Are you looking for a new challenge and want to join a successful and growing organisation? Do you have a passion for exploring new ways to change people's lives at a national scale through government policy? Are you interested in developing our understanding of what works in education and youth policy? If so, we want to hear from you.

What does a Qualitative Research and Evaluations Advisor do?

This role is in our Education, Home Affairs and Security team. You will be the lead qualitative researcher on two types of projects:

• Evaluations of complex interventions in education and youth settings for clients like the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF). Our current portfolio of evaluations includes:

  • A large-scale randomised controlled trial (RCT) and implementation and process evaluation (IPE) of a reading programme for primary school children. The IPE is exploring topics such as fidelity, quality and causal mechanisms, mixing qualitative methods like interviews and school observations with quantitative methods like surveys and attendance data.

  • A mixed-methods pilot evaluation of an intensive therapeutic group programme for young people at risk of violence. This research includes in-depth case studies of programme delivery, including interviews with vulnerable young people.

  • A scale-up evaluation of a whole-school professional development programme for teachers that is producing cutting-edge, practical findings on how to effectively grow evidence-based practice in UK schools. Another large, mixed-methods study where the qualitative work has involved interviewing teachers and programme developers, observing training sessions and lessons, as well as developing a scale-up theory of change.

• Exploratory qualitative research that helps develop new interventions/policies based on the latest evidence from the behavioural sciences. Our current portfolio of interventions includes:

  • Grassroots: a proven anti-conflict programme for schools.

  • BITUP: a parent communication intervention aimed at improving pupils’ school attendance.

The majority of your work is likely to be in education (from Early Years to Higher Education) and youth-related fields. However, you are also likely to work on other topics covered by our team, such as immigration and defence.

The typical tasks that you’ll do are:

• Supporting the design, planning and management of evaluation projects, and working with a senior researcher.

• Leading qualitative exploratory research that aims to:

  • understand more about people’s experiences, opinions and how they see the world; 

  • explore barriers and enablers to behaviour change; and

  • obtain feedback on early solutions to support people to take up specific behaviours. 

• Facilitating workshops (e.g. to develop theories of change).

• Ensuring research is conducted to the highest ethical standards.  

• Designing qualitative data collection tools.

• Sampling and recruitment for qualitative research.

• Conducting or managing interviews, focus groups and observations. This might include research with vulnerable groups.

• Leading or collaborating on the analysis of qualitative data, including the systematic management of data and the application of appropriate qualitative analytical techniques, such as thematic analysis.

• Preparing project deliverables such as, interview guides, logic models, evidence summaries, and final reports.

• Presenting findings to colleagues, clients and other partners.

• Be a champion for qualitative research by helping non-specialist colleagues to develop their skills, and by supporting innovation in the way we do qualitative research.

What makes a great Qualitative Research and Evaluations Advisor at BIT?

We are looking for a passionate and imaginative individual with experience in designing and conducting high-quality, but pragmatic qualitative research. We are looking for someone who understands what we do, shares our values and is keen to learn and develop their expertise. 

More specifically, we are looking for candidates with the skills and interests listed below.  

• An interest in public policy design, ideally in the fields of education and youth. You are passionate about public policy and programmes aimed at improving the lives of people at scale. You can see both sides of an argument, and you can think about what makes some policies effective and others impractical.

• Deep understanding of qualitative research and evaluation principles. You understand that people might experience the world differently depending on their context. You know how to spot patterns across people’s experiences and understand what links these patterns together while identifying unique meaningful differences.

• Practical experience designing and delivering qualitative research, ideally in education and/or youth settings. You have applied your theoretical understanding of qualitative research to practical challenges in these fields in the past. You have run qualitative research projects from start to finish, including sampling and recruitment, drafting guides, conducting activities such as interviews and focus groups and analysing the resulting data. You may have worked on mixed methods studies like pilots and implementation and process evaluations.

• A solid understanding of causality and impact evaluations. You know that just because sales of sunglasses and ice creams increase at the same time, one does not cause the other. You also have an understanding of which qualitative methods can support quantitative approaches to strengthen the picture, and vice versa. 

• An interest in behavioural sciences and applying qualitative research methods to behavioural insights projects. You don’t necessarily have an academic background or previous experience in behavioural sciences/ insights, but you are keen to learn more and broaden your skill set. You are interested in finding new ways to use qualitative approaches to deliver high-quality behavioural insights projects. 

• Ability to communicate clearly and convincingly. You can explain complex topics in simple terms. You have good presentation skills and can write clearly and concisely. You are able to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders and adapt style and tone to their needs.

• Ability to manage your own work and some research projects. You are organised and can manage your own time to produce high-quality work within a reasonable time frame and across several projects. You can manage qualitative research projects with small teams, with support from a senior researcher where necessary.

• Ability and willingness to reflect and develop yourself at work. You demonstrate high self-awareness and regularly self-reflect. You are aware of the impact that your actions and words have on those around you. You are resilient and accept responsibility for decisions whether they achieve the desired outcome or not.

Who are we and what can we offer you?

The Behavioural Insights Team is the world leader in applying behavioural science to public policy challenges in order to strengthen communities and improve lives. 

We design and rigorously test new ideas across a range of areas such as health, crime and education, to establish what works and what doesn’t. We have helped Tuberculosis patients take their medicine; reduced police susceptibility to cyberattacks; and helped organisations close their gender pay gap.

We are looking for a passionate and imaginative individual who shares our thirst for evidence-based solutions to join our dynamic and growing team.

BIT really is a great place to work:

• We encourage flexible working and have a culture that enables this; for example, flexible start and finish times and an IT set-up that allows for easy working-from-home options.

• We have regular team lunches with inspirational guest speakers.  

• We have lively internal communities of practice, with researchers from across the globe supporting each other on a daily basis. We also have a range of more formal development opportunities for researchers to develop their methods expertise.

• We have a flexible benefits programme which currently includes things like gym memberships, cycle-to-work schemes, childcare vouchers and the ability to buy extra annual leave at the start of the year.

• We offer a generous pension scheme with 7% employer contribution, as well as enhanced parental leave pay.

• We’re a social bunch and have a variety of interest groups including Film Club, Sports Club, BIT Kids for our parents & 5-a-side team to name a few.

• We have a great office, which has an amazing coffee machine and fridges stocked full of soft drinks!

How to apply

We use a great platform called Applied to reduce bias in the recruitment process. You will need to answer a few work-based questions which will be anonymously marked by members of our team. Our selection is based on performance in these questions. 

Candidates with the top-scoring answers will be invited to a structured interview where you get to meet some of the team. At the interview stage, you will be asked questions that reflect the role and also to complete a work-based task, so you have the chance to demonstrate your skills. We always give all applicants feedback, no matter what stage your application reaches.

Key dates:

• Role closes: Wednesday 25th October at 12:00pm BST (midday)

• Interviews and task completion: w/c 30th October

• If necessary, second round interviews: w/c 6th November

Please note that all dates are subject to change (but we’ll do our best not to change them!).

Please note:

You will need to have the right to work in the UK in order to be able to undertake this role. We will ask all applicants short-listed for an interview to provide evidence of their right to work during the recruitment process. If you do not have the right to work for BIT but are the most suitable person for the role we will explore with you whether sponsorship may be an option. However, this may not be possible for all roles.

Some of the personal data you provide to Applied when you apply for a role with The Behavioural Insights Team will be passed on to The Behavioural Insights Team for the purposes of (a) reviewing your application; (b) inviting you for an interview; and/or (c) offering you a job and getting you set up as an employee/contractor. For full details on how BIT collects and uses your personal data please visit our website - https://www.bi.team/bit-global-recruitment-privacy-notice/ 

If your application is not successful, any personal data provided to us by Applied (including any personal data relating to equal opportunities monitoring as set out above) will be retained by The Behavioural Insights Team for no longer than 6 months after the application deadline has passed (other than in exceptional circumstances where we may need to retain your personal data for longer), at which point your personal data will be securely deleted. We only keep your information for that period in order to allow us to comply with relevant legal obligations.