This is a key role with the potential to help shape the UK’s research and policy narratives on race and inequalities at one of the country’s leading think tanks on race and social justice. 

The Senior Researcher will support the strategic development and delivery of the Runnymede Trust’s research programme, taking ownership of research projects from inception to completion and developing impactful external research partnerships.

A key part of this role will be leading the research workstream of a three-year project to address the root causes of poverty, inequality and problem debt. The aim of this project is to build a broad coalition approach to expose and address the systemic issues that cause some groups, including Black and minority ethnic communities, to be disproportionately exposed to poverty and problem debt. This project will combine a series of work-streams that sit at both national and local scales, and combine national level polling and data analysis with research in local sites using participatory action research methodologies. 

Alongside this project, you will have exposure to our broad portfolio of research and policy initiatives as part of a growing and ambitious research team. You will have responsibility for ensuring our research is rigorous and of stellar quality, and ensure wider project efforts are coordinated, budgeted, and delivered to deadlines. 

Responsibilities and main duties: 

Research Management and Delivery

• Project manage multiple research programmes and partnerships, ensuring collaborative research team activity is planned and delivered effectively and milestones, budgets and reporting requirements are met.

• Use a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods to lead on delivering research aims, producing reports, analysing and interpreting patterns and trends that examine the links between race and outcomes in selected thematic areas.

• Proactively lead on providing responsive research support to emerging media or policy engagements. For example, by generating discussion papers, briefing papers, policy responses and presentations for internal needs and external events such as the All Party Parliamentary Group on Race and Community.

• Help develop our research approaches, methodologies and tools, working within and further developing shared language and conceptual frameworks to ensure that our published reports are accessible and clearly understandable to all.

Stakeholder Management Responsibilities

• Identify, pursue and develop new relationships with external partners which will allow us to expand our research output and further develop a rich understanding of race and inequalities in the UK.

• Lead work with external partners  to design and deliver research and associated activities (e.g. research proposals, launch events etc.)

• Lead on regular and strategic communication with external partners or funders to effectively report on research progress and impact.

Management, Strategic and Financial Responsibilities

• Support the Director of Research in developing the strategic direction of the Runnymede Trust’s research portfolio and research team capability.

• Lead multiple project teams and line manage and develop members of the research team.

• Responsible for end to end research project delivery from inception through to successful launch - including leading the project team to identify and resolve issues that affect quality, timescales and impact.

• Programme-level budget and resource management responsibility.

Communications and Impact Responsibilities

• Work with our communications and engagement teams to strategically plan and deliver launch and engagement activities for research projects and programmes.

• Accountable for project reporting and monitoring for funders and end-of-project impact and review documentation as well as internal evaluation of research activity and impact.

• Represent the Runnymede Trust externally to share our research findings or contribute to other external events as an ambassador for our work.

• Promote equality and diversity values, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Please note that candidates must be eligible to work in the UK in order to apply for this position. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer assistance with work visas at this moment.