Foresight Analyst at The Future Laboratory – London, England, United Kingdom

Job Description

Description

This is an opportunity to join The Future Laboratory’s Foresight team, contributing to our industry-leading consumer insight and trends platform, LS:N Global.

As a Foresight Analyst, you’ll be an articulate communicator and analytical thinker with at least 1–2 years of experience in trends, insights, strategy, or journalism. An interest in food and drink—or a willingness to develop expertise in this area—is ideal.

You anticipated the rise of the sober-curious movement among Gen Z, understand why olive oil is a new status symbol, and are fluent in food trends across social media and TV. You stay ahead of product innovations, brand activations and shifting consumer attitudes worldwide.

Key Responsibilities

• Write compelling, rigorously researched features and trend reports.
• Source case studies, identify trends, and conduct interviews for LS:N Global.
• Lead two sector specialisms (Food & Drink), including planning, research, event coverage, and writing.
• Contribute to LS:N Global’s insight and expertise in these sectors.
• Attend “Need to Know” news meetings; source, pitch, and write news stories.
• Propose and report on industry events as required.
• Create sector-specific presentations.
• Arrange meetings with thought leaders and industry experts.
• Present at in-house TFL events.
• Understand and refer to the five key questions of Foresight:

What’s new?

What’s next?

Who’s doing this?

How is this affecting what consumers think and do now and in the future, particularly in how they engage with brands?

Why does it matter to our subscribers?

• Upload news articles and features to the Content Management System (CMS).
• Source images and videos to enhance LS:N Global’s storytelling across the website and social platforms.
• Collaborate with the team’s project manager to organise time effectively and record tasks accurately on timesheets.
• Work on client projects as required.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Intuitive ability to identify and monitor global trends across lifestyle industries and sectors.
• Strong knowledge of the food and beverage industries—or curiosity and a willingness to learn and build expertise in these sectors.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey ideas and information clearly within the Foresight team and externally to clients and contacts.
• A natural ability to build and develop relationships with a network of contacts in relevant sectors, including PR and applied business.
• Full of ideas and insights, taking ownership of developing concepts from observation to execution, with a strong focus on their implications for brands and consumers.
• A strategic approach to storytelling—always staying on the pulse of what’s new and next across the lifestyle sectors and why it matters to clients.
• A solid understanding of evolving consumer demographics.
• Excellent desk research, field research, and interviewing skills.
• Strong online writing skills, including basic SEO knowledge, CMS proficiency, tone of voice adaptability, and the ability to craft engaging headlines.
• Exceptional attention to detail, ensuring accuracy in grammar, punctuation, spelling, style, formatting, and adherence to the style guide.
• Ability to constructively incorporate feedback from section editors and turn challenging critiques into positive story outcomes.
• Experience and interest in presenting.
• Ability to multi-task and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Previous experience working for a respected editorial title or a similar consultancy.
• Ideally, a broad network of contacts across the lifestyle sectors.