Job Description
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Job Description
The Role...
The Energy and Environment team is at the heart of Ipsos' Public Affairs policy offering. The team has grown rapidly over the last 3 years and covers one of the most innovative and fast-moving policy areas within the UK and internationally. We respond to the needs of the UK government and its agencies to help design, deliver and evaluate policies in areas critical to the transition to a net zero and climate resilient economy and society. Some of the principal themes we cover are: decarbonisation, clean growth, low carbon innovation and entrepreneurship, circular economy, agricultural transition, climate risk awareness, climate change adaptation, behaviour change and public attitudes.
We are looking for a Research Director with substantial research experience to join us and help drive our growth in these key areas.
What will I be doing?
This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic leader and experienced researcher. You will direct high profile studies which influence and inform communications and decision-making within Government and the third sector. You will also develop key client accounts and grow our business.
We are looking for a highly capable methods expert specialised in either quantitative or mixed method research skills, with experience in business development and managing client accounts. Experience of working in energy and environment policy is desirable but not essential.
The main responsibilities will comprise:
- Taking responsibility and accountability for overall delivery and quality of projects (including large and complex multi-year projects).
- Designing methods which stand up to scrutiny, mitigating limitations as much as possible and providing clients with quality and innovation.
- Overseeing all aspects of the project lifecycle, from inception to design of questionnaires and sample strategies, to leading analysis plans to deliver final data and reporting outputs.
- Signing-off deliverables (e.g. questionnaires, presentations and reports) which meet clients' and stakeholders' objectives, adopting creative approaches where relevant.
- Leading proposals and revenue generation, including making pricing recommendations.
- Developing a strong understanding of our clients' needs and helping to grow our business by taking a proactive approach to developing knowledge of the client's needs. This might include taking on specific client account leadership roles.
- Communicating effectively with clients, internal and external suppliers, and internal colleagues both in writing and verbally.
- Supporting and supervising team members to deliver work and develop their own communication style whilst ensuring professionalism and outcomes which are in client and Ipsos's long-term interests.
- Effectively managing relationships with suppliers and internal operations colleagues to ensure the objectives of the research are met on time and to budget.
- Being accountable for the financial performance and overall quality of projects.
- Contributing to the successful working of the Energy and Environment team and its positive, supportive environment where people are encouraged to challenge themselves to develop their skills.
- Line management of staff.
What do I need to bring with me?
This role will suit candidates who are experienced leaders and enjoy working closely with clients, often delivering at a fast pace. We welcome interest from people with either a quantitative and/or mixed methods background.
We are looking for someone with:
- Expert quantitative and mixed method research skills. This includes the ability to develop high-quality research materials answering client objectives, and to interrogate quantitative and/or qualitative data to find insights and narratives
- Solid commercial skills
- Experience of writing and costing winning proposals.
- Desire to work closely with clients to maintain and grow our contracts.
- Excellent client handling and supplier negotiation skill
- Ability to lead multiple projects at any one time, to deliver quality and profitable work.
- Confident and clear written and verbal communication skills, including experience of preparing presentations and written reports with a high level of accurate use of English.
- Ability to support other members of the team to develop their research and project management skills.
- Line management experience.
- An interest and enthusiasm for energy and environment policy although experience in this area is not essential.
What is in it for me?
Ipsos UK offer an attractive basic salary and a rewards package including 25 days annual leave, a pension scheme and a great range of flexible benefits to suit your personal needs. For roles at Research Manager level and above we also offer private healthcare.
In addition to this we have a fantastic Learning & Development offer delivered through a mix of face to face, online or on-demand; you can read more by clicking here.
We realise you may have commitments outside of work and will consider flexible working applications - please highlight what you are looking for when you make your application.
Ipsos is committed to equality, treating people fairly, promoting a positive and inclusive working environment and ensuring we have diversity of people and views. We also recognise that this is important for our business success - a more diverse workforce will enable us to better reflect and understand the world we research and ultimately deliver better research and insight to our clients.
About Us
Ipsos is one of the world's largest research companies and currently the only one primarily managed by researchers, ranking as a #1 full-service research organization for four consecutive years. With over 75 different data-driven solutions, and presence in 90 markets, Ipsos brings together research, implementation, methodological, and subject-matter experts from around the world, combining thematic and technical experts to deliver top-quality research and insights. Simply speaking, we help the biggest companies solve some of their biggest problems, serving more than 5000 clients across the globe by providing research, data, and insights on their target markets. And we're proud to share we've received our Great Place to Work Certification in 2022 & 2023!
About the Team
The Public Affairs Service Line is the world leader in Social and Opinion Research. We work with clients on political and public opinion polling, citizen and stakeholder management, social policy improvement, sustainable development strategy and identifying societal trends and perceptions across several sectors. We assess how government and public affairs policies as well as societal trends and views impact our client's brand/products/markets.