The role of Researcher in Ada’s Public Participation & Research team provides an excellent opportunity for an early-career individual who’s interested in using research to ensure public perspectives and attitudes influence and inform issues of technology policy and practice.

The role 

The primary responsibility for this role is to support the design, delivery, analysis and reporting of empirical research projects that aim to understand public attitudes towards data and AI. Initial projects will include (but not be limited to):

• data analysis and reporting for a major UK-wide survey of attitudes towards AI, conducted in collaboration with Ada’s partners

• conducting literature reviews and secondary analysis of existing research to support an Ada-led policy and research network focused on public attitudes to data

The Researcher will also be tasked with staying abreast of developments in the field, supporting Ada’s wider qualitative, deliberative and quantitative Public Participation & Research work, and communicating about our work to external audiences in writing and in-person. 

This role will be part of Ada’s Public Participation & Research team, which works across Ada’s research programmes to ensure the experiences and perspectives of those affected by emerging technology are reflected in our work and in discourse about data and AI.

This is a unique and exciting opportunity to join a dynamic and energetic organisation working at the intersection of technology and society on some of the most pressing social policy and technical challenges. 

We are also considering recruiting to a Senior Researcher position in our PP&R team in the near future - if you would be interested in this, please email recruitment@nuffieldfoundation.org and we'll notify you should that go live.

About you

You will have experience conducting quantitative public attitudes research to understand public attitudes towards complex societal issues, and knowledge of academic concepts underpinning the relationship between technology and society. This experience and knowledge could come from academic training or professional experience conducting social science research. You may have some qualitative research experience too, but this isn’t essential.

You have some professional experience working in public attitudes research in an academic organisation, business, civil society research institute, government department or community charity (or similar). You may have a university degree, or have gained experience from an apprenticeship or trainee programme at a research, policy or other civil-society organisation. You are curious and passionate about the issues which arise at the intersection of technology and society, and committed to bringing an interdisciplinary and intersectional lens to understanding them.

You’ll enjoy working in a team environment, willing to jump into projects and keen to explore areas of policy, technology and practice that you don’t already understand. You’ll appreciate the importance of exceptionally high standards of rigour in research and writing, but also want to think creatively about communicating and influencing in novel ways. 

For further information about the role, please click here to download the full job description.   

About the Ada Lovelace Institute 

The Ada Lovelace Institute is an independent research institute funded and incubated by the Nuffield Foundation since 2018. Our mission is to ensure data and artificial intelligence work for people and society. We do this by building evidence and fostering rigorous debate on how data and AI affect people and society.  We recognise the power asymmetries that exist in ethical and legal debates around the development of data-driven technologies and seek to level those asymmetries by convening diverse voices and creating a shared understanding of the ethical issues arising from data and AI. Finally, we seek to define and inform good practice in the design and deployment of AI technologies.    

The Institute has emerged as a leading independent voice on the ethical and societal impacts of data and AI. We have built relationships in the public, private and civil society sectors in the UK and internationally. Please find details of our work here.  

Our research takes an interconnected approach to issues such as power, social justice, distributional impact and climate change (read our strategy to find out more), and our team have a wide range of expertise that cuts across policy, technology, academia, industry, law and human rights.  We value diversity in background, skills, perspectives and life experiences. As part of the Nuffield Foundation, we are a small team with the practical support of an established organisation that cares for its employees. 

How to apply

The closing date for applications is 09:30am (BST) on Monday 10th October 2022, with interviews scheduled to take place on 20th and 24th October 2022.  

You will be required to complete some questions as part of this application process, and you are also required to upload an up-to-date copy of your CV. The Applied platform lets you save an application and resume it ahead of submitting before the application deadline. 

Should you need to make an application in a different format or require any adjustments as part of the application process, please get in touch with us: recruitment@nuffieldfoundation.org

Our benefits package includes: 

• 28 days holiday per annum and all public holidays (with the option to buy or sell up to 5 days). 

• Pension scheme that offers employer contributions of up to 11%. 

• Life assurance scheme. 

• We offer family leave policies that provide an enhanced level of pay 

• Cycle to work scheme and loans towards season tickets. 

• Opportunities for learning and development 

• Wellbeing support including an employee assistance provider.