Research Fellow

Do you want to help shape the future of a fairer and more equal UK? Are you interested in making those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share? Are you a qualitative researcher passionate about economic justice and community-driven research? Then read on. Tax Justice UK (TJUK) is a leading campaigning organisation dedicated to transforming the UK economy and society by advocating for a fairer, more progressive, and more effective tax system. We have a track record of securing campaign wins and have successfully moved the dial on key tax justice issues such as taxes on wealth vs work. We have built strong relationships with parliamentarians, policy makers and a network of influential think tanks and organisations. We also have excellent relationships with many influential media outlets, regularly securing extensive media coverage on tax justice issues. However, we recognise we must do more to ground our work in the lives of everyday people. This is where the Research Fellow can help. As a Research Fellow, you will assist in fieldwork for an ambitious UK-wide study exploring how narratives on wealth taxation can build multi-ethnic class solidarity and counter division. Working directly with grassroots partners across the country, you will build relationships with local groups and co-design a community researcher model to ensure the project is deeply rooted in the places we study. Your work will focus on listening to how everyday people experience economic insecurity, understand local divisions, and respond to messaging on taxing the super-rich. This role offers a unique opportunity to gather the foundational, on-the-ground insights that will shape national narrative strategies to change tax policy. We’re looking for someone starting in their research career, who is eager to learn. We welcome applicants from all different backgrounds who have demonstrable interest in working class issues and a commitment to a fairer tax system in the UK. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you. Job description Working closely with the Research Manager and Executive Director, the Research Fellow will: Conduct desk-based research and contribute to literature reviews on inequality, immigration, tax, political narratives Support the development and refinement of the project’s research design, including identifying innovative approaches for working with community researchers and conducting ethical, inclusive research in working-class communities Support the recruitment, coordination and preparation of participants and community research partners across the project’s four to five research locations Travel to fieldwork locations across the UK to attend, observe and support the delivery of focus groups and interviews Organise research materials, including transcripts, field notes, consent records and qualitative datasets, in line with ethical and data-protection requirements Code and analyse focus-group and interview data, identifying emerging themes Help translate research findings into practical insights for the tax justice movement, communications and the development of messages about class, immigration and tax Attend weekly team meetings in the London office Undertake other reasonable research and project-support tasks required for the successful delivery of the programme. Please note: This is a one-year, part time post paid through a tax-free monthly stipend from the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust. The fellowship post holder will work as part of the Tax Justice UK team. The salary is a £21,500 tax free stipend for 4 days a week, equivalent to roughly £31k fulltime with tax.