We are recruiting for a Mission Manager (Trials and Behavioural Science) - A Healthy Life

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet. 

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation. 

Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more at nesta.org.uk. 

Whatever it takes

Everyone works at Nesta because we are driven by a deep commitment to our missions. A guiding principle of our culture is that we do whatever it takes to achieve them, bringing our best to all our work.  

We are seeking a Mission Manager (Trials and Behavioural Science) to work in Nesta’s ‘A Healthy Life’ mission. We want to increase the number of years lived in good health for all, and particularly those most affected by health inequalities. We are focusing on tackling one of the biggest drivers of lost years of healthy life: obesity. Our primary focus currently is on improving our food environments i.e. making healthy food more available, accessible, affordable, appealing and convenient for all. We work across sectors - with businesses, national policymakers, local government, academics and other charities - in order to drive the changes we need to see to improve health.

The role

Nesta is looking to appoint a Mission Manager (Trials and Behavioural Science) into our A Healthy Life mission. 

The work of the post holder could include working across all stages of the work of our teams, from shaping ongoing strategy developments, to scoping, designing and leading projects that contribute to our impactful portfolios of work.  

As Mission Manager (Trials and Behavioural Science) you will:

• Scope, design and lead projects, including project management, resourcing, relationship management, liaising with internal and external stakeholders and developing relationships with external partners

• Play a leadership role in trial design, data analysis and evaluation.

• Provide behavioural science leadership to ensure we, as a mission, apply behavioural insights to understand the food environment and design appropriate interventions aimed at reducing obesity. 

• Manage other members of the team; this is expected to be 1-2 people. You will be responsible for coaching and mentoring the people you manage, and developing their skills and expertise.

• Undertake thought leadership, including proposing/reviewing project ideas, deepening our understanding of our theory of change and reviewing the impact of previous interventions and learning from them. This will also include representing our organisations externally and written content

• Ensure that quality is maintained across our outputs, including by quality assuring outputs.

Candidate Criteria

Essential

We are looking for people who understand what we do, share our values and are keen to learn and develop their expertise. We are looking for candidates with the skills listed below. We expect to provide training and development support in some of the areas; applicants are not expected to be expert in all of them but to have some relevant experience.

• Experience leading projects and partnerships. You can lead and manage projects, think strategically, coordinate a team and communicate expertly with stakeholders/ partners to produce quality work within a reasonable time frame and budget. You are seen as a strong project manager.

• Experience running and evaluating trials. You have a good understanding of trial design and have been involved in running and evaluation of trials. You have a good practical understanding of statistical reasoning. You have good analytical skills including data manipulation and interpretation. 

• Practical experience of using behavioural science approaches. You have applied theoretical understanding to several practical challenges in the past, running projects from start to finish. You can explain the implications of theoretical concepts such as defaults, loss aversion and social norms. You have worked to apply behavioural theory in real world settings.

• Experience with statistical Programming Languages, at a minimum be able to import, clean and wrangle data in Python or R.

• Managing and developing others. You can nurture talent and energise people to perform at their best. You care about the success, development and wellbeing of others and can have meaningful (and sometimes difficult!) conversations.

• Scoping projects and partnerships. You are able to spot opportunities within the mission and with new and existing partners and persuade others of the impact we could have.

• Clear and convincing communications. You can explain complex topics in simple terms. You can lead a workshop or presentation and write clearly and concisely.

• Managing and developing 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.

Desirable

• Academic or policy experience on obesity or food environments, or in an adjacent area like nutrition or health. 

• A relevant degree (behavioural economics, social psychology or related fields).

• Public policy/service design.  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.

The Team

This role is in Nesta’s A Healthy Life team.  Projects may involve:

• Designing and evaluating interventions to promote healthier food and beverage purchasing

• Supporting central and local governments to design behaviourally informed policies aimed at promoting healthier diets. 

• Supporting partners to develop a robust evaluation methodology including quantitative impact evaluations (e.g. RCTs, QEDs) and mixed method implementation and process evaluations. 

• Preparing policy notes for government officials or partner organisations about how to promote health behaviours based on the best available behavioural science evidence.

Learning and development is a top priority in the team. There are opportunities for collaborative and individual learning available both inside and outside the organisations covering behavioural science and beyond. 

What we offer

Salary: £56,700 - £70,600 (offers are expected to be made towards the bottom of the band) plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more  

Location: This role is based in Blackfriars, London, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office

Term: Permanent

Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do. 

Reports to: Deputy Director 

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your CV by Monday 9th June at 8:00am. 

If you are shortlisted, the next step in the process will be a technical interview. Candidates who successfully complete this interview will be invited for a second interview. 

We hope that technical (first round) interviews will take place 18-20th June and second round interviews the beginning of July

At Nesta Group, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results.

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements. 

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.