Head of Impact and Evaluation 

Reporting to: Chief of Finance and Operations 

Direct reports: Senior Economist, Reporting and Evidence Manager, Senior MEL Officer, Strategy and performance Officer  

Would you like to be at the heart of developing innovative and transformative ideas? Are you interested in being part of an organisation that identifies how space technology can address UK and global societal challenges? Do you want a Head of Impact and Evaluation position which will make a real difference? If so, you may be who we’re looking for! 

As the Head of Impact and Evaluation you are responsible for: 

• Leading team and company – you will provide strong leadership and mentoring to the Impact and Evaluation team, creating a high performing team through culture, setting expectations, continuous learning and providing (and receiving) feedback. You will also operate at Senior Leadership level for the organisation, exemplifying organisational values and behaviours, always acting in support of the organisation needs and goals. 

• Creating an impact environment – You will work with stakeholders to ensure impact planning is embedded from the early stages of development of new programmes and projects and used to inform ongoing monitoring and evaluation. You will undertake the resourcing of Impact planning and M&E work packages for delivery of missions and projects and provide technical leadership on impact planning, appraisal and evaluation methods, advising colleagues and collaborators on all aspects of Planning Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) through the programme cycle. 

• Reporting and sharing impact - Plan and manage a programme of work to provide learning and evidence to colleagues and funders, including beneficiary surveys, outcomes assessments and case studies both for internal lessons learning and to inform external reporting and communications. Commission and contract-manage periodic independent external impact evaluations, including writing terms of reference, participation in bid assessment and ensuring the quality, timeliness and independence of the work done and all associated deliverables. 

• Developing systems and processes – You will work with colleagues across the business to ensure that data and reporting systems and processes across the organisation are fit for purpose to provide the evidence base for Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning aligned to the organisation’s evaluation framework and Key Impact Pathways. 

• Supporting impact beyond our Catapult - Represent the Catapult in Cross-network Impact forums and technical discussions with funders on approaches to evaluation and evidence. Contribute data and evidence to Catapult Network-wide impact assessments as and when needed, including supporting our core funder with needed inputs and evidence aligned to government funding cycles. 

We expect that you would have the following skills and experience:  

•  Knowledge and experience of implementing impact planning, including system mapping, results chains, theory of change, and logical frameworks. 

• Extensive experience of designing, leading, implementing and managing formative and summative evaluation studies.  

• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to work with non-impact leaders and embed impact into their thinking and approach 

• Technical expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods, including both theory-based approaches using conceptual analytical models, and counterfactual approaches based on quasi-experimental designs. 

• Complete familiarity with the HM Treasury Green Book on policy appraisal and HM Treasury Magenta book on Evaluation. and particularly the Magenta Book Annex on evaluation in conditions of complexity. 

• Knowledge of other evaluation frameworks (such as the OECD DAC Evaluation Criteria), and of established international good practice standards for evaluation. 

• Awareness of approaches to assessing Value for Money in innovation and ability to select between approaches. 

• Competence in use of Microsoft office programmes and tools – at minimum Excel, Word, PowerPoint. 

• Experience of writing research reports and case studies, with ability to communicate complex findings effectively to a range of audiences. 

Desirable 

• Experience of using quantitative and qualitative data analysis software.  

• Familiarity with CRM and project management data systems (MS Dynamics, Planview) 

• Knowledge of, or interest in using innovative approaches for evaluation, such as system and agent based modelling, and dynamic, developmental evaluation. 

• Understanding of econometric impact assessment methodologies. 

• Experience of working in the space, technology, sustainability or innovation sectors, and/or M&E of public sector funded programmes. 

• Relevant postgraduate qualification (e.g. Evaluation, International Development, Economics, Applied Social Sciences) 

 You will know you have been successful when the organisation has as a shared understanding of Impact and Evaluation and how this enhances the delivery of our work, ensuring it is woven into the fabric of our Mission and delivery approach. 

 How we work: 

We strive to create a high trust environment that enables team members to bring their whole selves to work – this helps to create the foundations of an innovation culture. Our shared values are critical to this: 

• We care - for our people, our partners, and our planet 

• We connect - and engage with people and ideas 

• We learn - and grow, as people and as an industry 

Underpinning this is our belief in great teams, our combined efforts will always deliver outcomes beyond that of any individual providing we are honest through debate, experiment and reflect, and create shared resolutions in support of our purpose. Live these values, work to our principles, take ownership to deliver, and we are certain you will thrive with us. 

This job description set outs the skills and experience we believe are needed to be able to do this job but, research also tells us women are much more likely than men to take this list of requirements as absolute and self-select out of the process. If you think you can deliver this role then we want to hear from you, regardless of the boxes you didn’t tick. 

 Important notice for applicants: We use tools to detect plagiarism and the use of AI or chatbots for applicant answers. If plagiarism, AI use (such as ChatGPT) or similar software are found to have been used in your application you will not be considered for this or future roles within the Satellite Applications Catapult. If you need any additional support during the application process, please do reach out and connect. We also invite you to share feedback via Applied.