers, especially in a small team environment where people learn quickly by doing
• A desire to experiment and try new things to improve More in Common’s work flow and continue our track record of innovations. 

DEADLINES AND HOW TO APPLY

The application deadline is Friday 21 November at 23:59.

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

Please apply using the link on our web site .

We are aiming to make an appointment by w/c 15th December.