Investigative Researcher

JR United Kingdom; Shrewsbury; Remote; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading investigative think-tank dedicated to exposing issues within the UK tax system seeks an Investigative Researcher. This role requires strong experience in investigative research, regulatory investigations, or journalism, focusing on areas like tax avoidance and corporate secrecy. Successful candidates will have the ability to communicate complex financial issues clearly and will be crucial in shaping public understanding of tax justice.

Benefits

Flexible working policy

Payment towards shared workspace costs

Qualifications

• At least 3-5 years’ experience in investigative research or journalism.
• Ability to use open sources for financial investigations.
• Clear and compelling report writing.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct investigative research on tax-related issues.
• Communicate findings to diverse audiences including media and parliament.
• Liaise with journalists and media partners as necessary.

Skills

Investigative research

Financial investigation

Report writing

Communication

Job description

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We’re looking for a curious, collaborative, and experienced Investigative Researcher to help us uncover how the UK tax system is being exploited and by whom. Whether your background is in journalism, financial investigation, or civil society research, you’ll apply your skills to uncover complex financial and tax arrangements, and to explain them in compelling ways.

You’ll lead or contribute to major investigations into tax avoidance, evasion, corporate secrecy, and the enablers of tax abuse. Your work will be central to our mission to shape public understanding and hold power to account.

We understand that not everyone’s path is linear. We benefit from our staff having diverse perspectives and experiences. If you bring transferable skills and a commitment to economic justice—even if you don’t meet every single requirement—we’d love to hear from you.

Contract: Permanent, 3 days per week (0.6 full-time equivalent)

Working arrangements: Flexible working policy with core working hours of 10:00-15:00 UK time. We will also consider compressed hours if requested.

Location: Our team works remotely. TaxWatch offers a payment towards shared workspace costs.

Application Deadline: Monday 14 July 2025, 12 noon UK time

Interviews: 21-28 July 2025 (remote)

To apply: Please send a CV and one-page cover letter to [emailprotected] (please send your application via email, and please do not simply submit your pro-forma CV via LinkedIn)

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TaxWatch is committed to building a diverse team. Journalism, the tax and financial professions, and the charity sector, all have serious diversity problems. We welcome applications from everyone, and particularly encourage applications from people from an ethnic minority background, and people with a disability. Our existing team includes people with a disability.

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The post-holder will:

• Design and conduct investigative research on tax avoidance, tax evasion, the ‘offshore world’ and deficiencies in UK tax administration: driving investigations from initial concept to finished product in conjunction with the director and tax technical adviser
• Identify new targets for investigative research in line with TaxWatch’s strategic plan and thematic priorities
• Help communicate the findings of investigations to the public, media, parliamentarians, public officials, professional stakeholders and other audiences, with support from the director and other staff
• Contribute to strategic planning of TaxWatch’s investigative priorities
• Liaise with journalists and media partners where necessary, in conjunction with the director

We’re looking for someone with:

• At least 3-5 years’ experience of investigative research, regulatory or forensic investigations, or journalistic work in tax, corporate transparency, illicit finance, corruption, money-laundering, or related areas
• Ability to use open sources for financial investigations, including financial accounts, company registries, social media and other sources
• Ability to write clear and compelling reports, articles and blogs communicating complex financial stories and tax schemes
• A strong commitment to fairness and effectiveness in the UK tax system and tax administration

We hope to find someone who also has some of these skills and experiences:

• Ability to use data tools and data visualisation to enhance financial investigations
• Experience of identifying and obtaining information from contacts and sources
• A network of relevant contacts in business, finance, law, and related fields
• An understanding of the UK tax system and tax policy developments
• Familiarity with economic and financial reporting principles
• An understanding of UK libel and defamation laws

About us

TaxWatch was established in 2018 to shine a light on how the UK tax system is functioning, and how it’s abused. We are an investigative think-tank: we use in-depth investigations to show what’s going wrong, and what needs to change.

Rather than solely focusing on tax policy, we look at how the UK tax system operates ‘on the ground’. Our investigations have ranged from the use and abuse of tax credits by billion-pound film franchises, to tax avoidance by tech giants, to special property regimes that avoid capital gains tax while shrinking housing availability for renters.

An ongoing strand of our work examines professional enablers of tax abuse, leading to sanctions against tax advisers responsible for fraud and large-scale tax evasion, and also showcasing inadequate regulation of the tax adviser industry. Our annual State of Tax Administration report serves as a shadow report on HMRC’s functioning and resourcing, and its statistics are widely used by the media, parliamentary committees and NGOs.

Our staff and advisors include journalists, financial investigators, lawyers and tax professionals. We are widely consulted and cited by the media and campaigners, and we provide a technical resource for other tax justice organisations. We are a registered UK charity and a company limited by guarantee.