Location
Blackfriars, London - hybrid working with a minimum of two days in the office

Hours
Full Time - 37.5 hours per week with a range of flexible working arrangements available

Salary
£50,700 - £67,800 per annum (offers expected towards the lower end of the band) plus excellent benefits including private medical insurance, dental insurance, ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more

About the Role
We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good, working to design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest challenges. Our mission 'A Healthy Life' aims to increase the number of years lived in good health for all, with a current focus on tackling obesity by improving food environments to make healthy food more available, accessible, affordable, appealing and convenient.
As a Senior Researcher, you will deliver high-quality research and project management across Nesta’s food and health initiatives. Your responsibilities will include conducting statistical analysis and modelling with large, complex datasets, developing practical research questions aligned with our mission, and robustly evaluating outcomes using Python and/or R.
You will build strong relationships with sector partners to ensure smooth delivery of trials and evaluations, oversee intervention implementation with fidelity, and manage project progress and communication. You will also contribute to disseminating research through reports, presentations, blogs, and stakeholder engagement.
Additionally, you will support the development of new projects, contribute to a strong research culture by training colleagues and peer-reviewing work, and mentor junior staff in project coordination and management.
This is a permanent role reporting to the Principal Researcher, Mission Manager or Principal Data Scientist. The role is available for job-share and offers hybrid working flexibility.

Experience
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant discipline with significant quantitative components, plus relevant experience in academia, industry or public/third sector, OR at least three years of relevant experience.
- Proven ability to conduct end-to-end statistical analyses including data wrangling, designing and implementing analysis plans, and interpreting models.
- Proficiency in programming languages, especially Python or R (Python preferred).
- Strong foundational understanding of statistics and ability to interpret and communicate findings effectively.
- Project/programme management skills including planning, risk management, stakeholder engagement, and budget tracking.
- Ability to quickly build contextual knowledge in unfamiliar topics and synthesize evidence for diverse audiences.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills tailored to different audiences.
- Willingness to work flexibly across a range of projects within the A Healthy Life team.
- Knowledge or practical experience in health.

About you
- Agile and adaptable team player able to work across multiple projects.
- Strong collaborator with excellent relationship-building skills.
- Committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.
- Enthusiastic about innovation and social impact.

Qualifications
Desirable:
- Academic research experience on obesity, food environments, nutrition, health or behavioural science.
- Experience delivering research trials from concept to dissemination, ideally in social sciences or field trials.
- Experience with Git and GitHub (or equivalent) for version control.
- Advanced data wrangling, statistics, or machine learning skills.
- Experience working in multidisciplinary teams using mixed research or innovation methods.
- Visual communication or data visualisation skills.