Research Assistant – Job Description 

Position title: 

• 1 x Research Assistant, Political Audiences Team 
• 1 x Research Assistant, Public Audiences Team 

Place of work: Flexible – home-working, hybrid, or office based. The role will involve a minimum of once-a-month travel to nfpResearch’s office in Shoreditch, London for team meetings. You may also be expected to work in-office on additional days throughout the year for training, events or client meetings. 

Type: Fixed term, for 9 months

Hours: Full-time (35 hours a week). nfpResearch operates a 100-90-100 working policy. You will receive 100% of the listed renumeration for working 90% of required hours, provided 100% of your workload is met. This means you can flexibly choose to take a half-day every week, or a full day off every two weeks.

Remuneration: £25,210 p.a. pro rata 

Start date: ASAP  

nfpResearch delivers research, insights and expertise to help non-profits understand their audiences and make informed strategic decisions. We are a small, dynamic, values-driven research company that works exclusively for the non-profit sector, looking for two Research Assistants to join our hard-working team.

We work hard to create and nurture a positive working culture. We believe happy staff deliver great work for clients. That is why we focus on development and training on all role related topics, opportunities for colleagues to progress in their careers, and a 4.5 day week that enables us all to find the right work-life balance. The company meets once a month in person for a knowledge sharing meeting, where we catch up on anything from recent projects to new methodologies. After this meeting we have a social. 

The charities we work with often give us excellent feedback and want to work with us again. We encourage feedback with staff and clients, and we act when we could have done better. To work at nfpResearch you have to be passionate about helping charities be the best they can be – this is what drives us. Working at nfpResearch will build your knowledge and understanding of the charity sectors in the UK, Ireland, Canada & the USA. We have already worked with over 200 charities of all sizes, sectors and regions.

The role 

As a Research Assistant, you will provide support to the Political Audiences or Public Audiences team, working on our regular tracking research in the UK, Ireland & Canada, as well as on bespoke projects. In practice, this means working on a wide variety of topics and using many different research methodologies to help charities make better decisions. Key topics we cover in our research and outputs include brand, campaigns, communications, fundraising, reputation and trust. 

Many charities subscribe to our regular tracking research, which primarily focuses on research with the general public and politicians. Some charities need more bespoke research, which would involve the team working closely with clients to help understand their needs and to design research projects to meet their objectives. This type of work could include: online surveys to measure people’s attitudes on social issues to influence the development of a campaign; interviews with service users to explore the impact of their services; focus groups to test understanding of a charity’s brand and communication; or supporter satisfaction surveys to understand the motivations and retention of supporters. 

Description of responsibilities and opportunities: 

• Opportunities to work on research and inform decision making for a wide range of charities in the UK, Ireland and Canada 

• The Political Audiences Team Research Assistant will primarily work on our nfpPolitics Westminster research, our devolved Parliamentary and Assembly research, and our research with journalists

• The Public Audiences Team Research Assistant role will primarily be working on our nfpPublic research with the general public in the UK, Ireland and Canada. 

• Supporting on bespoke projects, ranging from assisting with qualitative projects such as focus groups / interviews or quantitative projects by supporting with research set up and data analysis 

• Supporting the research team on tasks such as preparing client presentations, compiling reports, proofreading and data entry 

• Attending debriefs and pitch meetings with charities 

• Responding to client requests, including additional data analysis 

• Supporting on business development and marketing, e.g. finding charities in new areas to inform about our work

• Provide core administrative support for the team and across the company. Assisting with tasks such as event preparation, admin and answering calls

   

Who we are looking for:  

These posts would be ideally suited to a graduate who wants to gain knowledge and experience in market research and has a keen interest in the not-for-profit sector. The successful candidates could have skills and experience in a variety of different areas. Some of the things we like to see in our staff: 

Essential: 

• Previous research experience, whether qualitative or quantitative 
• Strong numerical skills, data literacy and experience of statistical analysis 
• Enthusiasm and passion for working with charities 
• Strong oral and written communication skills 
• Good time management and organisational skills 
• Self-motivated, hardworking and proactive
• Ability to work collaboratively and flexibly as part of a team 
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office, Excel and especially PowerPoint 

Desirable:

• Market research experience
• Experience of charities and not for profits, such as volunteering or experience of the public or voluntary sector
• An interest in the policy and campaigning work of charities (particularly for the Political Audiences Team role)
• Experience of support / administration roles 

What nfpResearch delivers to you: 

• A varied and interesting role in the UK’s leading research consultancy working exclusively in the not-for-profit sector
• The opportunity to gain considerable insight into different charity sectors 
• The chance to be an integral part of a small but thriving, dynamic company 

• 19 days paid holiday over the 9 months plus bank holidays. In addition, the office is closed between Christmas and New Year

• A 9-month training programme to equip you with the skills and experience to become a market researcher 

• A 360 mid-term appraisal where you’ll receive feedback from all colleagues in the company

How to apply: 

Please send a 1-page cover letter and your CV (no more than two pages) to Berni White at work@nfpresearch.com. Your cover letter is your opportunity to tell us why you think you are right for the role and why you would be a valuable asset to nfpResearch. We are particularly interested in reading about your research skills and your experience of the charity sector. 

We will consider all applications for both of the roles advertised, but feel free to state in your cover letter if you have a preference for the role with the Political Audiences Team or the Public Audiences Team. 

At nfpResearch we run a blind recruitment process, where we anonymise each application once it is submitted. Please submit your application as a single document with your full name as the document title. Please state where you saw this job advertised. Please write ‘Research Assistant application’ in the email subject line. 

Please note the deadline is midday, Monday 6^th January 2025 and interviews will take place in the week commencing 20^th January 2025.  

Please note, at the time of starting employment, the successful candidate must have permission to work in the UK. 

No agencies please.