Renaisi is a social enterprise that helps people and places to thrive. Founded in 1998 to regenerate deprived neighbourhoods in Hackney, East London. Our mission is to create the conditions for strong, inclusive communities to thrive by supporting people to learn work and connect with their community, help organisations across the UK to understand and evaluate their impact on communities and develop collaborative strategies for improving places.

We care about creating the conditions for strong, inclusive communities to thrive. Find out more at www.renaisi.com.

We’re looking for a Social Researcher to join our busy and dynamic Consultancy Team. 

What will it be like working in this role?

We will offer you varied experience and the opportunity to try out lots of different areas of work – a great opportunity to gain a valuable skillset in research and evaluation as well as build your knowledge of the non-profit sector.

You will work on a variety of projects and tasks, working with other consultants in our team to help a range of organisations with their research and evaluation needs. Your work will be varied and will depend on the needs of our clients. More details can be found in the duties and responsibilities table below.

Examples of current/previous client projects include:

• Conducting an evaluation of reading engagement and wellbeing in primary school pupils on behalf of a national charity

• Undertaking a literature review on good volunteering practice for an international development charity

• Conducting scoping interviews as part of a government funded research piece on supporting access to the natural environment for those at risk of poor mental health

•Supporting funders to understand the impact of their work with grantees

• Evaluating Renaisi’s own employment services

We will match you with projects based on your skills and experience, and as far as possible, with areas that interest you or will benefit your professional development. We can’t predict what types of client projects you might be working on in the future, but they are guaranteed to involve interesting social issues and an insight into how different organisations work.

We run a schedule of in-house training, providing team members an opportunity to brush up on their skills. Examples of training sessions include project management, qualitative analysis, report writing, and quantitative analysis.

About you

We are looking for someone who will be a great fit for our team. You will need to be:

• A “people-person” who shares our values

• Flexible and adaptable, willing to get stuck in and able to turn your hand to a range of work

• An organised multi-tasker, who has the ability to plan and prioritise work

• Able to complete tasks to tight deadlines in an environment that can sometimes be pressurised

• Knowledgeable about the contexts that are shaping and influencing the future of the public and voluntary sectors

You will also have some relevant skills and experience. You may have gained this experience in an academic, professional or voluntary context. We are looking for people who want to make a difference to communities and places with meaningful research and consultancy projects. We’re passionate about that and you’ll need to be too!

Job description – what the role involves.

Duties and responsibilities

Conducting Research and Analysis:

·Supporting with drafting research tools, evaluation frameworks and analysis plans

· Undertaking qualitative research (for example, conducting interviews with client's staff or beneficiaries in different locations in the UK, conducting document reviews and facilitating focus groups)

· Undertaking quantitative research (for example, analysing survey results)

· Managing analysis processes (for example, creating coding frameworks to conduct qualitative analysis in NVIVO)

· Taking the lead with project coordination (for example, arranging interviews and fieldwork visits)

Supporting clients:

• Drafting sections of professional reports in Word and PowerPoint

• Presenting findings to clients and facilitating learning workshops

•Supporting with day-to-day client relationships, such as meeting clients to give project updates

Company:

• Contribute to organisational learning, for example through internal initiatives such as sustainability and equal opportunities, internal evaluation or equitable evaluation

• Promoting the image of Renaisi, which may include attending conferences, training, exhibitions and other events and preparing publicity material.

• Promote equal opportunities and cultural development

• Carry out all duties in accordance with Renaisi’s Equal Opportunities Policy.

Notes:

1. In addition to the above, you may be required to carry out any other duties required to ensure the implementation of the programmes and projects or other areas of work for which the Company is responsible.

2. This list is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. Any additions or alterations will be put in writing by the Chief Executive or a Company Director.

Person specification:

• Proven and demonstrable commitment to the principles and practice of equal opportunities in employment (essential),

• Identify with the values and ethos of Renaisi (essential),

• 1-2 years of relevant professional experience (essential),

• Experience of analysing and synthesising complex information (essential),

• Experience of producing written work to a high standard (essential),

• Experience of using Excel or a similar software package (essential),

• Experience of communicating with a range of audiences through a range of different written and spoken mediums (desirable),

• Experience of performing quantitative and qualitative research using a range of methods (for example, interviewing or running focus groups, handling and analysing quantitative datasets in Excel) (desirable),

• Experiencing of working or volunteering in the social sector (desirable),

• Knowledge of good research ethics (desirable),

• Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods (essential),

• Understanding of safeguarding policies and protocols (desirable)

• Knowledge of the contexts that are shaping and influencing the future of the public and voluntary sectors (desirable),

• High quality and practically applied research and evaluation skills (desirable),

• Able to communicate ideas and principles, effectively, clearly and in a variety of formats and mediums (essential),

• Able to establish positive working relationships with people from a range of professional disciplines (essential),

• Able to complete tasks to tight deadlines in an environment that can sometimes be pressurised (essential),

• Able to prioritise and plan work (essential),

• Able to take responsibility for managing small research and evaluation projects (desirable),

• Interpersonal and empathetic skills (essential),

• Excellent IT skills (including using Excel to manage, clean and analyse datasets) (essential),

• Good analytical skills and critical thinking (essential),

• Descriptive analysis, including creating and interpreting pivot tables / cross tabs (essential),

• Statistical knowledge and awareness (desirable),

• A-Level or equivalent qualifications in subjects that include research, numeracy and/or writing skills (essential),

• An undergraduate degree in any Social Science, Science, Humanities or Business subject is desirable but not essential if you have other professional or voluntary experience (desirable),

• Professional qualifications in any discipline that includes numeracy, writing skills and/or oral communication/presentation skills is desirable but not essential if you have other academic or voluntary experience (desirable).

How to apply:

Please apply by completing the application form. Please attach a CV and answer all sift questions to outline your skills and experience against the Job Description and Personal Specifications. For questions or queries about the role please contact Marwa Al Sakhleh at m.alsakhleh@renaisi.com.

CLOSING DATE: Monday 30th of January 2023 at 12:00pm. Applications received after this time will not be considered.

We encourage applicants to submit their applications as soon as they can.

Renaisi is an equal opportunities employer. If you require any adjustments as part of your application please contact us to discuss.

No agencies please.

Benefits:

As much as we’re looking for someone with the relevant skills, knowledge and experience, we are also looking for someone who wants to make a difference to communities, organisations and places. We’re passionate about that and you’ll need to be too!

We want to give back to our team as well and offer:

• £26k - £28k salary per annum,

• Permanent Role,

• NEST pension scheme (6% Pension contribution),

• 5 days paid charity days per year,

• 25 days holiday entitlement + 1 day per year of tenure (max 5),

• Cycle To Work Scheme,

• Employee Assistance Programme.