Data and Evidence Lead

The job of a Save the Children’s UK Data and Evidence Lead is varied and rewarding

• Are you an expert in designing and implementing MEAL tools for programmes and projects as well as delivering research?
• Do you have a track record in overseeing data flow, data management and analyses for improving organisation’s performance, decision making and/or optimising learning from evidence?
• Do you have a strong understanding of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and the ability to communicate data to different audiences?
• Are you motivated by our vision of creating a world where every child doesn’t just survive, but thrives, and can go on to change the world?

If the answers to these questions are yes, we would love to hear from you!

About Us

We stand side by side with children in the toughest places to be a child. We do whatever it takes to make sure they survive, get protection when they’re in danger, and have the chance to learn.

The Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA) as part of SCUK’s humanitarian department provides high-quality humanitarian capacity strengthening for the movement, as well as the wider sector, as part of our shifting the power agenda.

The HLA’s mission, as a team within the humanitarian department, is to enable people around the world to prepare for and respond to crises in their own countries, by providing quality learning opportunities. The HLA’s approach spans from focused needs-based learning in countries hit by crises to the huge international reach of our learning platform, Kaya. They are a global team that has a full suite of in-house skills to provide and develop the offer; technical and learning experts, platform specialists, a digital and design studio, communications support and more.

The HLA enables SCUK to offer the most effective and impactful humanitarian capacity strengthening resource for both the Save the Children movement, the wider humanitarian sector and beyond.

Job Purpose

The purpose of this role is to support the development, rollout and maintenance of processes, tools and ways of working to strengthen Humanitarian Leadership Academy’s (HLA’s) use of data to inform strategic and operational decision making, in order to deliver high-quality learning offer for learners, partners and clients.

The Data and Evidence Lead is an important role within the HLA team, responsible for enabling performance, insight and continuous improvement practices, using internal and external data to identify key trends and opportunities for improvement across the global HLA team/offer.

You will support the HLA to ensure its learning solutions, products, approaches and methodologies are of the highest quality and underpinned by robust data and evidence from research, MEAL and organisation’s learning platforms. Through this role you will contribute to ensuring that the teams learning solutions and approaches are able to meet the evidence-based, known or anticipated learning needs of individuals, organisations and the sector, now and in the future.

Main Accountabilities

• Work closely with the Head of Research & Evidence to manage the overall workload of the team
• Lead on the development and implementation of the HLA’s data management system (by working with an external supplier)
• Line management of Research & Evidence Advisors, working closely with Head of Research and Evidence for joint task management
• Lead the HLA’s Data & Analytics pillar (function) to determine and implement the most appropriate process to collect, analyse and report on the audience-related data (learners, partners, clients etc.), utilising knowledge of best practice for strategic purpose
• Responsible for the implementation of data security protocols as set out in the appropriate data security and privacy policies, collaborating with data owners to ensure systems are working correctly.
• Routinely monitor and review tools and associated methods and work with the Research, Evidence and MEAL team and within the Data & Analytics pillar (function) to improve data collection and analysis capabilities within HLA
• Oversee HLA’s data flow, data management and analyse data (both qualitative and quantitative) obtained from the learning programmes and platforms as well as secondary sources, contributing to knowledge translation and providing timely access to appropriate data in order to inform key decision making and learning
• Accountable for knowledge management and evidence synthesis to ensure that key evidence based recommendations and findings are easy to interpret and apply within the HLA and the wider humanitarian learning sector
• Collaborate with the HLA’s teams to strengthen and analyse evidence for effective team learning as well as storytelling
• Manage & lead on high-value external consultancies delivered by the REMEAL team to improve HLA’s understanding of impact as well as research supporting decision making
• Ensure alignment with cross organisational reporting processes, maximising use of data to support wider organisational decision making
• Proactively identify analytics driven solutions to our biggest challenges and devise the means by which we can work together across multiple teams and functions to deliver these solutions into the day-to-day running of the HLA
• Establish and manage effective relationships with key stakeholders and partners within the humanitarian learning sector to provide cutting edge solutions to demand
• Strengthen internal data capacity within the HLA

Person Profile

You will be passionate and knowledgeable about humanitarian issues ideally and an expert in designing and implementing MEAL tools for programmes and projects as well as delivering research. You will have track record in overseeing data flow, data management and analyses for improving organisation’s performance, decision making and/or optimising learning from evidence. You will have great understanding of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and be able to communicate data to different audiences, being able to apply relevant software solutions.

Experience

• Experience of applying analytical frameworks, synthesise information from multiple sources, developing and maintaining information collection, running queries and generating reports
• Significant experience of working and leading on monitoring, evaluation and learning, work preferably within the humanitarian, development and/or learning sector
• Very strong analytical and report writing skills
• Excellent project management and organisational skills
• Strong range of communication skills and the ability to analyse complex data using software solutions, to summarise and present it to a range of audiences.

Abilities

• Ability to provide tailored support for people with various levels of MEAL knowledge and skills
• Strong representational and communication skills, able to articulate a vision, strategy, or idea clearly and concisely
• Confident in the use of the Microsoft Office Suite for producing documentation and collaboration, including experience using Microsoft Teams and Sharepoint.
• Ability to motivate and work as part of a high performing team and work effectively across the different teams and functions to ensure maximum effectiveness and impact
• Ability to operate effectively in highly complex situations
• The ability to build effective trust-based relationships and networks
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines under pressure

Aptitude

• Excellent understanding of research and MEAL methodology and practice
• Very good knowledge of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, including statistics, to support evaluation and research
• A demonstrable commitment to the principles of diversity and inclusion and their practical application and integration in the work environment
• A commitment to Save the Children UK’s aims and core values of accountability, ambition, collaboration, creativity, and integrity

This role can be based internationally outside the UK provided it is in a country with an SC office from which you would be able to and have the right to work – the salary will be based on local pay structures if not based in the UK.

Remote Working:

The majority of SCUK employees are currently working remotely within the UK in line with UK Government guidance. Commencing July 2021 we will transition to flexible and hybrid ways of working (i.e. a mixture of remote/home and office-based working) as social distancing restrictions ease.

We are happy to discuss flexible working options at interview**.**

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

Save the Children UK is committed to diversity and equality of opportunity in all aspects of our work both external and internal. We strive to be an inclusive employer and particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups such as returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people who are LGBT+, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different nations and regions, and from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.