Research Coordinator in Oxford

RABI is the farmers charity.

RABI supports farming people across England, Wales and NI with expert, one-to-one practical, financial and emotional help, all year round.

From confidential advice and mental health support to direct financial assistance, their tailored services respond to the unique challenges of farming life.

At the heart of RABI’s mission is a commitment to strengthening resilience; helping farming people feel valued, supported and better equipped to navigate uncertainty and change.

RABI is working to close the farming wellbeing gap and build a future where farming people can thrive.

Over the past 25 years alone, RABI has delivered almost £250 million in direct financial support to the farming community, whilst the charity’s professional counselling service has provided 11,500 free sessions to farming people since 2022.

RABI’s wrap-around support services continue to evolve, reaching more people year on year.

RABI is on a journey to help shape a future farmers deserve.

Key Purpose

The Research Coordinator is part of the Business Development team, which leads pilot service projects for RABI.

Reporting to the Research Manager, this role is responsible for supporting a programme of research examining healthcare access and inequalities experienced by farming people reviewing existing RABI research data and writing a summary of recent research around agriculture and health in the UK.

This knowledge will feed into the long-term research agenda on the Farming Wellbeing Gap and provide insight into potential pilot services for RABI.

Key Responsibilities

The Research Coordinator will support a programme of research examining healthcare access and inequalities experienced by farming people in England and Wales.

• Working with the research team and external partners, the postholder will:
• Support a review of healthcare initiatives, access barriers, and mitigation approaches relevant to farming populations.
• Assist with surveys, interviews, and focus groups with farming people, including recruitment, coordination, and qualitative data handling.
• Support engagement with healthcare practitioners to explore system‑level barriers and service breakdowns.
• Contribute to synthesising insights across evidence reviews, lived experience research, and practitioner perspectives.
• Assist with preparing reports, evidence summaries, and briefing materials.
• Project coordination and administrative support, including assisting with the administrative management of commissioned health inequality analysis, help organise meetings, maintain documentation, and support the effective running of advisory groups.
• Support the development and use of RABI’s internal data catalogue, documenting available datasets, their purpose, quality, ownership, and access conditions.
• Evaluate the relevance, feasibility, and contribution of internal data to RABI’s research and insight.
• Assist with exploratory analysis of internal datasets.
• Conduct an overview of health in agriculture research.
• Build a clear, shared understanding of the existing evidence base, and identify gaps and areas of strength.

Person Specification

Essential

• Degree (or near completion) in a relevant subject (e. g. rural studies, social sciences, health policy, public health) or equivalent experience.
• Experience or training in qualitative and/or mixed‑methods research, including interviews, focus groups, surveys, or literature reviews.
• Demonstrated experience of report writing and ability to tailor for different audiences.
• Ability to synthesise and summarise complex information clearly and accurately.
• Ability to develop strong working relationships and trust with a broad range of people to foster productive collaborations and future partnerships.
• Commitment to rigorous evidence-based impartial analysis.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to understand and explain complex information to a variety of audiences.
• Sensitivity and professionalism when engaging with participants and practitioners, particularly around potentially sensitive health topics.
• Excellent organisation skills and the ability to manage own workload and priorities.
• Understanding of research ethics and confidentiality.
• Affinity with the goals and objectives of RABI.
• Flexible, resilient and solution focussed working with sensitivity, integrity and without prejudice.

Desirable

• Farming background or knowledge of the farming community environment.
• Experience working on health inequalities, access to healthcare, or population health research.
• Experience using qualitative analysis software.
• Familiarity with (or willingness to learn) basic data management principles (e. g. metadata, version control, documentation).
• Experience using (or willingness to learn) Excel, SPSS, R, Stata, or similar analytical tools.
• Experience supporting stakeholder or advisory groups.
• Interest in improving healthcare access for under‑served populations.

This role profile is not exhaustive and is subject to review in conjunction with the post holder according to future developments at RABI.

Benefits

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays (full time allowance).
• Enrolment to Nest on commencement of employment and then opportunity to join RABI’s group pension scheme with Standard Life where RABI make contributions equivalent to 10% of your basic salary, provided you make a personal contribution of 5%.
• Life assurance from day one.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme.
• Onsite parking.

RABI is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and aims to ensure that all employment practices secure equality of opportunity and that no prospective or current employee receives less than favourable treatment at RABI as a result of their sex, sexual orientation, age, race, religion, belief, ethnic origin, disability, marital, or for any other reason which cannot be shown to be justifiable.

Our recruitment process strives to ensure that individuals are selected only based on their relevant skills, experience, qualifications and abilities.