Pros
Convenient location. Good quality office. Good benefits package.
Cons
A relatively young research institute. HR policies and processes have not caught up yet. Neither has the calibre of the senior management. Below the glossy surface you find capricious behaviours, malicious criticism and sarcasm in face-to-face interactions. A toxic culture. The institute offers an external mental health counselling service but nobody addresses the root causes of the poor mental health of the staff. Senior staff take no responsibility for their decisions or actions. Everything is always the fault of the junior members. Poor communication. Lack of support. Lack of professional processes. Lack of professionalism. Micromanagement. A pretty much pointless HR department. My understanding is that there are known repeat offenders here that are, for some reason, immune from any HR action. The Alan Turing Institute revolves around a “privileged” core group of people that joined around the time it was founded. Everyone else is treated as a dispensable commodity. Professional processes and integrity do not seem to apply to them. And all this is on charity money. If you are brave enough to take up a job here make sure that you will be paid because not everyone gets paid in their first month. And nobody cares. The institute mostly works with contractors. It has no long-term approach towards its staff. If you are looking for a stable long-term position, make sure you give this one a miss. Definitely do not turn down other job offers for this one. Taking up a job here has been one of my big mistakes and I hope that this review will make others think twice before they decide to work for this institute. Do not let unprofessional people waste your time and your money.