All Things Urban

Centre for London is the capital’s dedicated think tank. Our mission is to develop new solutions to London’s critical challenges and advocate for a fair and prosperous global city.

The purpose of this role is to develop and deliver excellent research projects, presentations and written articles, in order to achieve positive change in London, build Centre for London’s profile and expertise in critical London policy issues.

Development and delivery of Centre for London research projects:

• Develop research project proposals for consideration by the research team and the senior management team.
• Assist with fundraising – including proactive research and identification of suitable individuals and organisations, working with others to prepare written materials for funding prospects and stewardship of relationships with relevant donors.
• Deliver approved projects through conducting and writing research, and project management and coordination.
• With research colleagues, contribute ideas, analysis and narrative to the Centre’s events programme and other projects.

Partnerships, and external promotion of Centre for London and its ideas:

• Promote Centre for London, its analysis and ideas, through participation in external events, public speaking, writing and media activity as required.
• Represent and promote Centre for London in public and in private to relevant audiences (business, government and civil society), extending the organisation’s reach and influence.
• Help to maintain, enhance and extend of the organisation’s networks of funders, supporters and stakeholders.
• Present the organisation in an appropriate and professional manner to its stakeholders

General responsibilities and duties

• Conduct the duties of the job description in accordance with the operational policies of Centre for London, including but not limited to the diversity policy and code of conduct.
• Maintain good working relations with Trustees, staff, volunteers and other stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development and growth of the organisation through working in accordance with its wider objectives, corporate philosophy and values.
• Assist at Centre for London events outside of normal working hours as necessary.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties as may be required.

Applicants must show commitment to the values and ethos of Centre for London and be passionate about London.

Qualification criteria

• Qualified to degree level or equivalent, with excellent academic credentials or experience.
• Ideally a postgraduate degree in a relevant discipline.
• Right to work in the UK.

Skills and experience

• Two or more years’ experience working in high quality research, policy or public affairs roles.
• Understanding of research methods, ideally including experience of quantitative analysis, and a track record of high-quality work.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to present and write on a wide range of issues and in a variety of contexts.
• The ability to network effectively with policy advisers, politicians, civil servants and academics as well as business and third sector organisations.
• Awareness of London policy, networks and government, and how to effect change in policy making and practice.
• Specialised understanding of housing, or skills and labour force policy would be an advantage.

Competencies

• Analytical capacity, curiosity, the ability to think strategically, and to generate fresh insight and analysis.
• Personal credibility when working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
• Flexible, highly organised, and able to multi-task and prioritise work to meet deadlines.
• Excellent team player.

We’re a small charity with 18 members of staff. Everyone is passionate about London and committed to making it a better city. We have a friendly, fun and collaborative team culture. We invest in our team to help them succeed; offering on the job support and opportunities for development of your skills, both formally through training (learning lunches, whole team and individual training) and informally through experience and shadowing.

We celebrate London’s rich and diverse culture and we want our team to reflect the city we serve. We’re a London Living Wage and an equal opportunities employer – an ethos which also informs our work. We value the ideas and input of every team member and we regularly hold team-wide sessions to give everyone the opportunity to shape our future work.

We also know that there’s much more to life than work. Our flexible hours policy allows staff to make sure work fits around their personal lives. Benefits include 25 days holiday per year (plus extra days during office closure between Christmas and New Year), a contributory pension, a cycle scheme, childcare and eye care vouchers. We are committed to supporting working parents and those with caring responsibilities; we offer enhanced maternity pay (12 weeks at full pay) and enhanced provision for supporting partners (three weeks leave at full pay), and we encourage shared parental leave.

£25,000 to £30,000

We’re not fully sure whether this role is open to international candidates. If you would need visa sponsorship or work authorisation, we recommend checking directly with the employer before applying.