Lead behavioural researcher
BehaviourAll our projects and insights are based on how people make decisions in the real-world. While we draw on academic insight, we also conduct our own research to look beneath stated opinions and identify genuine predictors of future behaviour.
We're looking for someone with experience planning, conducting, and interpreting qualitative interviews to join our growing team, analyse behavioural patterns, and translate results into practical insights and recommendations for our clients.
We're open to hearing from you if you're looking for either a full-time role, a short-term contract, or freelance work on a project-by-project basis.
Behaviour is a small, some might say boutique, consultancy. With no central office, our small team are happy to work remotely and has the confidence to manage their time across multiple projects.
Despite our size, we're honoured to work with some of the UK's largest financial and healthcare organisations. We benefit from our ability to move quickly and offer services from research to copywriting, and from training to creative design.
We believe injecting behavioural science into projects is a powerful way to help those who themselves help others. It’s our responsibility to ensure psychological techniques lead individuals, groups, and organisations to better, more positive outcomes.
You can read more about our Corporate Social Responsibility here.
- Leading research projects, coordinating resources, and overseeing the communication of insights to senior-level clients.
- Experience in running one-on-one qual interviews through online video services (e.g., Zoom, Teams, Meet) where the insights have influenced the design of a product or service.
- Confidence in writing detailed discussion guides to plan the purpose and flow of customer interviews.
- Comfortable challenging and questioning interviewees to get underneath the surface of stated opinion and find genuine predictors of behaviour.
- Ability to distinguish between perceived resistance, which tends to dissolve with exposure and familiarity, and hard resistance that is more deeply held and behaviourally predictive.
- Familiarity with using online prototypes to test hypotheses, challenge assumptions and validate insights.
- Capability to identify behavioural patterns across participants and distil these into clear insights to guide client design and communications.
- Confidence in communicating research insights and recommendations to senior-level clients as well as challenge and shape their proposition from grounded evidence.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to prepare clear and understandable research reports in Behaviour's brand style.
- Knowledge and understanding of how to adhere to GDPR and data protection guidelines when managing client research.
- Aptitude to manage your own time, manage client expectations, and take the lead to deliver first-class research.
- Knowledge and/or experience with financial services including pensions, investing, and financial advice.
- An understanding of key behavioural theories that can be used to construct the research parameters (e.g., Self-Determination Theory, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Theory of Reasoned Action, Regulatory Focus Theory, Prospect Theory, COM-B).
- An understanding of how diverse conditions (e.g., neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD, Autism; neurodegenerative conditions such as mild dementia; or mental ill-health or depression) can influence people's information processing and decision-making ability.
- Enthusiasm to conduct and write up self-initiated research into human decision-making.
- Professional accreditation with relevant professional organisations (e.g., MRS, BPS).
- Market research: Our research is based on the behavioural foundation that people don't necessarily know why they do what they do, but they will happily offer post-rationalised reasoning when questioned. Therefore, we design and conduct our interviews to avoid simply asking people for their views and treating them as the true drivers of behaviour.
- User-testing research: While we do sometimes carry out research into the design and usability of websites, apps, or online products, the main emphasis of our research is on customer attitudes and changing behaviour.
- Remote: We don't have permanent offices; our team are comfortable working remotely. This can be working from home or using a hot desk in a collaboration space. We connect and collaborate through digital tools like Slack and video calls.
- Self-managing: We need the ideal candidate for this role to be confident managing their time, liaising with external recruitment agencies, organising customer interviews, and managing their time to meet client deadlines.
- Flexible: Due to the nature of conducting interviews with people, time slots often need to extend into the evening. So, while the standard working day is 9–5, we need the ideal candidate to be flexible when projects demand it.
- Currently, we're open to candidates seeking a full-time role, a short-term contract, or freelance researchers working on a project-by-project basis.
- Salary for a full-time position is commensurate with experience.
- Ideally looking for someone to start in November 2026.
We're an equal opportunity employer. We'll consider all candidates regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, neurodiversity, national origin, or disability status.