Graduate Research Executive - Social Research Institute (Edinburgh)
Location- Edinburgh, Scotland
Salary- £25,000 plus benefits
About Us
Ipsos Scotland is the leader in social research in Scotland and is part of Ipsos Public Affairs UK. We specialise in research and evaluation for the public, private and third sectors.
Our Edinburgh team are experts in public policy research, and our research helps clients make better, evidence-based decisions. We understand the distinct needs of our Scottish clients and bring the resources and reach of an international company.
Our clients include the Scottish Government and organisations such as Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise, Glasgow City Council and universities across Scotland, to name a few. Our projects range from small-scale, qualitative solutions, to long term, large-scale surveys, such as the Scottish Household Survey, and complex evaluations of Scottish policy interventions, such as the Review of the Scottish Welfare Fund. Other specialisms include:
- Deliberative public engagement
- Juries and citizens assemblies
- Campaign testing and tracking
- Public opinion polling
Some of the research questions we have answered across 2022 and into 2023 include:
- What were the experiences of the Scottish vaccination programme for Covid-19 and flu among people in lower-uptake groups in Scotland, and how can the vaccination programme be as accessible as possible in future?
- How is the cost of living crisis impacting businesses in the Highlands and Islands?
- What have the impacts of Covid-19 been on wellbeing in Scotland?
- How do the Scottish public view Scotland’s political leaders and to what extent do they trust different political parties?
- What is the publics understanding of the current and future risks and opportunities posed by a changing climate, and what should future public and community engagement on climate adaptation focus on?
The Role
As a Graduate Research Executive, you’ll be encouraged to take responsibility from the outset - thrown straight into working on live projects. You will gain exposure to a variety of policy areas and research approaches, whilst working alongside industry experts. In this role, you will:
- Work with both quantitative and qualitative data, supporting large and complex research projects from inception and design through to data delivery and reporting
- Provide quality assurance and uphold data integrity and accuracy in all stages of the project including questionnaire scripts, fieldwork administration and reporting
- Learn and employ key project management skills - you’ll see the end to end project life cycle including taking client briefs, working through timelines and costings, research design (for example questionnaire and topic guide development), quality control, and liaising with our fieldwork specialists
- Focus on what the narrative of our research is, sharing your findings with the client and impacting policy development with a powerful and insights-led story
- Help us think about how we can deliver our conclusions and recommendations in an engaging and meaningful way
About You
- A natural curiosity about the world we live in and human behaviour
- A passion for public policy
- The ability to work creatively and think commercially
- Exceptional attention to detail and a meticulous approach to analysing data
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate clearly and persuasively
- Exceptional organisational skills as well as the ability to multi-task and work towards multiple deadlines
- The ability to work and think logically
- Effective listening - you ask good questions and you welcome constructive feedback, suggestions and new ideas.
- You thrive in a fast-paced environment and you pride yourself on your ability to prioritise work, deal with multiple demands at the same time and are flexible when requirements change.
- Experience with MS Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
Our Offer
Our Generation Ipsos Graduate programme provides a comprehensive foundation in research and how it’s practically applied in a commercial environment. You’ll be trained in client management, project management and the nitty-gritty of research including methodologies, sampling, weighting and ethics. You’ll learn through real life, hands-on experience, webinars, seminars and specialist workshops. We’ll provide you with dedicated training designed to achieve the industry recognised Market Research Society (MRS) Advanced Certificate accreditation. Networking is a key skill so we have Early Careers events with other Graduates, Placement Students and Interns across the company.
Having a flexible working culture where we support our colleagues and celebrate our successes is important to us. We invest our time in you and you’ll benefit from working alongside our expert teams. Your manager will help you set goals to achieve your personal objectives throughout the year and help you exceed these.
And the fun stuff…
- 25 days’ holiday which increases over time to 30 days, plus an extra day for your birthday
- 4pm finish on a Friday
- Annual summer and All Staff events
- Team Christmas parties
- A huge variety of benefits e.g. pension contributions, income protection, winter flu jabs, eye care vouchers, online and high street discounts
HOW TO APPLY:
To apply, please follow the link below. From here you will be taken to our Pinpoint website where you can fill out our application form. Those who are successful at this stage will be progressed to a Gamified Test and a Microsoft Teams interview.
https://ipsos.pinpointhq.com/postings/025657af-8187-47a8-bb0f-d4a3007c423d
Applications will close 20th April 2023, however, we may close the advert sooner if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible!
We are committed to equality, treating people fairly, promoting a positive and inclusive working environment and ensuring we have diversity of people and views. We 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. We understand the importance of commitments you may have outside of work and we consider all flexible working applications - please highlight what you are looking for when you make your application.