We are recruiting for a Research Assistant

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet.

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation.

Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more at nesta.org.uk.

The role

This role involves the crucial administration and management of data collection for the Family Hubs Pregnancy Grant and the Mini Wonders: supporting parenting and childhood development through innovative museum partnerships projects. You will be responsible for ensuring the secure handling of participant data, managing survey, interview and observation invitations and reminders, and facilitating the distribution of gift vouchers upon survey and interview completion. These tasks will require some level of stakeholder management, including regular communication with evaluation team members, staff and participating families in museums. Your efforts will directly contribute to the accurate evaluation of both projects’ impact by ensuring valid and reliable data collection.

About A Fairer Start

We want every child to have the fairest possible start in life, so they can thrive and realise their potential. Nesta’s Fairer Start Mission is on a 10-year endeavour to close the gap in school readiness between those growing up in poverty and the national average across the UK.

To achieve this, we focus our work on strengthening the support that disadvantaged families receive to improve the home learning environment, cope with financial pressures and/or access high-quality formal childcare. Leveraging Nesta’s multiple capabilities, we use a multi-pronged approach to maximise the chances that change happens.

For example, we work with families and frontline partners to design and deliver interventions to support the home learning environment, and evaluate their effectiveness at scale; we study the impacts of existing policies to make policy recommendations; we invest in ventures to create social impact through business; we build coalitions and campaigns to shift attitudes and norms. Whatever the approach we take, we strive to be evidence-led and impact-focused, and to measure the impact of our activities on our mission goal.

How will a Research Assistant contribute to Nesta’s success?

• Securely manage and process participant data received from external partners.
• Generate and distribute research invitation links via email and SMS to eligible participants.
• Administer timely survey and interview reminders to maximise response rates.
• Oversee the accurate and timely distribution of gift vouchers to survey and interview completers.
• Monitor survey responses, identify, and flag any data integrity issues or anomalies.
• Manage interview data, including checking transcripts are accurate, and coding responses.
• Collaborate closely with the project team to ensure seamless survey and interview operations and contribute to the successful evaluation of the project.
• Communicate with partners about updates relating to logistics of various evaluation activities.
• Contributing to other team activities as required.

The person

Essential skills and knowledge

• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information with a high degree of responsibility and trustworthiness.
• Strong organisational skills and the capacity to manage multiple tasks and deadlines independently.
• Proficiency in using spreadsheet software (e.g., Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets) for data management and tracking.
• Excellent attention to detail to ensure accuracy in data entry, survey administration, and voucher distribution.
• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, for clear interaction with team members, partners and potentially participants.
• A proactive approach to problem-solving and the ability to identify and flag potential issues efficiently.
• An interest in social impact projects and a motivation to contribute to the mission of a fairer start for children.

Preferred skills and knowledge

• Familiarity with online survey platforms (e.g., Alchemer, Qualtrics).
• Familiarity with qualitative research data collection best practice
• Experience of, or interest in learning, qualitative data analysis methods. Understanding of data privacy principles and secure data handling practices (e.g., GDPR, data anonymisation).

What we offer

Salary: Circa £14,200.00 for 0.5 FTE, plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more

Location: This role is based in London, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office

Term: Fixed term 12 months contract

Hours: This is a part-time role for 2.5 days per week (18.75 hours per week). Aside from attending team meetings, the work can be done flexibly. We offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do.

Reports to: Principal Researcher

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your application before 08.00am Monday 28th July 2025.

Interviews will take place on w/c 4th August 2025.

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results.

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements.

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.