Social Impact Researcher

Stride Treglown; Bristol; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading architectural practice is seeking a Social Impact Researcher to support evidence-based design initiatives. The role involves managing relationships with collaborators, conducting community-engaged research, and ensuring that all projects adhere to ethical standards. Ideal candidates will have experience in mixed-method research, strong storytelling abilities, and a commitment to positive social impact. This position allows flexibility with full-time or part-time options.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Contemporary working environment

Friendly and caring culture

Qualifications

• Demonstrable commitment to positive social impact.
• Experience managing research projects from inception to delivery.
• Ability to communicate with diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain relationships with collaborators.
• Develop research design including questions and data methods.
• Conduct interviews and facilitate workshops.

Skills

Mixed-method research experience

Strong analytical and critical thinking skills

Strong interpersonal skills

Strong data analysis skills

Strong presentation skills

Strong storytelling skills

Education

Degree in social sciences or related field

Tools

NVivo

ATLAS.ti

Adobe CS

Job description

Stride Treglown is an employee‑owned architectural practice and certified B Corp®.

Since 1953, we’ve been clear that great design requires a human approach, deep local knowledge, and specialist expertise — all backed by verified results:

We’re now one of the UK’s largest architectural practices, with 300+ specialists in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, masterplanning, town planning, building surveying, and graphic design.

Across 9 UK studios, we’re embedded in the communities we live and work, bringing imagination and flair to every project — with the technical proficiency to deliver what we design.

The opportunity

We’re hiring a Social Impact Researcher to support our team and push towards evidence‑based design across the practice.

Our pipeline of work is varied and includes projects at a range of different scales, sectors and stages of development. This includes research collaborations such as ongoing academic‑industry partnerships, our Impact Analysis workflow which analyses the social impact of our work with communities and embeds learnings into live projects, and our Inhabitant programme which tells the stories of people living and working in the places we have designed.

There is scope for the Social Impact Researcher to develop their own projects, and we’re looking for someone who is pro‑active, curious, confident to suggest new ideas and take initiative. The ideal candidate will be adept at designing and delivering socially engaged research projects, communicating with large multidisciplinary teams, and creating positive impact through built environment developments.

Ideally, you would be based at our Bristol office, though we’re open to alternative Stride Treglown studio locations.

Key responsibilities

• Project management and delivery
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external collaborators, including community stakeholders, to ensure sustained engagement and collaboration
• Oversee project budgets, ensuring financial responsibility
• Ensure that all projects adhere to inclusive, ethical and participatory practices
• Engagement
• Identify key community stakeholders, taking care to include voices which are often underrepresented in development processes
• Devise and implement engagement strategies
• Research
• Develop research design, including research questions, data collection methods and analysis plans
• Sensitively undertake interviews with communities with a range of different backgrounds and experiences, host focus group sessions, and facilitate creative workshops
• Review opportunities for knowledge and skills sharing with community groups and project partners as part of the research process
• Analysis
• Conduct and manage analysis to identify key themes, opportunities and challenges, leading to actionable insights
• Write up findings in accessible and compelling ways
• Visually communicate findings in accessible and compelling way
• Learning
• Work with internal teams to decipher learnings and apply feedback in practice
• Present learnings in internal and external settings through presentations, reports, workshops and events
• Collaborate with external partners to share learnings to diverse audiences
• Identify opportunities for improving our internal workflows and winning new work
• Represent Stride Treglown at external events
• Contribute to ongoing thought leadership through public‑facing events, reports and articles

Essential skills and experience

• Strong interest in the built environment, social impact, and sustainability
• Mixed‑method research experience, with particular emphasis on undertaking interviews
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills
• Strong understanding of the ethics of community research and participatory processes
• Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, enabling you to work with people with diverse backgrounds and experiences and build trust with community organisations
• Strong facilitation skills and ability to convene diverse groups
• Strong data analysis skills and ability to analyse qualitative data in a robust manner
• Strong storytelling skills and ability to write concise and visually compelling reports for varied audiences
• Experience managing research projects from inception to delivery
• Experience managing client and community relationships
• Strong presentation skills and the ability to share learnings with internal and external audiences
• Pro‑active, curious, and confident to share new ideas
• Demonstrable commitment to positive social impact and alignment with Stride Treglown’s values and ethos.

Desirable skills and experience

• Experience using qualitative analysis software such as NVivo and ATLAS.ti
• Experience designing and developing community‑based and participatory research projects
• Experience working with colleagues across a range of different built environment disciplines, including architecture, urban design, masterplanning, town planning, interior design and landscape architecture
• Familiarity with co‑design and co‑production methodologies
• Strong quantitative data analysis skills
• Fluency with Adobe CS
• Experience leading funding bids

What we offer

• Full‑time hours or Part‑time role ( 0.8FTE / 30 hours ) with flexible working options
• A contemporary working environment in an excellent location
• A friendly, open and caring culture

We know a broad range of skills would suit this role and are open to applicants with different educational backgrounds. For example, this could be social sciences (anthropology, politics, economics, sociology), arts (communication) or built environment (urban planning, urban design, architecture). If your background is not listed, but you think you would do a good job, we encourage you to apply.

If you would like to be considered, please include a:

• Cover Letter (under 2 pages) explaining why you are the right person for this role
• CV covering your professional achievements and experiences

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early.

Please note that submissions received after 24 December 2025 will be reviewed from 5 January 2026 onward.

Stride Treglown is registered as a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We are committed to changing behaviours and cultures with inclusive recruitment practices. We believe that every individual irrespective of their race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, nationality, background, disability or marital status can bring their full purpose to life. We will provide a fully accessible recruitment process and offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role.

Please apply via our website – you do not need to join or subscribe to any third‑party websites.

We look forward to receiving your application.