Behavioural Scientist

at  NESTA

ESSENTIAL

We are looking for people who understand what we do, share our values and are keen to learn and develop their expertise. We are looking for candidates with the skills listed below. We expect to provide training and development support in some of the areas.

• An understanding of behavioural science. You can explain the implications of theoretical concepts such as defaults, loss aversion and social norms. A relevant degree is welcome (behavioural economics, social psychology or related fields).
• Practical experience of delivering projects using behavioural science approaches. You have applied theoretical understanding to practical challenges in the past, running projects from start to finish.
• Public policy/service design. You are passionate about public policy and programmes aimed at improving the lives of people at scale. You can see both sides of an argument, and you can think about what makes some policies effective and others impractical.
• A confident understanding of causality and statistical reasoning. You know that just because sales of sunglasses and ice creams increase at the same time, one does not cause the other. You can also describe how to run a test to prove this. You can interpret research findings of others, understand common statistics (such as standard deviation, confidence intervals, p values, and correlation coefficients), assess the strength of evidence for something, understand good practice for key research activities (e.g. setting a sampling frame, cleaning data, generating power calculations, running regressions and undertaking quasi-experimental evaluations including regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference designsg) and analyse data sets to pull key summary statistics and trends into graphs.
• Experience and understanding of mixed methods research. You appreciate the complementary value that quantitative and qualitative research approaches bring. Perhaps you also have experience of taking iterative and human centred design approaches to research projects. You understand that people may experience a problem differently depending on their context. You can identify the types of people to talk to to understand the range of experiences more deeply. You will understand the needs of different types of people, including the most vulnerable, and will adapt your approach accordingly as well as being able to weigh the appropriateness of different research techniques to answer different research questions.
• Ability to manage workloads from multiple projects simultaneously. You can manage a workload of several projects and deliver to a high standard on a tight deadline. You can work across different project teams and are aware of the importance of, and apply, regular, clear and concise communication with your team members.
• Managing and developing yourself at work. You demonstrate high self-awareness and regularly self-reflect. You are aware of the impact that your actions and words have on those around you. You are resilient and accept responsibility for decisions whether they achieve the desired outcome or not.

Nesta is looking to appoint one Behavioural Scientist into our A Fairer Start mission.
The work of the post holder could include working across many stages of the work of our teams, from shaping ongoing strategy developments, to scoping, designing, implementing and evaluating projects that contribute to our impactful portfolios of work.