Research and Evaluation Specialist

Contract Duration: 12 months

Closing Date: 9 December 2022

Salary Range : 39,100-46,000

Hours Per Week: 37.5h

We are looking for a Research and Evaluation Specialist to join our Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA) to ensure that we deliver on our research and evaluation objectives to the DEC, focusing on the transformational aspects of the Ukraine Regional Response.

• Do you have experience of working in the humanitarian, learning and/or international development sector, with a strong understanding of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and the ability to communicate data to different audiences?
• Are you an expert in designing and implementing MEAL tools for programmes and projects as well as delivering and managing research and evaluations.?
• 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!

Please Note: The role is initially for a 12 month contract.

About Us

We are Save the Children. Together, we fight for children every single day so that they can make their mark on the world and build a better future. 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 are 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.

The funding from the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) for the Ukraine Regional Response enables us to deliver transformational, sustainable response embracing whole-society approach. The capacity strengthening to local partners remains key component of our response, but we are putting locally led solutions at the centre of our work. We are championing innovative approaches supporting local learning and advocating for inclusive leadership.

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Deputy Director for Transformational Response the role will be responsible for ensuring the HLA delivers on its research and evaluation objectives to the DEC, focusing on the transformational aspects of the Ukraine Regional Response. You will also ensure that the HLA’s learning solutions, products, approaches and methodologies are of the highest quality and underpinned by robust data and evidence. Through this role within the Ukraine regional response, you will contribute to ensuring that the team’s learning solutions and approaches are able to meet the known or anticipated learning needs of individuals, organisations and the sector, now and in the future. Establishing regional research partnerships and managing collaborative research projects to deliver learning on best localisation approaches in the region will be an important component of this role.

You will work very closely with the newly formed HLA’s Regional Centre in Eastern Europe. The team combines digital learning platforms, creative learning content and the design, development and delivery of quality accredited capacity strengthening and learning in an exciting and innovative offer that is both unique and unmatched anywhere across the sector.

Key Accountabilities:

The Research and Evaluation Specialist’s key duties will be to:

• Successfully deliver against research and evaluation projects/opportunities within capacity strengthening by working with a trusted network of researchers, academic institutions and other external agencies from across the region
• Deliver on the Save the Children commitment to provide quality evidence (research/evaluations) on transformational aspects of the Ukraine Regional Response
• Develop mechanisms to demonstrate that all our learning design and delivery is backed by high quality evidence, that includes monitoring data as well as robust evaluations
• Collaborate with the HLA’s global and regional teams to strengthen and utilise evidence for effective team learning as well as storytelling
• Tasks-manage MEAL Officer for specific projects within Regional Ukraine Response as required
• Manage external consultancies delivered in the region to improve HLA’s understanding of impact as well as research supporting decision making
• Work with frontline partners across the Ukraine Regional Response to strengthen their MEAL capacity in terms of monitoring and evaluation of learning outputs and outcomes.
• Ensure alignment with cross organisational reporting processes, maximising use of data to support wider organisational decision making
• Build and maintain new and effective partnerships across the Save the Children movement and sector as appropriate
• Represent the HLA and Save the Children in the relevant public forums and external working groups to contribute to knowledge sharing and peer learning within the capacity strengthening sector
• Support/advise to other areas of the team where necessary, dependent on specific skills/interest of individual post holder, which, could include (but is not restricted to) deployments, matrix management, language expertise etc.
• Contribute to supporting strong ways of working across the new team, as well as taking individual responsibility for building an inclusive and supportive team culture
• Utilise research, evidence and MEAL information in conjunction with the global HLA teams in order to promote HLA regionally and inform internal decision making
• Advise and support in the design and collection of quantitative and qualitative data collection and ensure consistency across the teams learning solutions, products and services, and the wider SC Movement
• Contribute to proposal development including in relation to data collection procedures
• Ensure that the HLA’s future internal portfolio is underpinned by comprehensive and standardised MEAL and Quality Assurance frameworks

Person Profile

You will be passionate and knowledgeable about humanitarian issues and have experience working in the humanitarian, learning and/or international development sector.

You will have a great understanding of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and be able to communicate data to different audiences. You’ll be an expert in designing and implementing MEAL tools for programmes and projects as well as delivering and managing research and evaluations. You must enjoy working in a global, diverse team and be committed to practice and champion collaboration and inclusion.

Experience/Knowledge/Skills

• Significant experience of working and leading on monitoring, evaluation and learning, work preferably within the humanitarian, development and/or learning sector
• Experience in commissioning and managing international, collaborative research projects and evaluations
• 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
• Strong representational and communication skills, able to articulate a vision, strategy, or idea clearly and concisely
• Broad understanding of humanitarian issues, international relations and experience working within the international development and/or humanitarian system
• 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 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.
• Very strong analytical ability and report writing skills
• Ability to provide tailored support for people with various levels of MEAL knowledge and skills
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines under pressure
• Confident in the use of the Microsoft Office Suite for producing documentation and collaboration, including experience using Microsoft Teams and Sharepoint.
• Language skills: Ukrainian and/or Polish would be desirable but not essential (English essential)

Please Note: This role can be based in either the UK or Poland.

Please note:

To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.

Ways of Working:

Remote First – The majority of our roles can be performed remotely, however you may work from the office as often as you wish. Whilst you will be predominantly working from home, we may at times require you to come to your contracted office (up to 2-4 days per month or 6-8 days per quarter). Note: This will be agreed with your Line Manager and team. This is intended to be time spent on collaborating with colleagues and relationship building.

On-site – There are certain roles that cannot be performed remotely and so your role will be based in an office location and you may occasionally be able to work from home.

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

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

Save the Children UK believes in a world that is fair, inclusive and equitable where all children have the opportunity to change their world. We apply this to our workforce and we are committed to developing and supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organisation where all employees have a sense of belonging and feel that they can be “Free to Be Me”. We are not looking for just one type of person – we want to recruit people who can add fresh perspectives, innovative ideas or challenge that disrupts the risk of group think.

We are especially interested in people whose childhood experiences – of life on a low income, of migration, of being in a racialised community, of the care system, of being LGBT+ or in an LGBT+ family or living with (or with someone with) a disability – help us to see things we might otherwise miss. Whatever your story is we want to hear it because we know that different voices, ideas, perspectives and knowledge, working together will enable us to better the lives of children around the world. This is the reason why we are all here.