Do you bring clarity and calm to complex, fast-moving research — shaping plans, anticipating risks, and keeping delivery on track?
Do you combine methodological rigor with practical judgement — turning messy data into insight that people can act on?
Are you energised by leading others through the detail — raising standards, strengthening storytelling, and helping teams deliver their best work?
The role
We’re looking for a Research Manager to play a vital role in ICE’s Insight Team. This is a senior, delivery-focused position, providing day-to-day intellectual and methodological leadership across research projects
This role combines hands-on research delivery with day-to-day oversight of multiple projects and their progress, quality, timelines and coordination.
You will lead the design, execution, analysis and storytelling of several insight projects, support practitioner development through project-level supervision, mentoring and quality assurance. While not a formal line manager, the postholder plays a key role in shaping and setting standards, leading delivery, and driving insight excellence across the team.
You will be expected to work with a high degree of autonomy, you should be able to anticipate risks, improve thinking, and ensure insight is translated into clear, actionable recommendations.
At ICE, we help people, places, and organisations thrive. We use behavioural insight, evidence and co‑production to create work that improves lives. Your role ensures our insight is grounded in the real world: inclusive, well‑managed, and delivered with care.
This role is based within the Insight Team. Where you will work as part of a fast paced, agile, creative organisation based in Wirral. You will be expected in the office for a minimum 3 days per week. The role Hybrid and does require some travel depending on project delivery needs including but not limited to other ICE offices from time to time.
Driving License & access to a car is required.
DBS check may be required for certain projects.
Salary Range: £35,000 - £40,000 per annum.
Why join ICE
We deliver purpose-led work that directly improves communities, health, and wellbeing.
Our work is evidence that we are leading behaviour change work across the UK
We have a culture rooted in insight, creativity, and co-design.
We offer opportunities for professional development across behaviour change, design, insight, and digital innovation.
Offer hybrid working with trust, autonomy, and a supportive leadership team.
Promise a chance to shape the evolution of ICE’s brand and creative capability.
Key elements of the day-to-day role:
The role will involve:
- Lead the design and delivery of several complex qualitative, quantitative and mixed‑methods insight projects.
- As well as strong research skills, you will have strong project management skills that will help support delivery and keep others in the team on their toes!
- Lead on solving complex design challenges within projects, applying human‑centred design and systems thinking approaches to translate insight into practical solutions.
- Take ownership of key projects and their overall delivery, including research design, discussion guides, surveys, frameworks, analysis plans, reporting and presentations.
- You will provide senior oversight of research materials and outputs to ensure methodological rigour and effective use of behavioural and qualitative research techniques.
- Set clear strategic direction for projects, bringing challenge and critical thinking to research design and analysis to ensure work is focused, purposeful and aligned to project aims.
- Offer timely, constructive feedback to team members to strengthen insight quality, decision‑making and professional development.
- Work hands‑on across projects where needed, particularly at key moments in design, analysis, sense‑making and storytelling.
- Apply behavioural science, theory and evidence confidently to deepen insight and shape practical recommendations.
- Translate complex findings into compelling narratives and actionable strategies that can be applied in real-world settings.
- Ensure recommendations deliver on research objectives, are actionable and are strategically aligned to the context of the client’s operating world.
- Producing outputs including publishable-level written reports, lay summaries and presentations
- Lead on communicating with and developing relationships with internal team, clients and wider stakeholders.
- Lead on and coach junior colleagues on presenting findings to client team and other stakeholders.
- Leading multiple projects at one time
- Producing sales assets (e.g. blogs, case studies) to promote and sell our offer
- Contributing to writing tenders and proposal.
- You will lead the facilitation of diverse research activities, delivered both online and in person, with people from many different backgrounds, spanning one‑to‑one interviews, focus groups, design workshops and large‑scale community sessions.
- You may be asked to co-facilitate with more junior team members, in which case you will be expected to provide support, feedback and guidance where necessary.
- Operations & Governance
- Like all ICE roles, you’ll work within policies, procedures and regulations while upholding the highest standards of integrity, confidentiality and conduct.
Essential existing skills/experience
- Undergraduate degree in the social sciences or other relevant degree.
- You have at least 5 year’s industry experience of delivering mixed methods research.
- Minimum of 5 years industry experience within the field of market research / insights.
- Minimum of 3 years’ experience of line management responsibility.
- Experience of writing winning bids/ proposals – at least 1 example.
- Experience of translating insights into actional, practical strategies – at least 1 example.
- Experience of combining survey data with qual findings to craft a single report narrative.
- Experience of authoring reports and presenting / storytelling to diverse audiences.
- An interest in behavioural insights and science, specifically its application to understand behaviour and develop behaviour change solutions.
- Ability to manage your own work and deliver across multiple projects.
- Ability to work as part of an inter-disciplinary team.
- Hard worker.
Desirable:
- Master’s degree in the field of behavioural/ social science, health behaviours or other relevant degree.
- Experience applying insights and behavioural science/ theory in practice to inform solutions.
- Competent understanding of qualitative research to understand behaviour and decision-making.
- Experience of process/ impact evaluation, logic models, theories of change
- Experience of having works published.
About us
ICE is one of the fastest growing behaviour change organisations in the UK. We bring courage, energy, and ambition to equip & enable more organisations & people to move our world forward. To grow our significance as a leading behaviour change practice. By energising organisations & people to find the clarity, courage, & commitment needed to realise their full purpose & potential.
Our Mission
We are social activists driven to unlock your power, purpose and possibility, we are for people and planet.
We Make Better Happen.
We are a purpose-driven organisation; our ethos and beliefs are important to us. As a team we hold and practice three core character traits and set around those character traits are the behaviours that matter to us as a team for our work together.
Whole Heartedness: Bring passion and energy to our work, our colleagues and ourselves.
Trust: Trust and intent to do the right thing.
Being Curious and Creative: Bringing our ideas to add value to what we do.
“We live by what we believe not by what we see.”
Training for all roles will be provided along with a programme of continued professional development.
Only those shortlisted will be contacted.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £35,000.00-£40,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Free flu jabs
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
- Paid volunteer time
- Sick pay
- Work from home
Application question(s):
- What is your experience of delivering quantitative research vs qualitative research?
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Birkenhead CH41 5LH
