Senior Researcher – Demos Digital Team in London

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

Salary: £36,093 – £40,166, negotiable based on skills and experience

Location: Whitehall, Greater London (Hybrid)

Line manager: Associate Director (Information Ecosystems)

Application deadline: 10th August, 9am.

The Demos Digital team is currently going through an exciting period of significant expansion, where we will be recruiting a number of additional roles in our team at a range of levels. If you are interested in our work on Resilient Information Ecosystems, but consider yourself to be more senior than this role allows for; or have a background that is more focused on External Affairs/ Campaigning/ Network management; or are only interested or available for short-term, freelance opportunities or Demos Fellow opportunities, Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think tank producing research and policies that have been adopted by successive governments for nearly 30 years.

Our overarching mission is to upgrade democracy in the UK and build a system powered by trusting relationships, information and technology, fit for our times. We are designing the practical foundations of a new deal between citizen, state and the institutions that shape daily lives. Demos’s dedicated digital research hub – Demos Digital – is a centre of excellence in digital policy and is home to the Resilient Information Ecosystems pillar and the thread of Trustworthy Technology which looks at how technology, from AI to social media, runs through all of our pillars.

We are looking for a brilliant Senior Researcher with demonstrable experience and/or interest in tech and media policy to join our digital policy team. As a Senior Researcher, your duties will include, but not be limited to:

• Independently writing high-quality policy papers, blogs and other outputs for a range of audiences and beginning to develop your individual profile.
• Using your experience in policy and/or research and understanding of the UK political environment to develop new and pertinent policy ideas.
• Project managing at least one project, whilst supporting other multiple projects simultaneously.
• Conducting high quality desk research and literature reviews to inform policy development.
• Confidently using qualitative and quantitative methods to undertake original research with the public and experts to inform evidence-based policy recommendations.
• Contributing actively to the development of new project proposals and participating in fundraising meetings.
• Nurturing and strengthening your existing relationships with potential partners relevant to your interests and work.
• Contributing to and in some cases leading the design and delivery of Demos Digital events (e.g. roundtables, workshops, network meetings and panel events) with Parliamentarians, experts and industry stakeholders.

You might be excited about this role if…

• you are passionate about conducting high-quality research (e.g. literature reviews, legal and policy analysis, surveys, focus groups etc.) in order to develop and advocate for policy ideas that will influence policy makers in Whitehall, Westminster and beyond.
• you want to independently write reports, briefings and blogs that clearly communicate and make the argument for your and our team’s policy ideas to a wide audience.
• you’re ready to strengthen and use your policy knowledge and networks relating to issues at the intersection and forefront of tech and media policy e.g. AI, social media, digital public infrastructure, public service broadcasting, local and independent media and prominence on platforms.
• you are passionate about social change and enthusiastic about Demos’ mission to upgrade democracy and strengthen the resilience of our information ecosystem.
• you want to be part of a welcoming, creative, entrepreneurial community of independent thinkers – both at Demos and among the many other organisations we work closely with.

This role might not be for you if…

• you have hard ‘redlines’ on who you engage with in your work. Whilst we encourage and value each other’s views, we are a cross-party think tank which means we do not seek to appeal to a singular party position – we actively work with a broad range of political and non-political actors and respect those we disagree with.
• you prefer a fixed diary with long-term visibility of what you will work on. We are guided by a long-term strategy, but highly responsive to political opportunities in order to have the most impact. This means our priorities are regularly reviewed and adjusted to respond to the external environment.

The types of experience and skills we are looking for include the below. We welcome a range of applications which include at least some of these attributes.

• Excellent desk research and literature review skills
• Confident ability to analyse complex information to develop clear policy ideas and analysis
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills:
• Ability to communicate ideas through blogs, briefings, newsletters and short articles
• Ability to independently write long form policy reports
• Ability to manage your own time and that of other Researchers/ Trainee Researchers efficiently while contributing to multiple projects using your understanding and previous experience as a senior policy researcher
• Ability to independently conduct the design and delivery of qualitative and quantitative research (e.g. interviews, focus groups, deliberative workshops, surveys etc.) with oversight support
• Ability to conduct online narrative analysis eg via data wrangling and computational analysis skills (desirable, not essential)
• Ability to conduct AI model testing / evaluations (desirable, not essential)

• An interest in how policymaking works at community, local, national or international level and in building relationships with influential figures and key decision-makers in tech and media policy
• We are especially interested in hearing from people with demonstrable subject area expertise (e.g. with published papers, blogs or past professional experience) in one or more of the following digital policy areas including, but not limited to:
• AI and the opportunities/risks it represents to our information environment
• Mis/disinformation and hate during crises and elections including via social media and AI chatbots
• The visibility of trustworthy information via prominence regulation
• The financial sustainability and trustworthiness of our public service media ecosystem and local news
• Digital public infrastructure and its role in the information environment
• Media literacy including critical AI literacy and media literacy by design
• Foreign interference and geopolitical threats
• Monopoly in the tech and media sectors, and competition
• An area you are interested in within Information Ecosystems!
• A fascination with and passion for UK politics

• Demonstrable experience in a research or policy setting:
• Conducting primary research with the public and/or experts, including research design (discussion guides, surveys etc.) and moderation
• Conducting secondary research, including literature reviews, desk research, policy or legal analysis
• Engaging in and across the political spectrum and/ or policy debates
• Nurturing and growing existing good professional networks and engaging with senior stakeholders in UK government, Whitehall and the tech and media industry independently
• Working with a dynamic team to deliver external outputs that will face public scrutiny and impact on political debate

• Highly collaborative in approach to working with colleagues and external partners across the political spectrum, especially with those whose ideas you disagree with
• A passion for the kind of politics we want to promote, coupled with an open mind and inclusive approach to working with people whose ideas and opinions differ
• Keen to learn take up opportunities for professional development
• Enthusiastic, with a can-do attitude and willingness to juggle priorities in a dynamic workplace

Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Justice (DIEJ) at Demos

At Demos, we recognise, celebrate and promote the positive contributions that are made by diverse groups. We exist to proactively tackle social and economic exclusion, and engaging with and promoting the voices of people whose voices may not otherwise be heard is core to our work. We believe that this should be reflected in our team and we strongly encourage applications from people from minority ethnic communities, people with disabilities, or others with lived experience of disadvantage.

We expect all members of our team to commit to Demos’ cross-party approach. This means we engage with all parties in the democratic system where it will further our charitable aims. Our mission to strengthen democracy and overcome division depends on building dialogue across political divides while upholding our values of diversity, inclusion, equity and justice. We expect all members of our team to recognise and value differences and the unique contributions that people make to the way we conduct our work and develop our insights, and encourage people to bring their diverse perspectives and backgrounds into their work on a day-to-day basis.

We would be happy to discuss flexible working requirements with any candidates.

What we offer:

• Generous leave entitlement: 27 days + Bank holidays + 3 additional days off between Christmas and New Year
• Enhanced pension contribution: 6%
• Enhanced parental leave
• A forward-thinking, supportive and collaborative team

At Demos we centre staff wellbeing as a key priority; we will make every effort to ensure staff feel happy, healthy and valued as part of our integral team. Please get in touch if you require any adjustments to be able to engage with our recruitment process.

If you have any further questions or aren’t sure if the role is right for you, please feel free to reach out to us by emailing and we would be happy to answer any queries.