Salary: £26,000 – £30,000
Location: Remote – UK based. Our offices are in Toynbee Hall, East London, but we welcome applicants from across the UK who do not wish to relocate. You should be willing to travel to our London office for team meetings up six times per year. Additional travel will be required for project meetings. Project-related travel costs will be reimbursed.
Hours: Four to five days a week (flexible – minimum 28 hours / week).
The Young Foundation supports a 4.5 day working week and staff work this, wherever possible (pro rata for those working less than a 35-hour week).
Contract: Permanent
Benefits: 25 days annual leave plus three office closure days between Christmas and New Year. We also provide two wellbeing days per year. Staff are signed up to one of two pension schemes and a personalised wellbeing budget through Better Space.
About The Young Foundation
The Young Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation driving community research and social innovation. We bring communities, organisations and policymakers together to understand the issues people care about and support collective action to improve lives. We involve communities in research and innovate together to inspire positive change. We deliver distinctive initiatives and programmes to shape a fairer future. We also power our evidence centre, the Institute for Community Studies.
About the role
We are looking for a dynamic Research Officer who is enthusiastic about a career in social research. Who you are and why you want to do this role is as important as qualifications or practical experience – we are looking for someone who is passionate about research as a tool for creating social change.
You will have the transferable skills and enthusiasm to contribute to our varied programmes of work – from supporting people to become peer researchers in their community, to exploring ‘what’s working’ across a range of social issues.
The role would suit a motivated self-starter with a passion for the work we do, and an understanding of the issues we tackle. Our work is collaborative and we will expect you to be a team player; the role includes some administrative elements alongside opportunities to grow and develop your research skills.
We welcome applications from people who come from minority backgrounds, who have taken non-traditional educational routes, or who have gained relevant skills and knowledge through lived experience. We want our team to reflect the communities we live and work in, so we encourage you to apply.
How to apply
Please send your answers to the application questions (below) and your CV to applications@youngfoundation.org on or before 10am, 30 June 2025
The selection process will consist of a first-stage virtual interview and second-stage in-person interview and task.
First stage interviews are currently scheduled to take place w/c 7 July, and second round in person interviews are scheduled for w/c 14 July 2025.
The Young Foundation is an equal opportunities employer and as part of our commitment to increasing the diversity of our team we actively encourage people from Black and Ethnic Minority or other under-represented groups to apply for this role. We positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity.
You must have the right to live and work in the UK. Applicants who require a work permit in order to take up employment will not be considered.
Please complete our online Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form. This information will not be seen by the hiring manager or impact your application.
Upon submitting your application, you will receive an automated response to say we have received your application.
Please note that we review applications after the closing date and we regret that we will only be able to reply, and give feedback, to short-listed applicants.
Job description
The purpose of the role is to support the delivery of high-quality research, working collaboratively with colleagues across The Young Foundation and with external partners.
Duties of the role
- Supporting the delivery of qualitative and quantitative research projects, including coordinating research activities.
- Undertaking interviews, and supporting the facilitation of focus groups, workshops and other similar activities.
- Carrying out desk research and short literature reviews using a range of methods and sources of data, predominantly related to issues of place, communities, inequalities, and social innovation practice.
- Supporting with survey data analysis or other quantitative research tasks, under the supervision of a senior colleague.
- Contributing to high quality and varied research outputs for a range of audiences including analysis, writing case studies or sections of reports, and presentations where necessary.
- Playing a key role in ensuring that research projects adhere to our project management processes, GDPR and ethical codes, maintaining an audit trail where necessary.
- Working closely with others as part of a team and with stakeholders and local partners to manage relationships and deliver work.
- Contributing to the promotion of The Young Foundation’s work, eg, through writing blogs, tweets, updating project websites or other communications activities as required.
- Any other duties as required by the line manager in line with the grade of the post.
Essential criteria
- Some previous experience of core research methods, including:
- design and delivery of focus groups, workshops and in-depth interviews;
- the principles and practice of survey design and approaches to data analysis; and
- the principles and practice of evaluation methods.
- Strong communication skills, including the ability to work and communicate with non-research specialist stakeholders, from members of local communities through to senior policymakers.
- Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities to deliver results to challenging deadlines.
- Curious and optimistic, bringing energy to the work we undertake often in challenging and complex environments.
- Good team-working skills, including a willingness to work flexibly, take responsibility, proactively identify problems, and help colleagues deliver solutions.
Desirable criteria
- Practical experience of creative and participatory research methodologies.
- Practical experience of evaluation methods and evaluation projects.
- Practical experience of survey design and delivery.
- Experience working with policymakers in central, local or devolved government.
- A relevant postgraduate qualification or equivalent professional qualification.
- Experience working with clients/ partners, gained in either a commercial, third sector or public sector environment.
Please note that this role is likely to require regular travel within the UK.
Application questions
Please share your experience to date and reasons for applying to the role. We’re looking to understand who you are, your experience, and what you can bring to The Young Foundation.
Please answer each of the three compulsory questions as directly and concisely as possible, being mindful of the word limit (300 words max per question).
Please complete our online Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form. This information will not be seen by the hiring manager or impact your application.
Please send your application form and CV to applications@youngfoundation.org on or before 10am on 30 June 2025.
Questions
- What excites you about this role and what core capabilities do you have that would make you a good fit for this role at The Young Foundation? (300 words)
- You are working on a project with peer researchers around the UK. For some of them it is their first project, while for others it is the latest of many peer research projects they have done with us. The project will last for 10 weeks. Peer researchers are researchers who use their lived experience and understanding of a (social or geographical) community to help generate information about their peers for research purposes. How would you set up the project management and support structure to ensure that everyone has a positive experience and we generate high-quality research? (300 words)
- Why are you passionate about social research? What would be your dream research project? In your response, please indicate how you would set about developing the project and ensuring the outputs are meaningful to participants and stakeholders. (300 words)
Housekeeping questions:
- Where did you hear about this vacancy (please specify which website, etc)?
- When would you be able to start?
We look forward to reading your application.
Posted on: 5 June 2025