Graduate Research Executive London 2023

We go beyond the obvious, using intelligence, passion and creativity to inspire new thinking and shape the world we live in.

To start a career that is out of the ordinary, please apply...

Are you interested in understanding Government policy, people and communities and having an impact on society? Do you want to join a graduate scheme where you can gain research and project management skills with a global, forward-thinking organisation?

Kantar Public is a leading evidence and advisory business. Our work helps governments, charities, universities and other public sector organisations to make decisions and improve people’s lives. We partner with our clients to design and implement research projects which provide data, insight and advice; from large scale quantitative Government studies such as the Crime Survey of England and Wales to studies to support social change such as Destitution in the UK.

We are looking for enthusiastic Graduate Research Executives to join our team in September 2023.

What do we offer?

This is a one-year Graduate Research Executive programme through which you will have the opportunity to work across our specialist teams focusing on different aspects of our research and insight work. Our Graduates work on a small number of projects, supporting senior team members to deliver the highest quality research and insight to our clients. From day 1 you will have project responsibility – whether that be questionnaire design, qualitative interviewing or working with the data and preparing reports. Across the year we aim to provide you with the opportunity to work for different clients and on a variety of methods and techniques, both qualitative and quantitative. In this role you will gain an overview of the social research process from business development, to set up, delivery and dissemination of results.

With this responsibility comes extensive support and training. You will have a dedicated line manager and development plan to ensure you develop strong research expertise. Our scheme will also build your commercial acumen, communication and project management skills – core foundations of any career. You will be part of a small cohort of graduates in the Public Division. There will be a combination of ‘on the job’ learning, as well as formal training as a peer group and access to the general programme of training and development we have for all staff. Training in your first year will cover technical research skills, project management and working with clients as well as professional skills such as influencing, becoming a project leader and owning your own personal development.

By the end of the year, we expect our graduates will be ready to progress in our Public Division as Research Executives. For more information about what life as a Graduate Research Executive is like, some of the Kantar graduates from around the world have spoken about their experiences www.kantar.com/careers/entry-level-roles.

You will receive a salary of £26,000 per annum, 25 days holiday, a contributory pension and a number of flexible benefits.

Who are we looking for?

The Graduate Research Executive role aims to provide a strong foundation for new researchers, enabling you to undertake high quality social research. You will likely be a great fit for this role if:

• You are eternally curious and excited to work on things that can make a difference
• You like to work with data – in all its forms – with strong attention to detail to ensure robust analysis
• You are ready to take on responsibility and to work collaboratively as part of a team, using your strong communication and time management skills to get things done
• You are always looking for ways to improve how things are done

All applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK, with fluent written and spoken English. We would expect candidates to have a 2.2 or above, at least 120 UCAS points and GCSE, or equivalent, Maths & English at a minimum grade B. However, if you are enthusiastic about a career in social research and your academic experience does not fit this requirement exactly, please get in touch with us.

About Kantar Public

Our UK clients include the Department for Education, Cabinet Office, Department for Health & Social Care, Office for National Statistics, Defra and Transport for London as well as charities such as the Health Foundation and GambleAware. Here are some examples of our work; data and insight - The People and Nature Survey for England, Inside Lives qualitative community – and thought leadership - PUBLIC journal (sustainability), Reykjavik Index for Leadership (equality).

We constantly strive to use new and innovative approaches that help us to get as close as possible to understanding people; from Public Voice to social media-led sampling techniques to integrating big data sources.

Inclusive Environment

We want to create an equality of opportunity in a fair and supportive working environment where people feel included, accepted and are allowed to flourish in a space where their mental health and wellbeing is taken into consideration.

We want to create a more diverse community to expand our talent pool, be locally representative, drive diversity of thinking and better commercial outcomes.

At Kantar Public, the diversity of our employees provides a richer environment for our employees and broader depth and breadth of thinking for our clients.

Kantar is committed to inclusion and diversity; therefore, we encourage applications from all sections of society and do not discriminate based on age, race, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital status, or any other legally protected characteristics.

What else do we offer?

• Great offices in Central London, near Westminster
• We work in a social environment with regular events (Summer party, Christmas party…) organised by our social committee.
• We provide a comprehensive and highly regarded learning and development programme
• We are committed to flexible working practices

Apply for a career that’s out of the ordinary and join us.

Does this sound like you? Don’t hesitate and apply online!  You will join an international leading company and be surrounded by passionate colleagues in an open and engaging environment.

We ask you to submit your CV and answer four competency-based questions (250 words max for each – the STAR method is a good way to approach these). We operate a name and institution blind review of all CVs – our review is about what you have achieved so far, and why you think Kantar’s Public Division is the right next step for you.  You will also be asked to complete an online behaviours assessment to explore your natural strengths from creativity to resilience to collaboration.

Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to an assessment day.  This will most likely a 10-4 day at our office in Millbank and will comprise an intro to our Graduate programme, lunch with the current Graduate cohort plus the final assessment; pre-prepared presentation, group task, data interpretation exercise and interview. We may change to an online session depending on the Covid situation.

We reserve the right to amend this application process as needed to reflect any changing circumstances or business need. We also anticipate a high volume of applications to this process and will therefore only be able to offer detailed feedback to candidates who participate in the final stage.