Research Director - Social Surveys

Research Director - Social Surveys

Application Deadline: 7 November 2025

Department: Social Surveys

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: London, UK

Compensation: £45,000 - £55,000 / year

Description:

Role: Research Director
Location: London (Hybrid Working)
Salary: £45,000-£55,000
Department: Social Surveys - Centre for Social Survey Transformation
Contract: Permanent

This role requires contributing to new business generation, identifying new business opportunities and leading on research proposals, grant applications and costings.

Managing and quality assuring end to end delivery of complex quantitative research projects including sampling strategies, questionnaire design, fieldwork design and data delivery and reporting to budget and timetable.

Having an advanced knowledge of appropriate research methods and act as an expert reference point for the project team, across NatCen and externally when required.

Supporting the leadership of the team with line management responsibility.

Playing an active role in the wider life of NatCen, contributing to its success and development and maintaining a visible presence in external networks.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct individual research studies including large scale projects to time and budget.
• Manage project teams to deliver first class research to meet client needs.
• Provide advice, guidance and quality assurance for every aspect of the design, implementation, analysis and writing up of a study.
• Lead on proposals and applications for funding.
• Contribute to the development and mentoring of junior staff.
• Engage in impact activities to promote NatCen's work externally.
• Contribute to teaching research methods internally and/or externally.
• Maintain and promote high ethical and information security standards.

To perform any other reasonable duties that NatCen may require that are consistent with the broad nature of the job.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Essential:

• Undergraduate degree.
• Advanced skills in quantitative research methods.
• Experience of delivering high quality research studies, helping to ensure their delivery to time and budget.
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) and the ability to communicate clearly, in different styles and for different audiences.
• Excellent project management (including budget management) and team working skills.
• Thorough understanding of the relationship between research, policy and practice, and of broader relevant developments in particular policy areas and research methods.
• Experience in leading proposals for complex survey research projects.
• Commitment to continuous improvement.

Desirable:

• Postgraduate degree in social research.
• Experience of developing grant funding applications.

Benefits

As well as a competitive salary, an excellent working environment (including a home/office hybrid working environment), you will be working for the largest independent social research organisation in the UK. We are proud of the benefits we offer our employees which include:

• 25 days holiday (plus 8 bank holidays) and flexible working
• Generous company pension scheme
• Life insurance and health cash plan
• Cycle to Work scheme and season ticket loan
• Career development, professional subscriptions support and mentoring support from industry leading experts.

We are a Disability Confident employer. If you have a disability and wish to apply for this role, please let us know in the application questions below. If you have any questions or need adjustments at any stage of our recruitment process, feel free to contact us on

We reserve the right to close this advert before the closing date due to a high volume of applications so please apply as soon as possible