Research Analyst, Birmingham 2025

Are you seeking to build a career as a research expert within life sciences, using your critical analysis and research expertise to advance the healthcare and life sciences industry? 

Are you looking to work collaboratively within a fun, friendly and supportive team in which you will learn, develop and grow into an exceptional research and insights specialist? 

If so, come and join us and be part of the second cohort of Research Analysts in our exciting new research centre of excellence in the heart of Birmingham.

To support the continued growth of our business, we are recruiting life sciences graduates and postgraduates, looking to apply their expertise in a research environment. Working as part of our inspirational and incredibly supportive team across a broad range of therapeutic areas, you will play a crucial role in helping some of the world’s top healthcare and life sciences organisations understand how to overcome their biggest challenges.

Who we are

Solici is the strategic competitive intelligence division of Cambridge Healthcare Research. Founded in 2013 and having grown to over 130 staff today, CHR gives healthcare decision makers the power of knowing by providing critical insights, analysis and interpretation that informs pivotal decisions that advance healthcare.  

Our vision at Solici is to help the brightest ideas reach patients. We achieve this by combining research excellence with deep subject matter expertise in a range of therapy areas and a passion for enabling our clients to deliver innovative products and services to those who need them.

Our values enable us to embed considered and curious teams at the heart of any client challenge:

• Collaboration – We build great connections to achieve more together
• Excellence – We aim for greatness in everything we do
• Community – We deliver beyond work for our people, our clients, and wider society
• Courage – We embrace challenges as opportunities for growth
• Integrity – We always do the right thing

What you will do

As a Research Analyst, you will be part of our research team, supporting the creation and delivery of research outputs across multiple projects through conducting high-quality desk-based secondary research, and summarising and analysing your findings. You will be part of project teams providing industry, market and product level research to consulting colleagues. 

Key responsibilities will include: 

• Secondary research – Developing expert-level understanding on therapeutic areas through identifying and accessing relevant data sources for insights on changes to the competitive landscape.
• Content development – Analysing gathered research to prepare time-sensitive notifications on major and relevant events within the target landscape and develop PowerPoint decks covering key findings. 
• Primary research support – Establishing baseline knowledge of the key intelligence topic to support the development of primary research guides and questions. 
• Research planning – Helping consulting colleagues to develop robust research plans, including key milestones and deliverables, to support the successful delivery of projects that maximise client satisfaction. 
• Consulting support – Preparing consulting colleagues for conferences by contributing to the creation of pre- and post-conference materials and supporting business development through researching and developing analyses to underpin proposals for new client work.  
• Project team and client interaction – Attending internal meetings with project teams and [as required] external meetings with colleagues and clients. 
• Quality control – Peer reviewing work to ensure outputs are of the highest quality. 
• Continuous improvement – Using expert knowledge and keeping abreast of developments to both leverage existing data sources and recommend better sources to enhance the quality of research outputs.

About you

At CHR, it is our team that makes us successful. We hire exceptional individuals and provide them with the support and opportunity to excel. 

Alongside a keen interest in conducting scientific research and insight generation, you will need to have gained a Bachelor’s or postgraduate degree in a life sciences discipline. We welcome applications from candidates with a diverse range of specialisms, including but not limited to; Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Biotechnology, Cardiovascular Medicine, Drug Discovery, Immunology, Pharmacology and Public Health. We will consider other life sciences disciplines if you can articulate how your skills and aspirations will enable you to succeed in this role. 

We will also be looking for you to demonstrate:

• Excellent written and spoken English.
• IT skills across the Microsoft suite [especially Excel and PowerPoint] and in using databases
• Planning, organising and prioritisation skills to successfully complete deliverables and achieve milestones in a timely manner
• Secondary research skills to identify appropriate data sources and information
• Great analytical skills with exceptional attention to detail to convert gathered research into key outputs
• A growth mindset with an openness to accepting and acting on constructive feedback to improve your own capabilities
• A collaborative and solution-focused attitude to achieve success as part of a team
• Drive, ambition and self-motivation; our work requires perseverance and personal accountability
• Proactivity and using your initiative to deliver beyond expectations.

Essential - you must be:

• Available to start in either October 2025 or January 2026.
• Based in the UK and able to commute to our office in Birmingham city centre at least 3 days a week.
• Able to attend all stages of the recruitment and selection process outlined below.

Please also see the section on Right to Work and Visa Sponsorship below.

Benefits

We offer an adaptable and supportive atmosphere as well as a competitive salary and benefits package that includes:

• Annual salary of £28,000
• 25 days holiday per year (with an additional day per year of service, up to 30 days) plus all bank/public holidays and Christmas/New Year closure
• Contributory pension scheme
• Private health insurance
• Employee assistance programme
• Mind & Body allowance to support activities that proactively support your health & wellbeing (such as gym membership or wellbeing apps)
• Annual bonus
• Cycle to work scheme
• Flexible working
• Life assurance

The Recruitment and Selection Process

Round 1: Online Application

• When you register your details and submit your CV, you will be asked to complete our application questionnaire. These questions are designed to give you the chance to tell us why you will thrive at CHR.
• The deadline for applications is 23:59 BST on Thursday 7th August.

Round 2: Online Assessment

• If you are shortlisted after the online application, we will invite you to complete an online assessment during ​early to mid-August.

Round 3: Video Interview

• If you are successful in the online assessment, you will speak about your skills and experience with our team between Monday 1st – Friday 12th September.

Round 4: Assessment Day

• The final stage is to attend an assessment day in London on either Monday 22nd, Wednesday 24th or Tuesday 30th September 2025.

How to stand out from the crowd – our top tips:

Our campaign earlier this year attracted a high volume of applications and those who succeeded excelled in the following:

• Did their homework on who we are and what we do for our clients
• Clearly articulated skills, behaviours and experiences that will enable them to thrive in the role
• Provided thoughtful and evidence-based answers throughout the process
• Stood out from the crowd by providing authentic and unique responses in their application form – we recognise and embrace the discerning use of AI but are ultimately looking to recruit you. We are looking for genuine insights into your skills and motivations, and originality will help you stand out amongst a large field of high-quality applicants. 

Right to Work and Visa Sponsorship

CHR’s ability to make you an offer of employment is subject to the prevailing UK immigration rules. Under the current rules, sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa is not available for this position.

All successful applicants will be required to provide evidence of their right to work in the UK before commencing employment.

CHR is an Equal Opportunity Employer and makes all employment decisions objectively on merit without regard to age, national origin, race, ethnicity, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note that New Minds Resourcing Ltd are acting as our retained consultants for the recruitment of this role. All applications will be shared with both New Minds and CHR.