- Analysis, reporting and client-engagement focused role
- Drive engagement among clients and stakeholders in higher education
- Contribute to the strategic direction of the Social Research Centre’s Education sector
About The Social Research Centre:
The Social Research Centre (SRC) is Australia’s trusted evidence partner, delivering world-class, ethical and culturally-sound social research and evaluation. We work with governments, not-for-profits, academia and mission-aligned organisations to support informed decision-making and advance understanding of Australian society.
Our work spans large-scale surveys, qualitative research and mixed methods studies across areas such as health and wellbeing, education and training, employment, social cohesion, equity and justice, and the experiences of marginalised communities. We are known for our work in higher education (e.g. Quality Indicators in Learning and Teaching) and across many areas of social research (view our current projects here).
About the role:
The role is suited to a researcher with strong agency- or client-side quantitative experience, who is comfortable working across mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) when the client problem requires different methodologies. The current focus is on large, complex quantitative CX / satisfaction / student experience trackers in higher education including analysis, reporting, and higher education sector engagement. The role involves:
- Contributing end-to-end to large-scale market or social research projects from design and proposal support through to analysis and reporting
- Analysis of quantitative data to identify emerging themes and incorporate new views of tracking data into reporting to ensure findings are clear and inform practical insights and recommendations
- Supporting institutional clients and other sector stakeholders to better understand and use the data that we collect and deliver
- Development of new student experience survey modules and fee-for-service mixed methods products that sit alongside our BAU projects within the higher education sector
- Maintaining an appreciation of the operations of our large BAU trackers, noting that the direct management of fieldwork is not a focus for this role
- Representing SRC at higher education events, including presenting novel insights and / or analytical approaches, and being a passionate advocate for sector information needs from the BAU surveys that you work on
- Working with the Education Sector Lead to identify new research or consulting opportunities among institutional clients
- Contributing to the broad strategic direction of SRC’s Education Sector
Mandatory skills and experience:
The role is suited to a Senior Research Consultant or Research Director with a minimum of 5-yrs experience in a social / market research role at an agency or a related role at a higher education institution where you were responsible for collecting, analysing, interpreting and/or disseminating student data to support improvement initiatives. You must bring excellent writing and data analysis skills and be keen to conduct analysis, reporting, and support business development and higher education sector engagement activities.
We are keen to hear from candidates who:
- Have capability and interest in both quantitative and qualitative methods with well-developed skills in quantitative data analysis and insights generation
- Have a proven ability to write publication-standard reports and presentations (primarily to government clients and to senior business leaders)
- Demonstrable agency- or client-side experience in working with survey data to deliver insights reports for decision-making and to inform strategy to improve the student experience; hands-on experience in delivering CX / customer experience / customer satisfaction programs in service sectors will also be well-regarded
- Have a proven ability to write publication-standard reports and presentations
- Are skilled in the use of relevant analysis packages (e.g. SPSS, Q, R or similar)
- Demonstrate excellent client management / sector engagement skills
- Are organised, collaborative and able to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team servicing a large project (you won’t be running your own show; you’ll need to work in with other team members, coordinate across projects / functions and adopt a ‘big project’ mindset)
- Are willing to mentor and train other research and project support staff
The role will work alongside the current team of education researchers and data scientists to leverage the many opportunities afforded by our expertise in education research and our association with QILT. The role reports to the Education Sector Lead.
What we offer:
- Permanent, full-time role working on nationally significant education projects
- A collaborative and inclusive culture, with multidisciplinary teams across research, statistics and methods, data science, operations and corporate services
- Professional development and career growth, including coaching, feedback and access to methodological expertise
- Flexible, hybrid working arrangements from our Melbourne CBD office, in line with SRC policy
- A range of employee benefits, including paid parental leave, profit-sharing and referral bonuses (where applicable), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), regular social events and annual flu vaccinations
To apply for this position:
Please click apply and upload your resume and one-page expression of interest covering the key selection criteria. Applications will be accepted until 12 March 2026. Please note that shortlisting may begin prior to the closing date.
For more information or for a copy of the position description, please contact the P&C team at recruitment@srcentre.com.au.
Candidates must have full working rights in Australia to apply for this role.
The Social Research Centre values diversity and believes that an inclusive and fair work environment has a positive impact on the wellbeing of employees, job satisfaction and productivity. We encourage people of Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander heritage, people with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, sexual orientation, gender identity; and people with disability to apply.
