Role purpose:

• Develop a timely, flexible and engaging approach for evaluating and measuring impact. For the benefit of the organisation, learners, centres and partners.

• Provide insights and practical recommendations to help shape and improve learning programmes, ensuring they remain relevant and impactful.    

• Lead and report on our social impact for all stakeholders including internal and external. 

Main duties and responsibilities

• Develop and implement practical methods to evaluate and work with the innovation team to improve the impact of our programmes.

• Communicate insights in a way that drives decision-making, programme improvements, and supports innovation.

• Lead experimentation and test and learn approaches to help us refine new ideas and scale what works.

• Work collaboratively with teams to support improvement of our programmes and messaging.

• Select and apply effective monitoring and evaluation methods that support innovation, while keeping methods agile and efficient.

• Support teams to collect and analyse data in meaningful ways, ensuring insights are accessible and actionable.

• Maximise the value of evidence produced through effective communication with stakeholders.

• Lead commissioned research contracts, including monitoring progress, reviewing and editing reports and managing relationships to enhance our programme offer.

• Foster collaborative internal relationships throughout the organisation and support evaluation activities undertaken by other colleagues. 

• Be an active member of the Innovation and Standards Directorate and carry out any other reasonable duties as requested by the Head of Innovation.  This will be aligned with the grade and level of responsibility of this post.

Skills, experience and knowledge

Required/essential:

Research and evaluation experience

Proven ability to design, lead, and apply a range of monitoring, evaluation, and research methodologies to assess impact and inform decision making.

Data analysis and impact measurement

Strong analytical skills with experience in impact measurement, evaluation frameworks, and working with qualitative and quantitative data.

Communication and storytelling

Skilled in making complex data engaging, accessible, and actionable through innovative reporting formats.

Relationship management

Strong relationship building skills with experience presenting insights to senior colleagues, funders, and external partners.

Creative thinking

Ability to blend research with fresh ideas, think critically, and explore innovative ways to enhance impact.

 Project and time management

Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and work independently or collaboratively.

Adaptability and innovation

Comfortable testing new approaches, working in iterative cycles, and refining work based on insights.

Empathetic and learner centred

Ability to connect with people’s lived experiences and translate them into meaningful, actionable insights.

Ethical and GDPR knowledge

Understand ethical standards and GDPR implications in research.

IT and digital skills

Strong IT capability, including Microsoft Office and relevant research or data analysis tools.

Desirable

Human centred design knowledge

Familiarity with human centred design methodologies and their application in research and evaluation.

Sector knowledge

Understand the sector, including trends, opportunities, and best practices.

Grant writing and funding

Experience in writing research grant proposals and securing funding from external sources.

Personal qualities

• Creative thinker.

• Motivated approach to work.  

• Proactive and self-motivated to make improvements.    

• Precision and clarity with high attention to detail.  

• Analytical.  

• Inquisitive with a natural desire to learn.  

• Passionate.  

• Confident in own ability.