The Nuffield Foundation is independent, and our founding purpose is to advance social well-being. We achieve this by funding and undertaking rigorous research, encouraging innovation, and supporting the use of sound evidence to improve people’s lives. We tackle pressing, complex questions. Our aim is to open up opportunities and to improve lives for individuals, families and communities, within a just and inclusive society. Our work addresses the inequalities, disadvantage, discrimination and vulnerabilities that people face, and considers the social and ethical implications of scientific and technological advances. 

We are looking for an individual with professional experience of research or analysis to support the development and management of the Nuffield Foundation's portfolio of research grants within our broad ‘Welfare’ programme, focused on research that contributes to a prosperous, fair and inclusive society. We are particularly interested in individuals with experience of research that focuses on the economy, work, the housing market and demography; and their impacts on outcomes such as national and local growth, thriving communities and families, social mobility and health outcomes. This role will also support the building of our interests around climate change and developments in science and technology.  The role leads on assessing research grant proposals (working with colleagues to determine which applications are taken forward) as well as monitoring and managing ongoing research grants, identifying opportunities and overcoming barriers to maximise the quality and impact of the research. 

You will be familiar with a broad range of research methods in the design, development and management of research and analysis projects, with deeper understanding of some methods across areas such as econometrics, survey design, modelling or qualitative research techniques. 

You will also be comfortable working flexibly and building knowledge across our other areas of work, so a breadth of interest across our other programmes of work will be advantageous.

In addition to this you will have excellent verbal and written communication skills, be highly organised, and be able to develop collaborative relationships across the organisation.   

We are committed to embedding Equity, Diversity and Inclusion considerations into all we do, including an active programme of work to make our grant-giving processes as inclusive as possible. An enthusiasm for doing this is essential, and experience of having done related work is not essential but would be desirable. 

This is an excellent opportunity to use your experience to ensure our research is relevant, rigorous, and impactful and ultimately make a difference to people’s lives.  

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

About us  

The Nuffield Foundation is an independent charitable trust with a mission to advance social well-being.  

We achieve this by funding and undertaking rigorous research, encouraging innovation, and supporting the use of sound evidence to improve people’s lives. We tackle pressing, complex questions. Our aim is to open up opportunities and to improve lives for individuals, families and communities, within a just and inclusive society. Our work addresses the inequalities, disadvantage, discrimination and vulnerabilities that people face, and considers the social and ethical implications of scientific and technological advances.   

We are the founder and co-funder of Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Nuffield Family Justice Observatory and the Ada Lovelace Institute.   

We value diversity in background, skills, perspectives and life experiences. Further information on the Foundation’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion work can be found here. 

Further information and how to apply  

The closing date for applications is 09:30am (GMT) on Wednesday 28th January 2026. Interviews will take then take place on 10th and/or 11th February 2026. 

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.  

The Nuffield Foundation and its Centres think deeply about the role of emerging technology in society. All recruitment decisions are made by a person (we do not use AI tools to rate or reject applicants). We ask applicants to respond to the questions using their own experience, thinking and opinion, writing in their own tone of voice rather than using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. The use of generative AI can result in generic responses to individual questions which stand out less to reviewers.

Please note that for vacancies which receive a high volume of applications, we may undertake an initial screening of CVs.

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 an interview to a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the essential criteria for the job. 

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

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

Our benefits package includes:   

• Genuine flexibility - we are open to requests for part-time hours, compressed working weeks, or job shares. 

• 28 days holiday per annum and all public holidays, with the option to buy or sell up to 5 days (prorated for part time staff). 

• 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.    

• Regular opportunities for learning and development – including coaching, mentoring, and dedicated reading days for personal development and reflection. 

• 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. 

• A warm and welcoming workplace culture, with active peer groups and social networks to help you connect and belong.