Role: Impact & Learning Officer

Salary: £30,000

Location: Home-working initially, with Head Office in Hammersmith, London

Hours: 35 hours per week

Do you want to help tackle UK poverty?

We are looking for an Impact & Learning Officer who does.

One in five people among us, over 14 million in total across the UK, are unable to thrive because of a lack of money. Turn2us exists to help people struggling to make ends meet. We do this by giving direct financial help through our own charitable grants; supporting people to increase their income through benefits, grants and other support; and by highlighting ways to reduce essential costs.

We are looking for an Impact & Learning Officer to be part of our fight against the poverty that is devastating lives across Britain today.  Joining a vibrant and creative team, the right person will be passionate about tackling UK poverty, and driven to measure the impact of work, so that the charity can continuously learn and improve.

As Impact & Learning Officer, you will be responsible for implementing a user-led evaluation plan and for setting up processes that encourage continuous learning across Turn2us. The role will also manage the day-to-day measurement and monitoring of impact data across the charity.

Although technical skills are required to perform this role, an open and inclusive approach to evaluation and impact is also essential. We believe that deep knowledge and understanding are created through discussion between people. We are looking for someone who can support colleagues at Turn2us to learn from, and improve, our work.

The Impact & Learning Officer will also work to include service users, in measuring and learning from our past performance. By working in partnership with people with lived experience, Turn2us’s strategy, services and outcomes will more fully reflect what people want and need. We particularly welcome applications from anyone who has their own lived experience of poverty, or financial hardship.

This is a key role for an ambitious charity and at an exciting time of change and growth.  If you wish to be part of that, and to help improve the lives of people in vulnerable circumstances across the UK, we look forward to hearing from you.

Full Job Description

Turn2us is a national charity that helps people to build financial sustainability and thrive. Turn2us gives people the information and support they need in the face of life-changing events and collaborates to tackle the causes and symptoms of poverty. It is essential that we measure our impact, celebrate our successes, and learn from our mistakes, so that we can continue to improve our work in the future. This role will be integral to helping us do that.

Purpose of the Role

The Impact & Learning Officer will be responsible for implementing monitoring and evaluation plans and for setting up processes that encourage continuous learning across Turn2us. Using data from our impact activities, they will help to support innovation within the charity, working across all teams to identify areas for improvement and supporting processes of change management. The role will also manage the day-to-day measurement, monitoring and reporting of impact data across the charity.

Although technical skills are required to perform this role, an open and inclusive approach to evaluation and impact is also essential. We believe that deep knowledge and understanding are created through discussion between people. We are looking for someone who can support colleagues at Turn2us to learn from, and improve, our work.

The Impact & Learning Officer will also work to include service users, in any evaluation of our performance and plans. By working in partnership with people with lived experience, Turn2us’s strategy, services and outcomes will more fully reflect what people need. We particularly welcome applications from anyone who has their own lived experience of poverty, or financial hardship.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

1.    Implement monitoring and evaluation plans for Turn2us that incorporate data and peoples’ lived experiences to inform ongoing service improvement; new initiatives; and supports our influence, profile, and income generation

2.    Support other teams and departments to evaluate their own work and support teams to continuously learn and innovate within and between teams

3.    Lead on day-to-day delivery of impact measurement and reporting at Turn2us, including KPIs, impact reports, and benchmarking our work against national and third-sector trends

Main Duties

1.    Implement monitoring and evaluation plans for Turn2us that use data and peoples’ lived experiences to inform ongoing service improvement, new initiatives, and our influence, profile, and income generation

• Implement a Theory of Change approach to evaluation and impact measurement, to inform the work of Turn2us

• Use evaluation techniques to better understand the needs of people we help and to target future support to them

• Deliver monitoring, evaluation and learning plans for our services, combining quantitative and qualitative forms of evidence

• Co-design and deliver evaluation, learning and impact projects, in partnership with people with lived experience of financial hardship

2.    Support other teams to evaluate their own work and support with continuous learning and innovation

• Manage processes and forums for discussions about impact and evidence, within and between teams

• Help to facilitate the sharing and co-creation of knowledge across the charity and with external audiences

• Help other staff to reflect, review and critique our work in a safe and supportive way

• Work with service users to co-design and deliver continuous learning methods

• Proactively use our data to support improvements in everything the charity does, working across teams to bring about change

3.    Lead on day-to-day delivery of impact measurement and reporting at Turn2us, including benchmarking our work against national and third-sector trends

• Manage the collation and publication of impact reporting for Turn2us including KPIs and project reports for a range of audiences including the Senior Management Team, colleagues, partners, trustees, and funders

• Benchmark our impact against comparable services and similar charities

• Actively share Turn2us’ impact with internal colleagues, helping to celebrate our successes and learn from our mistakes

Person Specification

This person specification lists a range of skills, knowledge, experience, and personal attributes which would be beneficial in this role. However, you do not need to possess all these skills and attributes to apply.

Although technical skills and knowledge are required to perform this job, an open and inclusive approach to evaluation and learning is also essential. We believe that learning and knowledge is created through discussion among people. We are looking for someone who can help staff at Turn2us to create knowledge in that way.

Skills and knowledge:

• Analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and write accurate, concise materials and reports

• Research skills with the ability to conduct user interviews and focus groups

• Interpersonal skills and the ability to build effective, collaborative relationships with staff and service users

• Ability to handle and analyse numerical data

• Ability to plan, prioritise and deliver tasks to agreed deadlines

• Ability to influence outcomes with colleagues and key stakeholders

• Knowledge and experience of measuring and analysing services that benefit the public

Experience:

• Experience of planning and implementing a range of quantitative and qualitative evaluation programmes

• Experience of using a range of data sets to produce reports

• Experience of research methodology, principles, and procedures

• Experience of designing and delivering learning programmes

• Experience of innovation methodology and processes

• Experience of working in partnership with service users

Personal Attributes:

• An ability to work on own initiative and work proactively in key areas of responsibility

• An understanding and commitment to promote equal opportunities, safeguarding and diversity

• High level of intellectual curiosity

• Diplomatic and inclusive approach

These are the normal duties, which the Charity requires from the position. However, it is necessary for all staff to be flexible and all employees will be required from time to time to perform other duties as may be required by the Charity for the efficient running of the charity.  This Job Description is non-contractual. It will be reviewed from time to time and may be subject to change.

The postholder will take responsibility to integrate safeguarding into all aspects of their work, following organisational policies and frameworks.

The post holder will be expected to ensure that their work complies with contractual terms and conditions, the Charity’s policies and procedures and key legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and charity law.