Help research that could change millions of lives.

Are you an exceptionally organised administrator who enjoys keeping projects running smoothly?

Would you like your work to contribute to research that could transform how mental health conditions are understood, diagnosed, treated and ultimately prevented?

If so, we'd love to hear from you.

We're looking for a proactive, highly organised Research Project Administrator to join our growing Research Team. You'll play a vital role behind the scenes, providing first-class administrative and project support that enables our researchers, project managers and lived experience contributors to deliver research with real-world impact.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join an award-winning charity where your organisational skills will genuinely make a difference.

About MQ

At MQ, we champion and fund world-class research to transform the lives of everyone affected by mental health conditions.

We believe research is the key to creating a future where mental illnesses are better understood, more effectively treated and, one day, prevented altogether.

We're proud to have been recognised as one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work, reflecting our commitment to creating an inclusive, supportive and high-performing workplace where people can do their best work.

We know that diverse perspectives lead to better ideas, stronger research and greater impact. That's why we're committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcomed, valued and able to thrive.

The Role

As our Research Administrator, you'll be the person who helps keep our research programmes organised, efficient and moving forward.

Working closely with Project Managers and Programme Leads, you'll coordinate meetings, maintain project records, support budgets and payments, organise events and workshops, and ensure our systems and documentation remain accurate and up to date.

You'll also play an important role in supporting the involvement of people with lived experience of mental illness, helping to coordinate communications, contracts and payments while ensuring every interaction is professional, organised and welcoming.

No two days are the same. One day you might be organising a research workshop with leading academics, the next preparing project documentation, coordinating contributor payments or helping the team track progress across multiple programmes.

If you enjoy variety, love bringing order to complexity and take pride in getting the details right, you'll thrive in this role.

What you'll be doing

You'll:

Coordinate internal and external meetings, including scheduling, agendas, papers and follow-up actions.
Take clear, accurate meeting minutes and track actions.
Support Project Managers with budgets, invoices and financial administration.
Maintain project plans, trackers and systems including Monday.com and Microsoft Teams.
Keep research documentation accurate, organised and up to date.
Support surveys, data collection and reporting activities.
Help organise workshops, roundtables and stakeholder events.
Coordinate the recruitment and onboarding of lived experience contributors.
Prepare contributor contracts and maintain accurate records.
Coordinate payments and communications with external contributors.
Work closely with colleagues across Finance, Marketing and Research to ensure projects run smoothly.
Build positive relationships with researchers, academics, people with lived experience and other external partners.
Ensure information is handled confidentially and in line with GDPR.

About you

We're looking for someone who is naturally organised, enjoys supporting others and takes pride in delivering high-quality work.

You'll probably have around three to four years' experience in an administrative, research or project support role and be confident juggling multiple priorities while maintaining excellent attention to detail.

You'll also bring:

Excellent organisational and time management skills.
Strong written and verbal communication.
Experience supporting meetings and coordinating projects.
Confidence managing budgets, invoices and payments.
Excellent Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel.
Experience using collaboration platforms such as Teams, Zoom and Google Workspace.
The ability to manage confidential information with care and professionalism.
A collaborative, flexible and positive approach.

It would be great if you also have

Experience working within research, higher education or the charity sector.
Experience supporting surveys or research projects.
Experience organising conferences, workshops or stakeholder events.
Experience using project management software such as Monday.com.
Advanced Excel skills.
A degree in health, social sciences, economics or another relevant subject (or equivalent experience).

Why join MQ?

As well as meaningful work that has the potential to improve millions of lives, you'll receive:

£1,200 annual wellbeing allowance per annum
28 days annual leave plus bank holidays
Hybrid and flexible working
5% employer pension contribution
Employee Assistance Programme and counselling service
Life Assurance
Cycle to Work and season ticket loan schemes
Professional development and training opportunities
Regular team socials and wellbeing events
A genuinely supportive, collaborative culture where your ideas matter

Ready to make a difference?

If you're an organised administrator who enjoys helping teams succeed and wants to contribute to research that changes lives, we'd love to hear from you.

Please submit your CV and covering letter by the deadline.

Please note, we typically start interviewing within one week of the job advert going live. We reserve the right to close the job before the deadline based on the volume of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

We believe in equality and inclusion and we welcome job applications from everyone, provided you meet the criteria for the job.

Safer recruitment is important to us and the successful applicant will be asked to provide two references. They will also be required to complete a safeguarding self-declaration and undertake a DBS check.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Benefits

Flexible working: As a mental health charity, staff wellbeing is of paramount importance. We operate a core hours policy (10-4) to encourage flexible working and staff are mainly home based with the requirement to come into the office two days per week. A standard full-time working week is 35 hours, plus an hour for lunch breaks.

Holidays: Annual holiday entitlement of 31 days (inc. office closure between Xmas and New Year) plus bank holidays.

Wellbeing Allowance: MQ provides an allowance of up to £1200 per annum for each employee to spend on activities that increase their wellbeing. This is paid through payroll and is taxable.

Virtual GP & Other wellbeing services - Get quick GP appointments and support with cancer and caring responsibilities through our Zurich benefits scheme.

Cycle to work scheme: An interest-free loan is available to enable employees to purchase a bike and accessories, repaid via equal deductions from the employee’s salary over 12 months.

Employee Assistance Programme: All employees and their families have access to a 24-hour confidential advice and support line.

Counselling: Employees have access to a number of free face-to-face sessions, via the EAP scheme.

Pension: MQ makes contributions of 5% and employees make contributions of 3%.

Life Assurance - Up to 4 x your salary in the event of death in service.

Season Ticket Loan: An interest free season ticket loan is available, repaid via equal deductions from the employee’s salary over 12 months.

Personal Development: We value employee development and review individual training needs through our performance management system. HR also runs internal management development sessions for all staff.

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