Research Manager in London

About The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC): At The Housing Finance Corporation, we exist to enable the delivery of more affordable, high-quality homes across the UK by providing long-term, cost-effective funding to housing associations. With over 150 customers and £8bn in loans under management, we are proud to be a key part of the social housing sector's financial foundation. This role will help embed the organisations research and insight products into the core of THFC's offer to customers and stakeholders.

Role Overview: We're looking for a talented Research Manager to join our research and insight function. You will provide clear, timely and high-quality insight on the social housing sector to internal teams, customers and external stakeholders. Over your first 12 months, you will focus on building and improving existing content and supporting strong relationships with housing association customers, funders and other stakeholders. Working closely with the Senior Commercial Director and colleagues across commercial, risk, finance and data, you'll turn complex market, financial and regulatory information into concise, compelling outputs that inform decisions and strengthen relationships. This is a senior individual contributor role with no line management responsibilities, suited to someone who enjoys working with data and narrative, and is motivated by the social purpose of affordable housing.

Key Responsibilities:

• Initial priorities (1 to 12 months):

• Review existing products and content, and recommend a clear, integrated research and insight suite.
• Review the current rhythm of publications and agree a clear cadence, audience and format for core outputs.
• Improve and extend existing content so it is concise, visual and easy to use.
• Help the Senior Commercial Director and wider team deepen relationships with priority customers and stakeholders through research-led conversations.
• Put in place simple processes and templates so research can be produced, checked, shared and stored consistently.
• Work with technology, data and commercial colleagues so research products are easy to access and use.
• Use feedback from the business, customers and stakeholders to refine content, format and frequency.

• Ongoing Responsibilities:

• Scan sector media and market data regularly, identify relevant stories and trends, and summarise them clearly for internal and external audiences.
• Prepare, clean and analyse financial and operational data on housing associations, creating clear tables, charts and commentary.
• Produce written outputs (short notes, slide decks, one-page briefings) that explain sector developments, risks and opportunities in plain language.
• Work with colleagues to plan and deliver a pipeline of thematic pieces on issues that matter to customers and stakeholders, such as regulation, credit risk, ESG and funding conditions.

• Customer and stakeholder support:

• Support relationship managers and senior colleagues with research and analysis for meetings, tenders and presentations.
• Prepare tailored packs and talking points for customer and stakeholder meetings, based on our insight into their position and the wider market.
• Join selected customer and stakeholder meetings to present findings and respond to questions on data and analysis.
• Help design and deliver insight-led events (e.g. webinars, roundtables) that reinforce THFC's position as a trusted partner in social housing finance.

• Internal collaboration and ways of working:

• Work closely with commercial, risk, finance and data colleagues to ensure research is accurate, relevant and timely.
• Develop and maintain clear documentation on data sources, methods and definitions to support consistent analysis.
• Contribute to a culture of curiosity and continuous improvement around data and insight across the team.
• Plan and manage your workload to meet deadlines, communicating clearly about priorities and constraints.

What we are looking for:

• Essential:

• Strong analytical and research skills, with high attention to detail.
• Strong MS365 skills for handling, checking and analysing financial and operational data.
• Confident user of PowerPoint, able to create clear, visually simple slides and charts.
• Ability to write short, clear summaries for busy senior audiences.
• Proven ability to manage multiple pieces of work at the same time and deliver to tight deadlines.
• Confident working with senior stakeholders and explaining analysis in plain language.

• Desirable:

• Experience in social housing, credit analysis, risk or related fields.
• Understanding of financial statements and key metrics used in assessing housing associations.
• Experience working in a research, ratings, banking, advisory or consultancy environment.

We are looking for someone who is:

• Curious, proactive and keen to improve how things are done.
• Collaborative and supportive, focused on team outcomes and shared goals.
• Commercially aware, always thinking about how research supports THFC's mission, products and client relationships.
• Committed to inclusion, respect and fair treatment of colleagues and customers.

What we offer:

This is a great opportunity for someone looking to deepen their research and analytical expertise in a purpose-driven, mission-led environment. We're a small, supportive team where every individual makes a difference, and where data and insight play a central role in our strategy and relationships. Competitive salary and benefits package. Exposure to senior stakeholders across THFC and the social housing sector. The chance to help shape an integrated research and insight suite.

Working arrangements: We operate as an office-based organisation Monday to Thursday, with Fridays as an optional remote working day. The role is based in London, with a minimum of four office days per week.