Lead Research Specialist - Residential Investment Market in Cheshire, Warrington

Homes England launched the National Housing Bank, a new government-backed investment platform to accelerate housing delivery across England. With £16bn in capital, it will unlock private investment, support regeneration and accelerate housing delivery across the UK. Joining now offers a rare opportunity to shape a major new national investment platform from the ground up.

At the centre of the Agency is the Research and Analysis team, which sits within the agency's Research, Economics and Geospatial (REG) function - led by Homes England's Chief Economist. The central aim of the REG function is to embed analysis within Homes England decision making, ensuring we intervene in the right places and in the right way to drive positive outcomes for society.

The Lead Research Specialist role will play a key part in strengthening Homes England's evidence base for investment decision making. Reporting to the Principal Research Specialist, the role holder will lead high quality quantitative research and the development of market intelligence to inform how the Agency deploys its portfolio of investment products - including debt, equity and guarantees - to unlock and accelerate housing delivery.

The role holder will focus on developing market intelligence and producing analytical outputs that help the Agency understand barriers, opportunities and trends in the residential investment market. The role holder will work with other analytical functions to develop broader capacity and capability across Homes England to use data, research and analytical tools to enhance strategic and operational decision-making.

• Lead research and analytical projects that build an authoritative evidence base on UK residential investment markets and their implications for Homes England's objectives.
• Develop and maintain up to date intelligence on key market segments relevant to Homes England and the National Housing Bank.
• Track trends in Build to Rent, SME development, affordable housing, emerging tenures and other priority sectors where the Agency invests.
• Support the Principal Research specialist in preparing materials for senior and external stakeholders.
• Provide clear, timely intelligence on the residential investment market that informs where Homes England should intervene and how investment products should evolve.
• Engage externally with developers, lenders, investors, research organisations and government partners to gather intelligence and validate emerging views.
• Support capability building through training, mentoring and the development of analytical best practice.

Degree level qualification or equivalent experience of industry professional in the residential investment market.

• Strong experience in quantitative research, market analysis or financial analytics relevant to housing, real estate or investment.
• Strong understanding of residential investment markets and the drivers of investor and lender behaviour.
• Extensive working knowledge of leading financial and investment market data.
• Proven track record of leading quantitative analysis and delivering actionable insights for strategic decision-making.
• Experience of commissioning and contract managing research and analysis projects and/or programmes.
• Experience developing research, analytical tools or models to support decision making.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present analysis clearly.
• Knowledge of UK housing market policy, government investment programmes, and the role of public investment in housing delivery.

Help build a new national investment institution.

• Work on complex housing and regeneration transactions.
• Hybrid 50/50 working across multiple national locations.
• Defined benefit pension and strong public-sector benefits.