Research Operations Lead

Duration - October 2026 - May 2027 (Mat cover)Contract - Inside IR35, day rate.Hybrid working - 3 days on site, Central LondonThe Research Operations Manager is responsible for operational excellence, creating and maintaining processes and providing operational support to the researchers, reducing the administrative burden so that they can focus on planning, running and synthesising research. You will report to and work alongside the Head of ERT, managing relationships with finance, procurement, agency partners and our colleagues in the CPL Operations and Data Privacy team.Responsibilities:

1. Establish and manage relationships with global vendors: Work alongside our procurement, legal and finance teams to organize budgets, Statements of Work, onboarding, purchase orders, consent forms, NDAs, GDPR, etc. for our external agencies and freelancers
2. Take ownership of in-house research operations: own all operational aspects of our global kids testing programs by working with our recruitment vendors, setting up test environments, organising incentives, owning operational aspects including consent, NDAs, safeguarding, risk assessments, GDPR compliance etc.
3. Spearhead team budgeting: work with Head of Experimental Research to set and manage budgets, take ownership of meeting internal deliverables in line with our financial calendar and be the first point of contact regarding budget tracking and cost questions.
4. Manage and maintain our physical spaces: drive initiatives to optimize our research labs so it empowers teams to do their best work including organizing maintenance of the audio-visual technology, mics, camera's etc in our kids testing space.
5. Research technology and infrastructure: stewardship of the research technology stack, so that the tools we buy/build/use are actually adopted, correctly configured, and safe by default.
6. Data privacy: participate in cross-functional data privacy working group to ensure the most rigorous standards are maintained and teams are clear on, and adhere to, our policy and processes.

If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk