Happier Lives Institute
Remote (any location) | Full-time
Salary: £36,000–£40,000 p.a. (or $45,000-$50,000)
Start date: Ideally 1 July 2026
Professional experience required: 0-5 years
About the Happier Lives Institute
We pioneered the use of WELLBYs (wellbeing-adjusted life years) to evaluate charities and guide donors toward the most impactful opportunities to improve global happiness.
The Happier Lives Institute (HLI) is a nonprofit research organisation that identifies the most effective ways to improve global wellbeing. Our work combines insights from economics, psychology, and other social sciences to compare charities and interventions based on how much they improve people’s lives.
Our research informs donors, policymakers, and organisations around the world about how to do the most good.
The role
As a Research Analyst at HLI, your analysis will directly shape how donors and policymakers allocate resources to improve global wellbeing. You will work on real evaluations that influence funding decisions – helping to identify which charities and interventions do the most to improve people’s lives.
You will work closely with HLI’s research team to analyse evidence on interventions that improve wellbeing, contribute to charity evaluations, and support the development of new research outputs.
In the course of your work, you might approach questions like these:
- How does the wellbeing impact of a StrongMinds psychotherapy programme compare to that of an unconditional cash transfer of equivalent cost?
- What does the evidence say about how long the wellbeing benefits of treating depression persist after treatment ends?
- How should we adjust our cost-effectiveness estimates when a study was conducted in a different country or context from where an intervention is being implemented today?
Is this role right for you?
We want to be transparent about what this position involves so you can make an informed decision about whether it’s right for you:
- For the first year, you will generally work on the HLI research agenda rather than originating your own projects. You will contribute to ongoing evaluations and build your skills and knowledge of HLI’s methods before taking on more independent work.
- This is a small-team environment. You will work closely with senior researchers, but there is less structural support than you would find in a larger organisation. Self-direction and proactive communication matter here.
- The work is highly technical and requires comfort with uncertainty. Many questions we tackle don’t have clean answers in the literature. You will often need to make and defend judgment calls under genuine empirical uncertainty.
If that sounds exciting to you – if you want to build rigorous analytical foundations and grow with an agile organisation, while contributing to work that genuinely matters – this could be a great fit.
Key responsibilities
Research and analysis
- Conduct literature reviews, meta-analyses, and evidence syntheses on interventions that affect wellbeing
- Developing cost-effectiveness models using wellbeing data
- Collect, clean, and analyse datasets relevant to HLI’s research agenda
- Contribute to charity evaluations and comparative analyses
Research outputs
- Write and contribute to research reports, blog posts, and technical analyses
- Translate complex findings into clear insights for donors and other audiences
Collaboration and engagement
- Consult with academics and partner organisations to inform research
- Represent HLI in discussions with external stakeholders when relevant
- Support management of research interns or volunteers where needed
About you
We expect many strong candidates will be/have:
- Analytically rigorous. You are comfortable working with quantitative data and statistical evidence. You can critically evaluate empirical research, spot weaknesses in a body of evidence, and explain what a set of findings does and doesn’t tell us.
- Conscientious and well-organised. You produce careful, accurate work and keep your projects well-tracked. You proactively flag problems rather than waiting to be asked, and you are receptive to feedback and rarely repeat the same mistake twice.
- Training, to a Masters level or equivalent, in economics, psychology, statistics, or another relevant social science
- Experience conducting empirical research or evidence synthesis
- A clear communicator. You write clearly and concisely, and you communicate what you believe and why, as well as where you are genuinely uncertain. You can translate a dense technical analysis into something a non-specialist donor or policymaker can act on.
- Mission-driven. You are genuinely passionate about improving global wellbeing and want your work to have real-world impact. You care about getting things right, not just producing polished outputs.
- Self-directed and curious. You take ownership of your projects and follow through without needing close supervision. You ask a lot of questions, and you are curious rather than defensive when your work or assumptions are challenged.
- Programming or statistical analysis skills (e.g. R, Python, Stata)
Desirable but not required:
- Experience with cost-effectiveness modelling or impact evaluation
- Familiarity with wellbeing research or subjective wellbeing data
- Meta-analysis skills
- GitHub or other version control experience
Working at HLI
- Fully remote, work from anywhere
- Flexible working environment in a small, collaborative team
- Annual team retreats and opportunities to travel to attend conferences
- 25 days annual leave and UK public holidays
- 50% of mental health support costs covered by HLI
- Coworking allowance to support you do your best work
- Opportunity to contribute to research influencing global philanthropy and policy for a happier world!
Career development
HLI is a small and growing organisation, and we expect strong performers to take on increasing responsibility over time. After building foundations in your first year or so, you will have opportunities to originate research questions, lead evaluations, and contribute to shaping HLI’s research agenda. We are happy to discuss what career progression looks like at HLI at any stage of the hiring process.
Hiring process
Our process is designed to be straightforward and respectful of your time. After reviewing applications, we expect the process to run as follows:
- Application review – CV, work example, and short cover letter, reviewed by the HLI team.
- Interviews – one or two conversations with members of the HLI research team, covering your background, skills, and motivation.
- Reference checks.
We aim to give all applicants timely updates at each stage. If you have any questions before applying, contact us at alex@happierlivesinstitute.org
How to apply
Applications will close Friday 1 May 2026 5pm GMT.
Please submit using this Google Form your CV, a short work example and a short cover letter explaining why you are interested in the role and how your background fits.
Start date: Ideally, 1 July 2026.
We don’t want to miss candidates who could do great things at HLI. If you’re on the fence because you meet some but not all of our preferred qualifications – a pattern that research suggests is especially common among women and people from underrepresented groups – we encourage you to apply anyway. We review every application and consider your full background and potential.