Behavioural Science Associate

About Affective

Affective Advisory GmbH is a leading specialised behavioural science consultancy based in Zurich, Switzerland. Our team of qualified behavioural science consultants applies the latest academic insights from behavioural economics, social psychology, and decision science to design innovative solutions for behaviour change in citizens, customers, and colleagues. We support governments, corporations, and non-profits in tackling some of the most critical social, ecological, economic and organisational challenges of our time, focussing throughout on human judgement and decision-making. Since its foundation in 2017, Affective has built a reputation as one of the most specialised teams in the field of applied behavioural science globally. Since 2023, Affective belongs to Team Farner, the leading management consultancy for integrated communications in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH). We are proud of our qualifications and expertise created over years of collaborating with leading organisations and renowned academic institutions. As a founding board member of the Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists (GAABS), a board member of the Swiss Behavioral Insights for Better Politics and Societies Initiative (BIPS) and a participant to the United Nations Global Compact (UN GC) we are committed to the application and advancement of behavioural science for good. Our integrated services span across four clusters: 1) Conducting applied behavioural desk and field research, 2) providing innovative strategic advice to global decision makers, 3) enabling hands-on observation and experimentation in organisations and 4) delivering insightful training and capability building programmes to public, private and nongovernmental organisations. We are growing our specialist team and are now looking for a qualified Behavioural Science Associate to join our Zurich office for a first fixed term of six months, starting from January/February 2025. The role is considered an entry position to our team that can potentially be extended and transformed into a permanent position.

About the Role

The Behavioural Science Associate will become an active team member of Affective from day one. The talent will work closely with the Managing Partner, Behavioural Science Strategy Lead and Behavioural Data Science Lead as well as the global Affective Collective on a variety of national and international projects. As an Associate the talent will work on-site in Switzerland with a 80% to 100% workload. Business travel may be expected for up to 25% of the time.

The main responsibilities of the role include (listed in no particular order of importance):

• Analysing, understanding and defining client needs and appropriate processes to address them effectively
• Conducting academic and best-practice secondary desk research using qualified academic insights and methods
• Designing science-backed behavioural interventions for business and policy applications in a variety of contexts
• Planning, implementing and monitoring experimental and observational field research in collaboration with internal and external team members
• Analysing and interpreting behavioural data using statistical software as well as translating academic research and theory into practical and actionable insights
• Collaborating and communicating with clients and stakeholders in Switzerland and internationally
• Building a personal network within the wider organisation to enhance collaboration and business development
• Handling administrative and communication tasks for a growing behavioural science consultancy

The ideal candidate (m/f/d) for this role holds an academic qualification in behavioural science (or a related field) and has some initial work experience in a relevant role, either practical or academic. The individual thrives in a fast-paced creative international environment, and is dedicated to delivering high-quality results with attention to detail that exceeds the expectations of a global clientele.

The following qualifications are required:

• Completed MSc or PhD degree in behavioural science, experimental economics, neuroscience, decision science, or a related field
• A creative, communicative, quality-driven, and team-oriented mindset paired with a desire to make a positive impact through the application of academic insights in methods
• Practical work experience, ideally within behavioural science consulting, academic research, consumer psychology, customer insights, tech-marketing, business strategy, or equivalent role (internships are considered)
• Experience using experimental design and survey platforms (e.g., Qualtrics) to create, distribute, and manage experiments and collect data
• Experience in handling data and conducting statistical analysis using analytics software (e.g., R or Python)
• Competency in Apple iWork (preferred) and/or Microsoft Office
• Fluency in both German and English
• Eligibility to work on-site in Zurich (please consult the official employment regulation of the SEM in Switzerland)

The following qualifications are beneficial / optional:

• Practical experience in developing and writing publications or editorials for academic and/or practitioner audiences
• Proficiency in Figma, Affinity, or Adobe Creative Suite
• Fluency in Swiss-German, French, or Italian, additional languages are welcomed

Affective Advisory is an equal opportunity employer, ensuring anonymous profile evaluation until the first personal interview. We welcome applications from all talents (m/f/d) without discriminating against origin, race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, or disability status and runs a hiring process informed by behavioural science insights.

Applications are exclusively processed through the dedicated form on our website from 21 October 2024 to 10 November 2024 end of day. Please note that we do not accept applications from or via recruitment firms or agents.

For more information, we recommend to check out https://affective-advisory.com/jobs, visit us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/affective-advisory/ or simply email us via talents@affective-advisory.com. Thank you.