Behavioural Scientist

Social Machines is a small research and innovation company that specialises in behaviour and culture change in systems of people and technology, particularly within the domains of cybersecurity; influence and information conflict; AI, technology and human factors integration; resilience and organisational culture; and behaviour change in complex systems. At Social Machines, we believe in a world where societies are both open and resilient; we’re interested in the relationships between people and technology – or sociotechnical systems – and how they can be enabled and enhanced, as well as protected and made more resilient to exploitation.

Our core values are empathy, creativity, and integrity. We maintain that understanding diverse perspectives is key to creating impactful solutions. We find creative ways to address complex problems that meet the needs of our stakeholders. We conduct ourselves with integrity.

Our team is highly innovative, motivated, and ambitious, and we are proud to have fostered an environment where we actively recruit, retain, and elevate a diverse range of talent. Not only has this created a workplace representative of the wider community, but it has cultivated a vibrant and inclusive culture.

We are seeking to employ up to two new behavioural scientists on a permanent basis.

The Roles

The successful candidates will apply behavioural and social science tools to practical problem-solving tasks for our clients. You will be able to bridge academic research, policy and practice in order to achieve great impact. A significant part of this will involve planning projects, reviewing academic papers, designing experiments, applying qualitative and quantitative methods to collect and analyse data, distilling and summarising findings, as well as writing research papers and presenting at conferences. Your communication skills will be of high calibre, enabling you to interact effectively with different cultures of the private sector, academia, and government.

Some of our recent projects include:

1. Development of a system for measuring and evaluating security culture;
2. Creation of a guide to support practitioners as they seek to understand a range of overseas audiences;
3. Experimentation to profile cyber adversary decision-making processes;
4. Profiling of adversary organisational influence capabilities;
5. Review of the psychology of 1-2-1 online relationships;
6. Review of information elicitation techniques for use in crisis scenarios;
7. Investigating novel methods for enhancing and sustaining inclusive cultures;
8. Investigating the nature of non-state entities with powers similar to states.

Salary £31,000 – £39,000 pa dependent on skills and experience.

Additional Benefits

• Flexible working conditions: we focus on output and have core hours, but will expect you to identify how to meet your work and professional objectives in the context of your wider life;
• Emphasis on skills and knowledge development;
• We are a fully remote working organisation – and have developed the social structures and support to enable effective working and belonging. You’ll be provided with equipment and essential working tools that enable our work. Travel to client sites within the UK may be required occasionally;
• 25 days annual leave + all UK-wide public holidays;
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme based on individual and organisational performance.

We are looking for:

• Values that align with ours: empathy, creativity, integrity;
• A bachelor\’s degree in a behavioural or social science at a minimum 2:1 or above;
• A master’s degree in a behavioural science;
• Proven excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communications skills;
• Proven commitment to personal and professional development;
• Proven ability to work with resilience under pressure;
• Self-motivation and the ability to deliver largely under own power with minimal supervision;
• Advanced skills in qualitative and/or quantitative methods;
• Ability to travel occasionally within the UK;
• Willingness to undergo security vetting;
• UK nationality or UK right to work;
• Knowledge in any one of our key domains of interest;
• Experience in the UK defence and security, or healthcare environments;
• Experience of working on complex, interdisciplinary projects requiring engagement with a wide range of stakeholders.

We are especially interested to hear from those with a background in organisational psychology or culture, or human factors integration. Any contract offered includes a 6 month probationary period.

IMPORTANT:

Applicants should send to frans@socialmachines.co.uk by close of business day Wednesday 5th February 2025:

• Additional copy of your CV and covering letter that have all your personal identifying details removed. This helps us focus solely on your qualifications, skills, and experience. This includes:

Remove Personal Information

• Full name;
• LinkedIn profile, social media handles, or website links that identify you.

Remove Demographic Details

• Date of birth;
• Marital status;
• Photograph.

Maintain Relevant Details

• Work experience, skills, certifications, accomplishments, and other professional information should remain untouched, as these are critical for evaluating your application.

File Naming

• When submitting your CV, please name the file using a generic identifier such as: Anonymized_CV_[JobTitle].pdf. Avoid including your name in the file name.

Note: any applications not following this process will not be shortlisted. Applicants shortlisted will be contacted shortly after, and invited to participate in further assessment and interview w/c 10th February. The successful candidates will start with Social Machines as soon as possible after this date.

Candidates with disabilities who pass the requirements threshold will automatically be invited to further assessment and interview.

Seniority level

Entry level

Employment type

Full-time

Job function

Research, Analyst, and Information Technology

Industries

Technology, Information and Internet

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