About Public First, an SHGH Company

Public First is a specialist consultancy that helps businesses, charities, philanthropists and public bodies improve public policy. Based in London, we have worked in more than thirty international markets.

We are part think tank, part strategic consultancy, part research company, and part communications agency. In practice, we bring together the disciplines that make policy change happen: research and analysis, economics, political insight, strategy and communications.

Our team includes former senior civil servants, political advisers, campaigners, researchers and journalists. Many of us have worked at the most senior levels of government, parliament and political movements, and we continue to be active across the political spectrum.

Public First is part of SHGH, a group of cross-border advisory firms, guiding clients through an unprecedented period of change in policy, politics, regulation, and sustainable growth.

The Role

We are recruiting a Qualitative Research Manager to play a leading role in delivering and shaping our qualitative research team.

This is a genuinely unique role in an impactful organisation where you will have the freedom to explore your interests, and have a real impact on the direction and strategy of the team. The opportunity would suit someone who is passionate about the role opinion research plays in policy design and politics and is excited by the prospect of travelling across the UK to spend time finding out what a certain town or group of voters thinks about a policy problem. 

Opinion research is at the heart of everything we do. Public First’s research covers a huge variety of topics. In the last year alone, the qualitative team has:

• Conducted dozens of immersive research projects across the UK and abroad for clients on a range of topics from attitudes towards new infrastructure projects; access to sports; or whether Remembrance Day still holds an important role in today’s society.

• Seen our research used far and wide including by the Prime Minister in his party conference speech.

• Carried out focus groups and immersives for national newspapers such as The Times, New Statesman and Telegraph, on political issues including attitudes towards climate change and votes at 16.

We are looking for a candidate at least 2 years into their career with experience delivering interesting and engaging research, who wants the opportunity to explore their interests in an environment that rewards independent thought and innovation. No role at Public First is the same as another, and given the variety of work that we do we do not hold many preconceptions about the candidate who would be best suited for this role. If you feel like you tick some of the boxes below, do not hesitate to submit an application.

In this role you would:

• Moderate focus groups and immersive research projects, both online and in-person across the country. We expect there to be a significant amount of domestic travel in this role with the potential of international travel as we continue to grow. All our staff receive training before conducting qualitative research.

• Manage the delivery of qualitative research projects as stand alone or within wider pieces of work with limited oversight. You will be confident liaising with colleagues from other teams within Public First as well as clients.

• Lead on research design, including writing discussion guides, and conducting analysis and writing up findings. 

• Manage the organisation of qualitative research across the company, recruiting focus groups, planning immersives and supporting the administration of team processes.

• Contribute ideas and continually think about how to innovate our qualitative research offering.

• Conduct desk research on specific policies, projects or parts of the country.

Location and Salary

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We operate a hybrid working model, with a mix of home and office working. Please note, we operate a minimum expectation of two core office days per week. Our main office is based in Victoria. Many of us, including the founders, have young children and we work hard to be genuinely family-friendly. 

Salary will depend on experience. For this role we expect salary to start from £36,000 depending on candidate experience.

We also offer a profit-share programme, 5 per cent employer pension contribution, 25 days annual leave and private healthcare.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we encourage early applications.

Interviews will either be online or in person at our office in Victoria, London. 

Closing date: 18th February

Start date: ASAP, with some flexibility for the right candidate