Associate Director

We have a fantastic opportunity for an Associate Director to join our talented and growing Public Affairs research team. We work with public bodies, charities, not-for-profit organisations, think-tanks, universities and the media to help understand the key societal issues and public service challenges of the day.

We are experts in behavioural change, communication, consultation and participation, policy and strategy, reputation, user experience and public opinion. The role is primarily quantitative based, but qualitative research skills are welcome too.

Ideally, you’ll have proven experience working in a market research agency, with clients in the public and not-for-profit sectors or have worked client-side in these areas and have a strong knowledge of these sectors.

We offer Hybrid working, which for us is a blend of working remotely and in either our London or Winchester office. It’s all about choosing the best place to be for you, your team, and the business on any given working day.

If you have a hunger to better understand people and a desire to help brands help us all, get in touch.

In this role you will get to:

• Work with a variety of clients, taking a leading role as appropriate, ensuring high levels of client satisfaction and exploring opportunities to expand the relationship.
• Generate compelling project proposals by thinking beyond the obvious.
• Efficiently and creatively plan and manage quantitative research projects.
• Manage studies, with the autonomy to leverage your research knowledge and skills with access to industry-leading research methodologies, tools, techniques, and proprietary thinking.
• Work with the Qual team on mixed methodology projects
• Collaborate with our neuro, behavioural and data science teams to integrate deeper human understanding.
• Craft engaging presentations, write commercially focused conclusions and recommendations, and present findings confidently.
• Collaborate effectively, demonstrating an inclusive and professional approach when working with colleagues, clients, and suppliers throughout projects.
• Supervise and support the development of junior researchers through regular feedback; where applicable, provide line management and conduct performance appraisals.
• Learn about the role of neuroscience and behavioural science within research and receive support in applying these techniques.

Who will you be?

• An agency or client-side experienced Research Manager looking for your next career step or a new Associate Director looking for a new challenge.
• You’ll have a comprehensive understanding and hands-on experience with various project types, research techniques and methodologies and be comfortable working in various industries.
• Naturally inquisitive and interested in understanding human behaviour and customers in a variety of industries.
• Excellent project management skills, attention to detail, and ability to meet deadlines.
• An effective communicator, both verbal and written, with solid numerical and analytical abilities.
• A creative mindset and desire to transform findings into compelling stories.
• Adaptable, self-reliant, motivated and eager to learn from new challenges.
• A problem solver: you’ll approach challenges creatively and strive to find solutions.

What’s in it for you?

Our people are key to our success. Human understanding is what we do, both in terms of understanding people but also understanding our people. Whether this is investing in training and development, improving staff benefits or funding a really great day out, people are the heart and soul of everything we do.

You’ll enjoy:

• Flexible hybrid working
• 25 Days’ Holiday pa
• Flexible Bank Holidays + Christmas closure.
• Additional Holiday purchase scheme.
• Contributory Pension Scheme.
• Life Assurance.
• Healthcare Cashback Plan (Incl. Employee Assistance Programme).
• Travel loan and Cycle to work schemes.

Need a flavour of what to expect as part of our team, visit out Instagram channel @WalnutUnlimited to see what we’re up to…

Why join Walnut Unlimited?

As a Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work for, we help brands connect with people, by understanding people. We believe that interpreting human behaviour is as much an art as it is a science. Walnut uses market research techniques to understand what we think, how we feel and, most importantly, why.

Blending neuroscience, behavioural science and data science, we uncover the truth behind our human experiences.

We value:

Respect – Respect for self, for each other and the work that we do.

Spark – Demonstrate spark-y, charismatic, positive & energetic behaviour.

Courage – Brave and bold. Prepared to stretch self and boundaries.

Collaboration – Partnership with colleagues, suppliers and clients to achieve the best outcome.

Evolution – Evolve with the times, market trends, staff, clients and consumers.

Integrity – Always doing what’s best for the project, honest and transparent.

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community. All candidates will be considered equally, however, unfortunately we are unable to offer sponsorship.

As an equal opportunities workplace, we have a commitment to ensuring equal employment opportunity regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, socio-economic status, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, neuro divergence, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. Whether you’re just getting your foot in the door, or you are an experienced employee whose life circumstances are shifting, we are committed to creating a workplace that reflects the world we want to live in and are therefore flexible to accommodate each individual's needs as best as we can.

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