The Youth Endowment Fund

Senior Research Manager

Reports to: Research Lead
Salary: £52,736
Contract: 18 months fixed term
Location: Central London or Hybrid (see below)
Closing date:  Thursday 20th November at 12 pm
Interviews: Week commencing - 1st December 2025

About the Youth Endowment Fund

We exist to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We

do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge

into practice.

Last year, 509 children were tragically admitted to hospital after being assaulted

with a knife. Every child captured in these numbers is an important member of our

community and society has a duty to protect them. Even when violence doesn’t

strike directly, we know that the fear of violence has a terrible effect on children’s

lives.

At the Youth Endowment Fund, we are working to create lasting change. To

succeed, we must build a world-leading body of knowledge on the violence that

affects young people and how it can be stopped. This means producing rigorous,

relevant evidence — through synthesis, data analysis and in-depth research into

young people’s lives. But knowledge alone isn’t enough. We must make it

accessible and actionable: showing what works, how services need to change,

and how the systems around them must adapt. And we must partner with the

people who can make change happen — across policy, practice and local

systems — to turn evidence into impact.

About the role

We recently started a new workstream of research into why violence happens,

and which children are most vulnerable. We are working with experts across

research, policy and practice to investigate:

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•  What are the risk and protective factors for violence?
•  Why does violence happen? What are the underlying causes?
•  How can we use this research to improve policy and practice, and keep

children safe?

We are recruiting a Senior Research Manager to lead a portfolio of projects in this

workstream. This will include research exploring how predictive tools and

algorithms are used to assess risk of involvement in violence and guide support
decisions.1 This joint programme with UKRI Safer Streets Mission will investigate

whether these tools can help practitioners identify people at risk accurately,

safely, and fairly—and whether their use improves outcomes.

Predictive tools are structured frameworks that aim to help professionals such as

police analysts or social workers assess someone’s likelihood of committing

violence. They differ from “pure” professional judgement, where practitioners rely

solely on their own assessment without a formal checklist or model. These tools

have been used for years but are becoming both increasingly powerful and

controversial as new approaches, including machine learning, emerge.

The Senior Research Manager will commission and oversee a research team to

deliver two projects:

1.  A systematic review of existing research on predictive tools in violence

prevention.

2.  Primary research on how these tools are currently used in England and

Wales, including their practical and ethical implications.

The final report will assess predictive accuracy, impact, implementation, ethics,

and equity. The Senior Research Manager will ensure methodological rigour and

translate findings into clear, actionable guidance on whether and how these tools

should be used.

The Senior Research Manager will also lead a range of related projects, such as:

1 We have launched a call for proposals for teams to do this work. You can read more

about this here.

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•  Commissioning new research into the causes, risk factors and protective

factors for violence.

•  Contributing to the development of accessible online tools (similar to our

existing Toolkit) which make this research accessible and help decision

makers target support where it is most needed.

The Senior Research Manager will be part of YEF’s Research team. The Research

team is at the heart of our efforts to learn what works and put it into practice. We

do this by developing the YEF’s funding strategy and creating free, highly

accessible research summaries and actionable recommendations for policy

makers, commissioners and practitioners. We’re a high-performing team which

values intellectual rigour and getting to the truth, compassion for children,

ambition about what we can achieve and humility about what we know. We love

to discuss the latest developments in research methods, but we’re not just

interested in research for its own sake. We want research to lead to actual

changes in outcomes for children.

Key responsibilities

•  Commission impactful research into predictive tools. This will include a

systematic review of the existing research and new primary research. You’ll

provide expert scrutiny to ensure that the research is accurate, relevant

and useful. You’ll work closely with the appointed team to ensure the

research design meets YEF and UKRI’s objectives. You’ll champion equity,

ethics and legality throughout, ensuring the research examines fairness

(including racial equity), unintended consequences and ways of mitigating
bias.

•  Ensure that there is effective governance of the joint YEF/UKRI project. You

will set up and manage an effective steering group for the work, including

YEF, UKRI and external representatives.

•  Become YEF’s expert on the use of predictive tools. You’ll build strong

relationships with academics, practitioners, and the people affected by

predictive tools; convene expert advisors; and promote evidence-based

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decision-making. This will likely include close liaison with a range of

government departments.

•  Translate findings into clear, actionable guidance and resources. You’ll

ensure our recommendations are robust, accurate and useful for policy

makers and practitioners.

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Lead a range of related projects in our causes and risk factors workstream.

This could include commissioning new primary research and evidence

synthesis or writing accessible summaries for practitioners.

•  Work with our Change and Comms teams to interpret YEF research, ensure

it is communicated accurately and accessibly, and ensure it has an impact

on policy and practice. You may also speak directly to media outlets and

at conferences to share our findings and promote YEF results.

•  Respond to ad hoc requests as and when needed to support the Research

Team and YEF on a range of projects.

About You

You are this sort of person:

•  You want to play a significant part in reducing the level of violence

affecting young people. You care about having an impact. This might

mean you’ve worked directly with young people at risk of becoming

involved in crime, for organisations that fund or deliver relevant

programmes, or have conducted research on this topic.

•  You share our belief that an evidence-based approach is our best hope of

preventing violence. You’re fascinated by research, but you’re not just

interested in research for its own sake. You want to achieve actual changes

in outcomes for children. You address questions with an open mind,

curiosity, and a desire to learn from rigorous research.

•  You have a background in violence prevention or a related field, including

but not limited to criminal justice, youth services or safeguarding.
•  You’re a confident reader of research and have strong critical appraisal

skills. You know when research can be trusted and when it can’t and can

confidently articulate your views on the strength of research. You might

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have gained this expertise through your academic studies, research or

professional experience.

•  You bring significant experience (typically at least three years) of working

in a role that requires you to think about research. This could include a

range of roles in policy, academia, funding or practice.

•  You have delivered, or commissioned, high quality research projects. You

are confident in appraising the quality of research bids and understanding

different stages of research projects.

•  You write in a way that people easily understand. You have that rare skill of

writing in plain English. You have experience of translating complex
research findings into plain writing that everyone can understand.

•  You have excellent project and time management skills. You can work

independently, quickly and to a high standard. You have experience of

managing contractors or budgets.

•  You are good with people. You’re comfortable working with a wide range of

people, including senior academics and other research experts,

practitioners and policy makers, and children and their families. You’re able

to provide constructive challenge when required.

•  You learn fast but remain humble. You like learning. You’re very good at

synthesising information. You know how much you don't know and that you

can always learn more.

•  You work well in a team. You care more that good things happening than

who gets the credit. You support your colleagues to produce excellent work.
•  You’re committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. You believe and act in

a way that celebrates and encourages a range of experiences, views and

values. You have a track record of embedding EDI, mitigating bias and
involving affected communities in research.

While it’s not a criterion, we’re especially interested to hear from applicants who

have lived experience of youth violence.

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It’s also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe

in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications

are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage

or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual

orientation, transgender status or social economic background.

Hybrid Working Details

Our office is located in Central London. Team members who reside within the 32

London Boroughs or are within a 90-minute commute are expected to attend the

office at least two days per week.

For those living outside of London but within England, Scotland, or Wales, the

expectation is to work from the London office two days per month.

As part of our commitment to flexible working, we will consider a range of options
for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at interview stage.

To Apply

To apply, please send a CV, a cover letter answering the questions below and

complete the monitoring form. You can submit your application by clicking on the
"Apply for this" button by 12:00pm Thursday 20th November 2025.

When applying for this role, please ensure that your cover letter, within a

maximum of 1000 words, covers the following questions:

1. A clear example of when you have translated complex research findings into

actionable and usable summaries or guidance for policy makers or practitioners

2. A clear example of a research project you have delivered or commissioned,

and explain how you ensured its quality

Interview Process

Interviews will take place on week commencing 1st December 2025.

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There will be a task to prepare for in advance of the first stage interview and a

possible second-stage interview stage.

PLEASE NOTE: We do not sponsor work permits, and you will be required to provide
proof of your eligibility to work in the UK.

Benefits Include
• £1,000 professional development budget annually

• 25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays and 3 additional closure days over
Christmas
• Four half days for volunteering activities
• Employee Assistance Programme – 24hr phone line for free confidential support
• Death in service - 4 times annual salary
• Flexible hours. Core office hours 10am – 4pm
• Financial support including travel and hardship loans
• Employer contributed pension of 5%

Personal Data
Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise.

This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the

project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service

provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do

not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for

employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then

share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not
transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.

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