Research Manager

Overview

Employment type: Full time (UK based role)

Hours of work: Mon - Fri, 9am to 5.30pm

Place of work: Birmingham / remote

M
· E·L Research is a social research agency with expertise in research, evaluation and behavioural insights. With 40 years of experience in working for the UK’s public services, we have a strong focus on what we want to achieve as a business.

We believe that all businesses have a duty to be socially responsible to reinvest in society, be active contributors to the local community, and minimise environmental impacts. We push for social value in why we work, how we work and who we work with.

Our history and journey

Formed in 1985, M
· E·L Research has grown to a core in-house team of over 30 research and evaluation staff, plus many more telephone interviewers and external CAPI interviewers and support staff. We are on an exciting growth journey, expanding our research and insights capabilities, enhancing our evaluation services, and embedding data visualisation tools alongside recognised quality accreditations. Joining M
· E·L Research means becoming part of a confident and forward-looking company, ambitious about the future and committed to broadening the expertise and solutions we offer our clients. At the heart of everything we do is our social purpose: to make a meaningful and lasting difference to society, to the communities we serve, and to our own people.

Full details on what it is like to work for M
· E·L Research can be found here.

Benefits

• Annual pay reviews and cost-of-living pay increases (subject to company performance).
• Flexible working arrangements based on employee needs (family commitments/childcare). We are a family-oriented business and encourage flexible hours and homeworking.
• Employer pension contributions starting from 4% up to 8% (subject to auto-enrolment requirements).
• Paid annual leave of 33 days per year, including bank holidays (pro-rated for part-time hours), and your birthday.
• Life assurance policy at 3x basic annual salary.
• Health cash plan and employee benefits scheme with retail discounts.
• Eligibility for annual company profit and performance bonus dependent on company performance.

Post
:
Research Manager

Job Location
:
Remote (with occasional requirement to come into the Birmingham office)

Reporting to
:
Associate Director / Research Director

Salary Range
: £34,000-£40,000 (depending on experience/location, 37.5 hours per week) plus potential profit bonus and other benefits.

We are looking for someone who combines excellent research expertise with strong consultancy skills. You will enjoy working directly with clients, solving problems, and generating and communicating insight.

Requirements

• Applicants must be UK residents with the right to work in the UK.
• At least five years’ experience in quantitative market or social research.
• Experience managing quantitative research projects from design through to reporting.
• Strong understanding of telephone, online and face-to-face research methodologies.
• Excellent understanding of sampling, weighting and statistical quality.
• Experience presenting findings to senior clients.
• Excellent written communication and report writing skills.
• Comfort with managing multiple concurrent projects.
• Experience in CX research, resident satisfaction or social housing research, public sector research, or employee research.
• Key Driver Analysis;
  Power BI or Tableau;
  Forsta platforms; SQL or advanced Excel.
• Experience working with CRM or customer feedback platforms.

Personal Qualities

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Naturally curious
• Collaborative and strategic in thinking
• Accounts for ownership of projects
• Confident with clients; communicates clearly and professionally
• Innovative and committed to continuous improvement
• Passionate about improving public services through research
• Enjoys mentoring and supporting colleagues

What you’ll bring to M
· E·L Research

You will help evolve our quantitative research offer by combining methodological excellence with digital innovation. Whether delivering large-scale CX programs, resident satisfaction tracking, public consultations, or complex mixed-method studies, you will ensure clients receive evidence they can trust—and…