The opportunity

We are expanding our team to recruit an additional Evaluation and Learning Lead, to oversee evaluation and learning in two areas of work. The first is our Research and Development programme, based in Impact on Urban Health, which supports our programmes through developing innovative practice, creating the cross-cutting conditions programmes need to thrive and developing networks and partnerships. The role will also involve building evaluation and learning for our NHS Charities: our direct support to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Both areas aim to reduce health inequalities, improve health, and improve the response of health services. This is a critical senior role, working across teams to drive our evaluation and learning practice forward, and improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

At Impact on Urban Health, we are building a portfolio of programmes that demonstrate the power of long-term approaches to complex health issues in urban environments. We focus our efforts on the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark, working in partnership with residents, local and national government, community, and private sector partners to improve the health of local residents. By doing this, we aim to influence others in the UK and internationally to create better health. The programmes focus on childhood obesity, multiple long-term conditions, the health effects of air pollution and adolescent mental health and are all at different stages of development. Our Research and Development programme is key to ensure we achieve our goals and aims to empower people and partners by being flexible and collaborative to achieve change in Lambeth and Southwark, and beyond. Our current work includes the development of a fund to support strong community voices who can speak authoritatively to the health system about local priorities.

Evaluation and learning are critical to ensure we are making the best use of evidence to achieve our intended impact, and to make change happen – not just for our local residents, but for others around the UK and beyond, through sharing lessons and influencing decision makers.

The Evaluation and Learning team

The Evaluation and Learning team lead on ensuring that rigorous evidence is both systematically used to drive impact for people living in Lambeth and Southwark and synthesised to advance the emerging field of urban health. To achieve these aims, we provide expertise, set standards, and lead the design and development of approaches to be increasingly rigorous and consistent, whilst pragmatic. We collaborate closely with colleagues across several teams as well as external providers, and need to design our approaches thoughtfully, whilst keeping up momentum and focus. The ideal candidate will be skilled in multiple stakeholder management and the demonstrated ability to implement and improve meaningful evaluation and learning for complex and experimental interventions and programmes.

The role reports to the Director of Evidence and Impact. Key internal relationships for this role are our Director of Programmes, the Research and Development Programme team, our Policy and Influencing team, and our NHS Charities team. Key external relationships are our partners delivering projects, our external research and consultancy partners, and our colleagues at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

The Evaluation and Learning team currently comprise the Evidence and Impact Director, and two Evaluation and Learning Leads, who each focus on two Impact on Urban Health programmes.

Responsibilities

Impact on Urban Health

· Lead on evaluation and learning design and implementation for Research and Development, in partnership with the Programme Director

· Ensure evaluation activity at project and programme level meets our strategic objectives, and is equitable and inclusive

· Work closely with programme and influencing colleagues to improve the fit of evaluation designs with our internal and external evidence needs, and the use of insights for both decision making and external influencing

· Provide strategic and technical support to project evaluations

Our NHS Charities (Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity, Evelina London Children’s Charity, and Guy’s Cancer Charity)

· Implement and regularly update our new evaluation strategy for the funding we provide to health innovation projects in Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with the NHS Charities team and in line with strategic developments

· Ensure evaluation activity meets our strategic objectives, and is equitable and inclusive

· Work closely with the team, NHS Trust colleagues, influencing and communication colleagues to improve the fit of evaluation designs with our learning, influencing and fundraising needs, and the use of insights for these purposes

· Provide technical advice and support to grant holders (NHS Trust staff) to help them evaluate the success of their projects and implement learning effectively

Evaluation and Learning Team responsibilities

· Align evaluation activities and share insights across both R&D and NHS Charities where there is strategic overlap

· Support cross-programmatic evaluation and learning alignment across Impact on Urban Health

· Develop personal expertise in urban health evidence

· Provide thought leadership in urban health evidence through blogs and speaking at events

· Champion a culture of learning, reflection and evidence-based decision making

· Deputise for the Evidence and Impact Director where appropriate

Person Specification

Experience, skills, and attributes

Essential

· Extensive experience of leading social research and evaluation design and implementation in social sector context

· Expertise in either, or both, quantitative and qualitative research methods

· Expertise in developing inclusive evaluation designs in a test and learn and innovative context

· Expertise in adapting evaluation methods and approach to different contexts and stages of programme development, and size/scale of projects

· Experience of leading learning processes or implementing evidence-based changes to strategy or intervention delivery

· Experience in relationship management

· Experience of leading and managing complex projects

· Expertise in synthesising and sharing complex findings which are clear, succinct, and influential

· Structured approach to strategic planning, task implementation and managing priorities

· Demonstrated ability to balance strategic thinking and keeping long term goals in mind with operational task delivery

· Demonstrated ability to drive change and progress work within a complex institutional setting

· Demonstrated confidence in challenging the status quo

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills

· Collaborative team-player and leader

Desirable

· Experience of commissioning and/or managing external research or evaluation partners

· Experience of synthesising and sharing research and evaluation outputs for fundraising purposes

· Knowledge of urban health context, health inequalities or social determinants of health interventions

· Knowledge of NHS and healthcare settings

· Understanding of systems change principles and/or place-based intervention