Associate Research Director - Quantitative (Large Scale Multi-Country Studies)

Associate Research Director - Quantitative (Large scale international programmes)

Do you have extensive experience of leading complex multi-country large-scale international research programmes from design, methodology, sampling approaches, and questionnaire development through to reporting? 

We are recruiting an Associate Director for our International Social Research (ISR) team to lead the delivery and growth of high-profile international quantitative research.

What is in it for you?

This is a fantastic opportunity for an associate director to:

• Work with diverse portfolio of high-profile international clients across the UK, Europe and globally, from UN and EU agencies to global health organisations, foundations and multilateral development banks.
• Address some of the world’s most important social, health and development challenges, including human rights, equality and migration; health and welfare; and education, employment and economic development.
• Work with multidisciplinary teams across Ipsos offices worldwide to deliver complex international research programmes that inform policy, strategy and decision-making.

We have offices in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. We welcome applications from candidates that can be based from one of these offices and open to travel for internal and client meetings.

The Role…

These are the types of things you can expect to be doing during your day to day, although as Ipsos is a dynamic organisation, this may vary as different opportunities arise: 

• Leading large-scale international research programmes from design, methodology, sampling approaches, and questionnaire development through to reporting and dissemination.
• Directing complex multi-country studies involving multiple stakeholders, suppliers, Ipsos teams and delivery partners.
• Developing proposals to help us win exciting new work, and identifying opportunities to develop existing client relationships, win new work and support the growth of the team.
• Building and maintaining strong client relationships, acting as a trusted adviser and senior point of contact.
• Managing project teams, budgets, timelines, risks and quality assurance processes.
• Overseeing survey implementation and fieldwork delivery across a range of methodologies, including online, telephone and mixed-mode approaches.
• Leading the production of high-quality reports, presentations and client deliverables.
• Supporting the continued development of ISR's methodological expertise, approaches and offer.
• Coaching, supporting and developing colleagues, contributing to a collaborative and high-performing team culture.
• Using AI tools and agents to undertake tasks, applying critical judgement to produce high quality outputs efficiently.

Essential Skills:

• Significant experience managing complex surveys, overseeing all stages of the research process, including large-scale, multi-country studies for public, private and/or international sector clients, working with multi-disciplinary teams  .

• Strong methodological expertise in survey research and evidence generation.

• Strong client management skills and experience building trusted client relationships.

• Excellent communication skills, including writing high-quality reports and delivering presentations to senior audiences.

• Demonstrable experience writing and leading successful proposals.

• Experience identifying opportunities for business growth and supporting client development activities.

Desirable skills:

• Experience working with international organisations, government departments, regulators, NGOs, foundations or European institutions.

• Experience delivering business-to-business (B2B) research.

• Knowledge of sampling methodologies and survey sample design.

• Experience of large-scale international survey programmes using online, telephone or mixed-mode approaches.

• Knowledge of one or more ISR policy areas, including migration, rights and equality, violence against women and children, health economic development, employment and skills, climate and sustainability, innovation or public services.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support you as an individual. Our standard benefits include 25 days annual leave, pension contribution, income protection and life assurance. In addition, there are a range health & wellbeing, financial benefits and professional development opportunities.

We have a hybrid approach to work and ask people to be in the office or with clients for 3 days per week. We appreciate you may have commitments outside of work and will consider flexible working applications - please highlight what you are looking for when you make your application.

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 are proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme, certified as a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. We provide an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Your application will be reviewed by someone from our Talent Team who will be in touch either way to let you know the outcome.

Ready to have an impact? Apply now!

About UsIpsos is one of the world’s largest research companies and currently the only one primarily managed by researchers, ranking as a #1 full-service research organization for four consecutive years. With over 75 different data-driven solutions, and presence in 90 markets, Ipsos brings together research, implementation, methodological, and subject-matter experts from around the world, combining thematic and technical experts to deliver top-quality research and insights. Simply speaking, we help the biggest companies solve some of their biggest problems, serving more than 5000 clients across the globe by providing research, data, and insights on their target markets. And we are proud of our continuous efforts in making Ipsos the best place to work! About the Team

The Public Affairs Service Line is the world leader in Social and Opinion Research.  We work with clients on political and public opinion polling, citizen and stakeholder management, social policy improvement, sustainable development strategy and identifying societal trends and perceptions across several sectors.  We assess how government and public affairs policies as well as societal trends and views impact our client’s brand/products/markets.