Research Scientist - 24 month FTC (Hiring Immediately)

Our Future Health is building the UK’s largest health research programme. To grow and improve it, we need to understand what works, what doesn’t and why. Our Experimentation & Insights team helps colleagues answer those questions through surveys, experiments, pilots and analysis.

We’re looking for a Research Scientist for our Health Questionnaires squad, with strong experience in psychometrics and questionnaire research. You’ll help validate and improve screening and health research questionnaires, working closely with a questionnaire scientist developing new measures.

We’re interested in more than whether a questionnaire meets standard measures of reliability and validity. We want someone who looks closely at the evidence: how people respond, where patterns emerge, which questions may be working differently for different groups, and what the data suggests should happen next. You’ll bring curiosity and sound research judgement to questionnaire testing, with the ability to choose the right methods and explain what the findings mean in practice.

The role

You’ll take research projects from initial question through to insight and recommendations. This includes shaping research plans and protocols, selecting appropriate methods and samples, programming and quality assuring surveys, analysing results and communicating findings to stakeholders.

Questionnaire validation and psychometrics will be an important part of your work. You’ll also contribute to wider experimentation and test-and-learn activity, helping teams understand outcomes, refine success measures and decide what to do next.

The role suits someone with substantial research training and a strong applied track record. You may have a PhD or MSc with significant relevant industry experience, particularly in pharmaceuticals, clinical trials, health research or a related field. We welcome candidates whose expertise has developed in academic or commercial settings.

You will:

• Design and deliver research projects that support organisational, scientific, participant and researcher objectives.
• Lead the scientific validation of screening, filtering and health research questionnaires, including assessment of reliability and validity.
• Look beyond validation statistics to investigate response patterns, data quality, potential sources of bias and what the findings reveal about how a measure performs.
• Work with a questionnaire scientist to test and improve novel questionnaires.
• Develop research plans and protocols that address clear questions and information needs.
• Select appropriate methods, outcomes, samples and participant recruitment approaches for each piece of work.
• Design and oversee surveys, experiments, pilots and other studies, managing delivery, quality and timelines.
• Programme and quality assure surveys using Qualtrics and analyse and wrangle data using R or Python.
• Apply appropriate statistical methods, such as descriptive analysis, regression, chi-square, ANOVA and comparisons across experimental conditions.
• Help teams define research questions, outcomes and success measures before work begins.
• Secure appropriate ethical, data protection, security and other approvals, consulting relevant internal and external groups when needed.
• Document research from planning through to delivery, ensuring methods and decisions are clear and transparent.
• Present results and recommendations in a concise, accessible and actionable way for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Manage several research and experimentation projects at once, working independently while keeping stakeholders informed.
• Collaborate with squads and teams to shape ideas into research questions, test initiatives and help colleagues decide what to do next.

Requirements

• Significant research training, such as a PhD or equivalent in a relevant subject with a strong research component. We’ll also consider an MSc or comparable qualification alongside substantial relevant experience.
• Proven experience in psychometrics and questionnaire validation.
• Experience applying research and experimentation in a questionnaire or survey setting, with evidence of analytical thinking beyond standard validation.
• The curiosity to investigate response patterns and data, identify interesting findings and consider what they mean for the measure and the people completing it.
• A broad understanding of questionnaire validity and reliability, research methods, sampling and participant selection.
• Experience designing surveys and experiments and knowing which methodology is appropriate for different questions.
• A sound working knowledge of statistics, including comparisons across conditions, descriptive and predictive analysis, regression, chi-square, sampling and]]>