The Ada Lovelace Institute (Ada) is hiring a Public Participation & Research Practice Lead to develop, deliver and oversee the Institute’s public participation and research (PPR) projects, team and strategy, and to support robust methods and practices through all Ada’s research. This role is an excellent opportunity for a mid-career researcher with expertise in designing and managing qualitative and/or quantitative research projects at the intersection of people, society and technology.

The role

The role of Public Participation & Research Practice Lead sits within Ada’s Impact & Research Practice Directorate, with connections across all Ada’s research directorates and activities. Given Ada’s mission to ensure data and AI work for people and society, and our strategic goal to amplify the voice of the public, Ada’s PPR work ensures public perspectives and experiences are embedded in our research and in wider debates about technology policy and practice.   

Past projects that Ada’s PPR team have led include the Citizens’ Biometrics Council, a survey on health inequalities, the Data Divide, citizens’ juries on the governance of data during pandemics, a literature review of public attitudes towards data regulation in the UK, and a major survey of UK public attitudes towards AI. Future projects will include quantitative and qualitative research, with opportunities for  the incoming PPR Lead to shape and inform the direction of research.

This role’s primary responsibilities include:

1.       Leading PPR operationally at the Ada Lovelace Institute by designing, delivering and overseeing rigorous and innovative PPR practices and projects. This will include methods such as: deliberative dialogue; participatory and peer-led research; surveys and polls; qualitative social science approaches (and others, depending on the PPR Lead’s methodological expertise).

2.       Acting as a spokesperson for PPR at Ada, providing thought leadership, subject knowledge and participatory methods expertise internally at Ada and externally across relevant research, policy and industry networks.

3.       Delivering projects through a combination of conducting research in-house at Ada, and commissioning and managing external partnerships (for example with polling or public dialogue agencies).

4.       Drafting and editing research outputs, such as reports, papers and articles, based on empirical work conducted at Ada.

5.       Leading and advising internally on Ada’s research practice, to ensure rigour and integrity of the Institute’s research.

This role will line manage at least one Researcher, and work with wider Ada functions, including our Comms, Operations,  Policy and Public Affairs teams. This role will also advise on and contribute  to projects within Ada’s three research directorates.

In addition, this role will be responsible for communication strategies for outputs, and conceptualising, facilitating and attending meetings, workshops and events with a view to achieving strategic impact with key stakeholders. 

About you 

You are a researcher with knowledge about the relationships between people, society and technology, and experience leading robust research projects in a professional or academic setting that build understanding of public perspectives towards technology. Your experience may come from working within a social research agency, policy department or a regulator, a technology company, research institute, charity or academic organisation.

 You are curious and passionate about the issues which arise at the intersection of technology and society, and are committed to bringing an interdisciplinary and intersectional lens to understanding them. Importantly, you’ll be comfortable taking the initiative, working independently and responsively, to short deadlines, at times. 

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 high standards of rigour in research, but also want to think creatively about communicating and influencing in novel ways.    

For further information about the role, please download the full job description (PDF).

About us 

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.

Further information and how to apply 

The closing date for applications is 09:30am (BST) on Monday 22nd April 2024, with a first stage of interviews scheduled to take place on the 7th and/or 8th May 2024.

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 

We are committed to inclusive working practices and during the application process we commit to:  

• As a Disability Confident employer, we will offer a guaranteed first stage interview for disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role.  

• making any reasonable adjustments – for example providing documents in different formats, arranging for a sign language interpreter for interviews etc  

• paying for travel costs (and any childcare or care costs) for interviews where in-person attendance is required  

Our benefits package includes:  

• Consideration of requests for part time and/or flexible working (eg compressed hours arrangements, job sharing etc)  

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

• A salary exchange pension scheme that offers employer contributions of up to 11%.  

• Life assurance scheme.  

• Family leave policies that provide an enhanced level of pay.  

• Cycle to work scheme and loans towards season tickets.  

• Frequent opportunities for learning and development (including options for coaching and mentoring) 

• Support with your physical, mental and financial wellbeing including an employee assistance provider, a private GP service, personal health reviews with Bupa, a will and funeral planning service and a staff network of trained Mental Health First Aiders. 

• Staff peer groups and social networks.