Citizen Scientist

Please note: This role is only open to Camden residents; former Camden secondary school pupils, or Camden Care Leavers who live in 1x East of Camden (Kentish Town, Camden Square, Gospel Oak) and 1x the West (Kilburn, Fortune Green, West Hampstead)

Starting salary: £33,855 (pro-rata)
Job level: Level 2, Zone 1
Work location: 5 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG
Hours per week: 21.6 hours per week
Contract type: 2 x Fixed term ( Part Time) contracts for 12 months
Closing date: Tuesday 3rd February 2026; 23:55
Interviews: Week commencing 9th February 2026
Training for the UCL course will begin at the end of February

Anonymised Application – in keeping with Camden’s commitment to inclusion the recruitment to this role is anonymised and supports the objective of reducing the impact of unconscious bias.

What is a Citizen Scientist?

You do not need to be a scientist to do this job, and you don’t need an academic background to be considered for this role.

As a Citizen Scientist, you will help ensure Camden is a place where everyone has a voice. We will provide training and support to help you do this. You will be someone who enjoys being out and about in the community, talking to people. We are looking for people with energy, enthusiasm, and the passion to help us make social change a reality, so that nobody in Camden gets left behind.

About the role

Using your experience and understanding of Camden as a place to live, work and study, you will help us to put our residents’ voices and experiences at the centre of everything we do. You will work closely with the Participation Team, where you will be supported to encourage strong citizen involvement in key council projects.

This role will be a work placement, which is offered as a fixed-term contract for 12 months. During this placement, in the first 3 months you will be required to complete an accredited course delivered by our partner, University College London, which will enable you to develop and demonstrate core competencies as a Citizen Scientist. You do not need an academic background or high standards of English and Maths to succeed on this course, as it focuses on practical learning but you must have good local knowledge of Camden, especially Kilburn or Kentish Town, therefore, you will be a Camden resident, or a former Camden secondary school pupil or a Camden Care Leaver (including placed in Camden by another local authority).

Within the first 3 months, your working hours will be split between study and project work, enabling you to complete your Citizen Science accreditation within your contractual working hours.

In the following 9 months, you will be working with Camden’s Participation Team, using your citizens science skills, to conduct research projects in Kentish Town and Kilburn that will help the council understand residents’ priorities for their neighbourhood, and find ways to get residents more involved in decision-making.

This placement is seen as a pathway to alternative, longer term employment, either within or outside the council. We are looking to recruit people who may want to overcome barriers to employment and whose experience of living in Camden can help us build fairer communities.

About you

You will enjoy meeting new people and have a genuine interest in wanting to help Camden’s residents and communities, by finding out about their experiences of living, or working in the borough. Have good local knowledge of Camden, especially Kilburn or Kentish Town. You’ll enjoy building and maintaining good working relationships with a variety of individuals and organisations such as residents, businesses, community and voluntary groups and work well within a supportive team.

You will be a Camden resident; former Camden secondary school pupil, or Camden Care Leaver and live in 1x East of Camden (Kentish Town, Camden Square, Gospel Oak) and 1x West of Camden (Kilburn, Fortune Green, West Hampstead) to be able to apply for this role.

Please see the ‘Additional Information’ section of the job profile (attached below) for more information about requirements for this role.

Working for Camden
We’re ready to welcome your ideas, your views, and your rebellious spirit. If that sounds good to you, we’d love to talk.

At Camden, you’ll receive a host of benefits as well as joining a flexible working employer. Visit 'www.camdenjobs.co.uk/staff-benefits' to see full details of our benefits.

Additional information

To view the Job Profile, please copy and paste the below URL into the browser:
http://camdocs.camden.gov.uk/HPRMWebDrawer/Record/11572340/file/documen…

How to apply for this role

To apply for this job, please follow the ‘’Apply’’ link.

In the ‘’Why you?’’ section of the application you will be required to demonstrate you how you meet the role criteria noted in the Job Profile under the ‘’About You’’ section.

IMPORTANT: To be considered for shortlisting, in the ‘’Why You?’’ section, you MUST state whether you are a Camden resident; former Camden secondary school pupil, or Camden Care Leaver and live in 1x East of Camden (Kentish Town, Camden Square, Gospel Oak) and 1x West Camden (Kilburn, Fortune Green, West Hampstead) to be able to apply for this role. If you do not provide this information, you will not be shortlisted for interview.

Inclusion and Belonging

At Camden, we want every colleague to feel they belong and can thrive. We welcome applications from all parts of our community, and particularly encourage people from Black, Asian and Other Ethnic Heritage communities, LGBTQ+ people, disabled and neurodiverse people, survivors of domestic abuse, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds or with care experience. We know that different voices and perspectives make us stronger, and we are committed to providing the support, adjustments and flexibility people need to succeed. Click Inclusion and diversity - Camden Careers - Camden Council for more information on our commitment.

Asking for Adjustments

At Camden, we are committed to making our recruitment process barrier-free and accessible for everyone. If you need us to do something differently during the application, interview or assessment process, just let us know and we will support you. This could include providing information in an alternative format, extra time in assessments, or adjustments for disabled, neurodiverse or long-term health conditions.

Please contact us on 020 7974 6655, at resourcing@camden.gov.uk or by post to 5 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG. We’ll work with you to make sure the process works for you.