Evaluation Associate Director

Full Job Description

This is an unusual and exciting opportunity for an established evaluation specialist to play a key role in building out and managing this already-successful team. This role will suit either a senior Manager/Consultant looking to step up or an established Associate Director who is passionate about leading evaluation programmes focused on children and young people. You do not need experience in this policy area – but you do need a genuine interest in making a positive difference to polices and services which impact on the lives of children and young people.

Highly regarded in the social research space, the quality of this organisations’ work is well known. They are looking to grow in this policy area and this role provides an opportunity to work alongside a highly experienced and knowledgeable team head to develop it out. Opportunities for growth abound – there is a huge amount of incoming potential work. A strong team is already in place and this will grow as the reach expands – so there is plenty of opportunity to hone your team leadership skills.

The work is varied and important; recent programmes include researching the impact of services set up to address the needs of vulnerable families, considering the outcomes of services focused on helping prevent young children getting involved in crime, understanding the impact of gambling advertising on young people, research into abuse of children in social care…

Working alongside key government departments, you will be responsible for delivering a wide range of evaluation projects, as part of the wider team. You will ensure high quality work is delivered to budget and time, working closely with client and partner stakeholders, as well as internal teams both in the UK and internationally.

The client relationship side is key here, in terms of developing relationships with current clients and helping develop business to ensure continued growth, supported by the wider team.

In addition, you will work alongside senior managers to provide both strategic and operational management of the team, and you will support junior staff in their development. Opportunities abound for profile raising – speaking at conferences and seminars and multi-media marketing – as well as for thought leadership – should you wish to get involved in this.

For this role, we need an entrepreneurial researcher who loves the idea of helping develop a mini-business alongside other brilliant people. Evaluation experience is a must. Ideally, you will be interested in working on a range of evaluations, including process evaluations and impact evaluations using RCTs and QEDs. You will need to be comfortable overseeing the successful delivery of evaluation projects from start to finish, with along with the ability to input into winning bids and proposals.

This prestigious organisation is well known and recognised for their robust methodologies, innovative approach and strategic outputs. A highly innovative and forward-thinking environment, this is a place for people who love to take ownership and make things happen – you are given autonomy, with support to do just that. The people here are genuinely curious and interested in what they do. The training on offer is second-to-none.

The focus is all about creating quality work for clients and this focus really pays off in terms of their commercial performance. It’s a stable culture – no constant restructures, no navel gazing, just a focus on delivering great work to clients. As part of this, they genuinely care about their staff and retention is very high. It is a fantastic place to develop your career and enjoy yourself along the way.

As a result of all this, people stay – they talk about being challenged, consistently offered new opportunities, being listened to, and enjoying being in a culture where anyone at any level can have an opinion and lead on projects.

The client is open to full time or 4 days/week; generous salary and benefits on offer.