Research Manager (Impact Polling)

About the role

The Research and Insights team at Public First is expanding, and we have an exciting opportunity to join as a Research Manager (Impact Polling).

This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys running quantitative projects day-to-day: shaping questionnaires, coordinating fieldwork, analysing data, and turning findings into clear outputs. You’ll work closely with Associate Directors and Directors, taking ownership of defined workstreams (or smaller projects) while developing your skills across multi-market research and economic impact work, often with an AI and technology focus.

The opportunity would suit someone who’s excited by opinion research as a complement to economic impact analysis, likes juggling the practical craft of polling (from design to write-up), and is curious about how new tools (including AI) can improve how we work.

About us

Led by former Government policy and communications advisers and journalists, Public First specialises in policy, communications and opinion research for clients in Government, the media, the public sector, charities, think tanks and global commercial brands. Opinion research is at the heart of everything we do. Public First’s research covers a huge variety of topics. In the last year alone, the polling team has:

• Delivered consumer and business polling on the impact of a variety of tech products around the world, including markets in APAC, across the EU and in North America

• Carried out hyper-localised face-to-face polling on experiences of crime and policing in a major UK city

• Produced impactful research on UK public attitudes to R&D, Brexit, higher education, Net Zero, AI and the rising cost of living, to name a few topics.

We are increasing our work in economic impact reporting, where we have an increasing pipeline of work primarily working with Technology companies (including Mag 7 companies) assessing their economic impact within particular geographies, and the opportunity that AI creates. This work typically involves combining economic modelling with opinion research. This role will focus on the opinion research, designing and managing research inputs, whilst following projects through the full life-cycle with the client; from design, to field, to analysis, to report.

The Polling Manager for Impact Polling role will involve

• Supporting and/or leading the day-to-day delivery of quantitative opinion research projects across a number of topics and markets (often multi-market economic impact projects), with oversight from an Associate Director/Director on overall direction and client management.

• Drafting questionnaires and research materials, helping shape the research approach, and coordinating with internal stakeholders to keep projects moving.

• Managing fieldwork and project logistics: liaising with panel/fieldwork partners, monitoring sample, handling day-to-day troubleshooting, and ensuring timelines and deliverables stay on track (with support when needed).

• Analysing polling data and producing outputs: cleaning/checking data, building tables, producing charts, and drafting insight-led sections for reports and presentations.

• Contributing to report write-ups with clear, compelling language, and helping translate results for different audiences (clients, stakeholders, public-facing outputs where relevant).

• Client communication and delivery support: joining calls, providing updates, and acting as a point of contact on specific workstreams, with AD/Director support where required.

• Collaborating across teams (for example with policy and impact colleagues) to ensure the final product is coherent and high quality.

• Getting involved in early-stage thinking: contributing to proposals, research design discussions, and initial client meetings as you grow in confidence.

• Wider team contribution: supporting internal ways of working (templates, QA processes, knowledge-sharing) and looking for opportunities to improve the work product.

• People support (light-touch): helping newer colleagues with polling best practice and QA when needed. Formal line management would not normally sit with this role.

Person specification

Essential:

• 2-5 years’ experience in quantitative opinion research (agency, consultancy, in-house, or adjacent), with hands-on involvement in questionnaire design, fieldwork management, and analysis.

• A keen interest in questionnaire design, including how to phrase questions to avoid bias and get to the heart of an issue.

• Strong writing skills and the ability to explain polling results clearly and accurately for client deliverables.

• Solid experience working with opinion data (tables, weighting familiarity, basic statistical testing), and confidence in Excel. Experience in R, Python or Stata is a plus.

• Strong organisation and project discipline: able to run day-to-day tasks independently, flag risks early, and deliver reliably with support on the bigger-picture calls.

• Comfortable presenting yourself credibly to clients (written and verbal), with support available for more senior-level moments.

What would be helpful, but not essential for you to apply

• Experience with multi-market projects, technology-sector clients, B2B research, or research feeding into economic modelling.

• More advanced analytics (segmentation, regressions) or scripting/programming for survey workflows.

• Mixed-methods exposure (working on or with qualitative research such as focus groups or depth interviews).

• Experience contributing to proposals, pitches, or initial client meetings.

• Interest in AI tools that can improve research workflows (analysis, QA, drafting, automation).

Other information

We pride ourselves on welcoming people from a range of backgrounds and with a mix of political opinions. Our leadership team has backgrounds across the major political parties, and the bipartisan nature of our work means we actively encourage debate and discussion on the topics we are researching from a range of different points of view. You would be working in a lively office, getting involved in all stages of our projects with colleagues across all of our policy teams.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in employment and we would particularly like to encourage applications from women, disabled and Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority (BAME) candidates.

Benefits

• The salary range for this role is from £36,000 - £45,000 per annum depending on experience.

• We also offer a profit share (bonus) programme, 5% pension contribution, 25 days annual leave, and private healthcare.

• Hybrid working. We come into the Westminster office on Mondays and Thursdays, but access is available 24/7.