UK Associate Director – Research and Insights

About More in Common

More in Common is a research agency working across the US, UK, Germany, France, and Poland to tackle polarisation and division. More in Common leads and supports initiatives to build more united, inclusive, and resilient societies. Our mission is to understand the forces driving us apart, help societies find common ground and bring people together to tackle shared challenges.

In the UK, our work is best described as being part think tank, part consultancy, and part incubator. In 2020, we built a ground-breaking segmentation of the British public. We use this unique lens and our quantitative and qualitative research to understand what the public think on the big challenges facing British society today and – crucially - why they think it.

We use our insights to help leaders in government, the media, business, and civil society to develop better strategies and communications – particularly in reaching disengaged communities far from the Westminster bubble – and to better navigate tricky and divisive issues.

Over the last year, we’ve published a series of reports on some of the most complex and discussed subjects facing British society. We’ve conducted quantitative and qualitative research on the cost-of-living crisis, explored the public’s starting points on the trans and gender identity debate and their expectations for the levelling up agenda, assessed the threat of a populist resurgence on the right, explored how the police can better meet public expectations on tackling low-level crime and outlined how we can navigate any backlash on net zero during the cost-of-living crisis.

In addition to our thought leadership work, we’ve been developing our strategy and communications consultancy for a range of partners. We’ve worked with the BBC on the roll-out of their new audience map, the Department for Levelling Up and the refugee sector on the design and delivery of the Homes for Ukraine programmes, Friends of the Earth on the strategy for their Warm Homes campaign, the Campaign for Better Transport on their Pay-as-you-drive campaign, and many others.

Over the next 12 months, More in Common has a range of exciting projects in the pipeline, including:

• Helping businesses and civil society organisations prepare campaigns, messaging and policy proposals ahead of the next general election;
• Refining and sharpening our segmentation practices across the five countries we work in;
• Making diversity and inclusion interventions more evidence-based to resonate effectively with socially conservative groups;
• Continuing our work on the Homes for Ukraine scheme, working to ensure similar support for other groups such as Afghan refugees and exploring the lessons for making community sponsorship work;
• Exploring new ways of bridging the divide between elite and public attitudes, through new approaches to measuring and tracking public opinion.

 

Diversity + Equality + Inclusion

The task ahead of us is daunting but we believe we have a better chance at success if our team reflects a broad range of social and cultural backgrounds, beliefs, political persuasions and life experiences. We value diversity across many dimensions, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, education, age, religious belief, military service, geography, and political orientation.

 

About this role

More in Common is seeking to hire a full-time Associate Director on a permanent basis as we grow our team and advance our mission of building a more united and inclusive UK, where all people feel respected and better understood, and share a sense of belonging.

The Associate Director will serve as a key member of the team, deputising for the UK Director where appropriate both internally and externally, and contributing to leading and developing More in Common’s research function in the UK.

The postholder will line manage some members of the UK team and will be responsible for day-to-day operations, coordinating the team (who work across multiple long-term and sprint projects at any given time) and working closely with the UK Director to set the strategic direction of our UK work and manage our outputs and impact.

This role will work primarily in the UK and will be based in our UK office; however, the postholder will also work proactively and collaboratively as part of our global research community, which works to innovate and ensure best practice in all the countries in which More in Common works. This will involve occasional engagement in comparative cross-country projects.   

Research

• Initiate and lead a range of quantitative and qualitative research projects for both More in Common’s own thought leadership work and our client/partner work.
• Manage the UK research team, helping guide and structure team member’s research/analysis as well as formal management of associates as necessary.
• Oversee analysis, interpretation, and manipulation of quantitative data, including our own proprietary data and secondary data sources.
• Manage and expand More in Common’s polling and data analysis function, including research on the UK’s political landscape and the changing values and voting patterns of the public.
• Oversee relationships with external research vendors, including panel providers and recruiters.
• Ensure our research insights are shared across More in Common globally, collaborate with the Global Research Director to encourage a culture of Research best practice.
• Co-author public-facing research reports for More in Common and reports and briefings for clients and partners.

Partnership, Client Management and Fundraising

• Identify and recruit new partners, clients, and opportunities across various sectors from business to civil society to the public sector.
• Manage the production of proposals and pitches to potential new clients and partners.
• Lead on the identification of new funding opportunities, the writing of fundraising bids to trusts and foundations and managing the delivery of grant projects.
• Deliver and develop trainings and briefings for clients and partners, drawing on insights from More in Common’s research.
• Develop training and toolkits that apply MIC insights to challenges facing UK leaders and organisations.
• Oversee the production of timely and high-quality outputs and deliverables as agreed with clients and partners.

Communications/Dissemination

• Brief policy makers, officials and key partners on our research and insights.
• Champion a culture of best practice in written communication of our outputs, contributing to, overseeing, and editing the output of research analysts and associates.
• Represent More in Common externally in a range of different settings from panel events, keynote speeches and partner workshops.
• Act as a spokesperson for More in Common in print, online and broadcast media.
• Draft comment and opinion pieces that communicate More in Common’s work in a clear and persuasive manner.

 

Qualifications and Experience

We look for great people before we look for specific qualifications and experience. However, the following will be an asset for this role:

• A strong strategic mindset that can spot opportunities for influence and impact.
• Exceptional research and analysis skills
• The ability to support others to conduct and communicate high quality research and analysis, alongside an appetite to be regularly and directly engaged in ‘hands on’ research .
• Experience of working with qualitative and quantitative data to tell powerful stories that persuade and engage others.
• Knowledge of how to conduct rigorous opinion polling, from fieldwork to question design to analysis and interpretation.
• Credibility to deliver research briefings to senior leaders in business, civil society, and politics.
• An ability to communicate research and insights well in both presentations and in the media.
• A commitment to research best practice and supporting those in the early stages of their career to conduct and communicate research well.
• An appreciation of how fundraising works in a think-tank/consultancy environment and the appetite and ability to secure new partnership and funding opportunities.
• A deep understanding of the UK political and media landscape.
• Ability to work at pace, managing workloads that include long-term planning and multi-year projects as well as rapid polling and reaction to evolving current affairs.

 

Location

• Post-holder will be expected to work Monday-Thursday in our London office.

 

Compensation

• Competitive salary (between £63,000 and £75,000) and excellent benefits along with generous leave policy.
• Personal learning and growth budget

 

Indicative timeline:

• Application deadline: 12:01 AM (UK time), 20^th November 2023
• Initial conversation with UK Director: 24^th November (Zoom)
• Written Exercise: 24^th-27^th November
• Meeting with UK Team: 27^th November (Zoom)
• Final Panel Interview: 30^th November (in person at our London office):

We expect to take up references before making an offer of employment. We anticipate making an offer to the successful candidate by early December 2023.

As outlined above, More in Common strongly encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply for this position. Applicants must be eligible to work in the UK without work permit and/or visa sponsorship from More in Common.