New opportunities at the Bridge Group

23 July 2024

As part of our strategy for growth, the Bridge Group is recruiting for new roles in the coming months. Applications for the new post of Researcher (Qualitative analysis) have just closed (28 August). But over the next two months, we will also launch recruitment campaigns for our new Director of Employer Partnerships, as well as a Quantitative Researcher. As one of our collaborators / supporters, could you please help us promote these posts widely to diverse audiences?

If you are interested in applying your own skills to the Bridge Group's work, please check out the job descriptions as they become available. And see below for a snapshot of how your skills could help increase our impact.

Increasing our impact

We have an ever-expanding portfolio of research work that supports organisations of all kinds with independent expertise and practical know-how. Our aim is to enable these organisations to make a real and lasting impact on socio-economic diversity and social equality. 

 Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, our research focuses on three areas:

• Securing equal access to higher education

• Improving graduate outcomes

• Promoting greater diversity in the professions, including hiring and progression.

We are currently working with membership group Progress Together, as their data partner, to examine the socio-economic background (SEB) of hundreds of thousands of employees from some of the biggest financial companies in the UK, and how SEB impacts progression to the most senior roles. This work follows the release of our first data report last September, which was the largest study into socio-economic diversity and progression in financial services ever undertaken.

We are researching the experiences of those in the Civil Service Fast Stream, looking at participants’ progression and inclusion, and the culture of the scheme. The project follows earlier research which looked at the barriers to admission of the Fast Stream in which our recommendations, once implemented, increased representation among those from lower SEBs from 6 percent to 20 percent.

Our research undertaken for the Social Mobility Foundation, found that the alumni of the Aspiring Professionals Programme achieved better outcomes than the average graduate, but they experienced workplaces as non-inclusive, with high salaries not compensating for the daily challenges these graduates experience in the workplace.

We have many other projects underway (or recently complete) with a varied group of clients, including the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the JLL UK Foundation, Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Amazon, and the Sutton Trust.

Opportunities to join the team

If you are interested in applying your skills to these and similar projects – to support those from lower SEBs to get ahead - or you know somebody suitable, please stay tuned for further announcements.

Opportunities for your organisation

Please consult our brochure of Bridge Group services for 2024 and find out more about our services in research, consultancy, and engagement and advocacy.

Our vision is a fairer higher education system and labour market where outcomes are determined by competence and hard work, and not by SEB.