Researcher, Research​/Development, Research Analyst

We are recruiting three Researchers to join our Research & Development (R&D) team.

The team helps Baillie Gifford make informed decisions about complex business, market and technology opportunities. We are looking for people with complementary experience, which could include:

• Strategy, management consultancy or business advisory.
• Market intelligence, commercial research or business research.
• Technology research, innovation, emerging technology or the start-up ecosystem.

You do not need to be an expert in all three areas. What matters is your ability to frame difficult questions, conduct high-quality research insights and communicate with influence.

You will help the firm answer important questions where the opportunity, evidence or route forward is not yet clear.

Working with stakeholders and subject-matter experts, you will define the problem, establish the research approach and bring together internal knowledge with external insights from emerging market, business practice or technology trends.

You will turn that evidence into clear implications, strategic options and recommendations. Research may include:

• Exploring a new business proposition or transformation opportunity.
• Informing an operating model or organisational design review.
• Assessing market, competitor or industry developments.
• Evaluating an emerging technology, vendor or start-up.
• Identifying opportunities that are not yet visible through existing business plans.

This is a hands-on research and advisory role. You will conduct research yourself while building the relationships and external networks needed to access specialist knowledge.

• Work with stakeholders to frame ambiguous business questions and define the decision the research needs to support.
• Develop structured research plans covering hypotheses, methods, and evidence requirements.
• Conduct primary and secondary research, including interviews, market analysis, benchmarking, data analysis and expert engagement.
• Ensure that all research is grounded in evidence with explicit details of any assumptions, incomplete sources or potential bias that may impact the findings or recommendations.
• Where research involves options analysis, assess strategic fit, commercial potential, and feasibility.
• Translate complex or incomplete information into clear insights and recommendations choosing the right medium for the research outcome (presentation, written report etc).
• Build trusted relationships both internally and externally (i.e. industry peers, academia, professional networks etc).
• Create engaging internal thought leadership, including briefings, articles and blog posts that make the team’s insight accessible across the firm.
• Challenge assumptions constructively and recommend when an opportunity should proceed, stop or be reframed.
• Experimenting with emerging techniques and technology to gather evidence of how it could be relevant to our business.
• Work with colleagues across R&D and the wider organisation to complete research, seeking input from subject-matter experts as required.

We are looking for people who can bring depth in at least one relevant area, while being curious and adaptable enough to contribute across a broader research portfolio.

Your experience could have been developed in a range of settings, including:

• Strategy or management consultancy, internal consulting, corporate strategy or business advisory.
• Market or competitive intelligence, commercial research, strategic foresight or industry analysis.
• Technology research, innovation consulting, venture or start-up assessment, product strategy or emerging-technology advisory.

Whatever your background or level of experience, you will need to demonstrate the ability to:

• Structure complex or ambiguous questions and develop a clear approach to investigating them.
• Gather, evaluate and synthesise qualitative and quantitative information.
• Analyse organisations, business models, competitors or technology trends and identify the implications for a business.
• Move beyond describing information to form conclusions, identify the “so what” and communicate useful insights.
• Use data, digital tools and emerging technology, including AI, appropriately to improve the quality or efficiency of research.
• Communicate findings clearly in written and verbal formats.
• Work effectively with stakeholders and contribute constructively to collaborative problem solving.

At an earlier career level within the role of Researcher, we would expect evidence that you can…