Principal Researcher

We are hiring a Principal Researcher - A Fairer Start

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.

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

We want every child to have the fairest possible start in life, so they can thrive and realise their potential. Nesta's A Fairer Start Mission is on a 10-year endeavour to ensure that from 2030 every child has the same chance of developing to their full potential in the early years.

We will work towards this goal by:

• supporting the development of a well-functioning ecosystem of effective parenting interventions
• designing, testing and scaling ways improve financial support for families
• identifying ways to improve the quality of early childhood education and care
• optimising the delivery of integrated family support
• advocating for a more impactful, sustained and efficient early years funding system.

As a Principal Researcher, you will:

• Work alongside a talented team of 30 with an unusual blend of skills - ranging from data analytics and behavioural science to design and communications
• Play a key role in undertaking high-quality and innovative research to inform our approach to reducing early childhood inequalities, including helping to shape government policy
• Manage some projects, and on others, be the methodological lead for work involving complex quantitative analysis, especially those using causal inference, and/or cost-benefit analysis
• Make judgements on the trade-off between robustness and pace in our research activities, on a case-by-case basis
• Supervise and mentor junior researchers/analysts and quality assure their work
• Support the development of the team’s subject and methodological expertise
• Disseminate research findings to relevant stakeholders, including government and other prominent organisations working on the early years
• Contribute to the mission’s strategic thinking through your knowledge of the evidence base and analysis of existing datasets
• Have opportunities to collaborate with and learn from other researchers in the team, as well as others with research, data science, behavioural science and design expertise across other teams at Nesta
• Model a caring, high challenge, high support culture in our team

You will report to one of the members of the AFS Mission Leadership Team. This is a fixed term position based in London.

We are looking for people who understand what we do, share our values and are keen to learn and develop their expertise. We are looking for candidates with the skills listed below.

• Qualifications and experience: You have PhD or equivalent professional experience in a quantitative discipline - for example: economics, statistics, social and public policy (quantitative), or a related discipline. You have experience working with public-sector stakeholders or a demonstrable interest in public policy, and in doing research with practical implications.
• Technical skills: You have expertise in a range of quantitative methods. Ideally, you are an expert in both non-experimental methods (e.g. theory and practice of regression analysis and quasi-experiments) and randomised-controlled trials.
• Data analysis: You have a…