Senior Evaluation Specialist

Candidates must have the right to work in the UK.

Full-time contract with 3-month probationary period

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Evaluation Specialist to join our growing team. This individual will be responsible for leading evaluations across a range of thematic issues, in fragile and conflict affected settings. You will be based in the UK, working remotely.

Position is ideal for you if you:

• Have demonstrated experience conducting evaluations, or other MERL activities
• Are proactive – you anticipate problems and tasks, communicate them to the team, and propose solutions
• Committed to producing sound, objective research and analysis
• Have strong written and verbal communication skills

Working with Bodhi, you will:

• Have ample opportunity to build diverse experience across thematic and geographic contexts
• Have the opportunity to develop research ideas, with the flexibility to pursue your own research interests
• Improve your research and organisational skills
• Conduct substantial fieldwork, with the opportunity to improve your foreign language skills, or learn a new one
• Have the flexibility to schedule and manage your work as tailored to your needs

Key Tasks and Responsibilities

• Research
  • Manage all stages of monitoring and evaluation projects, leading design, implementation, analysis, and reporting, ensuring that deliverables meet expectations and deadlines
    • Candidate must be familiar with donor evaluation policies (e.g., USAID ADS 201 or UN Evaluation Norms and Standards)
    • Manage multiple concurrently-running projects, balancing competing deadlines and internal resource requirements
  • Identifying appropriate research designs to understand questions of interest and developing tools and approaches
  • Engage with, and adapt, new research practices and approaches, and participatory research tools and methods applied in development research
• Project Support
  • Support identification of tenders and development of proposals, including researching clients, existing programmes, and development topics
  • Build positive working relationships with external stakeholders, including potential partner organisations, senior members of academic institutions, and local CSOs, where necessary
  • Assist in developing and standardising internal processes and procedures

Person Specification

• Qualification and experience
  • Masters degree in Development Studies, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, or a related discipline
  • Thematic interest and experience in conflict, climate change, food security, governance, economic development, and/or youth and gender
  • At least 7 years of experience conducting evaluations or other MERL activities
  • Demonstrated fieldwork experience, preferably in FCAS environments
  • Good knowledge of data collection software and analysis packages (e.g., SPSS or NVivo)
  • Fluency in English, fluency in French and/or Arabic desirable
  • Ability to cope well under pressure, and to occasionally work irregular hours to meet tight deadlines
• Core competencies
  • Research skills: Advanced analytical and conceptual ability, ability to distill information for relevance and context, excellent report writing skills and ability to write in a lucid accessible style
  • Attention to detail: A commitment to high quality deliverables and reports, meticulous in approach to research and report writing.
  • Initiative and flexibility: Must be able to work independently, show initiative towards completing goals and objectives, but also have the flexibility to adapt and answer to different demands necessary to fulfil assigned tasks
  • Teamwork: Openness to ideas and input from others on team, ability to work collaboratively, have strong listening and interpersonal skills
  • Organised: Must have a systematic approach to work, with the ability to multitask and manage time efficiently, meeting deadlines under pressure
  • Integrity: Must have a strong sense of research and professional ethics, be conscientious in approach to work and be committed to Bodhi’s research standards
  • Communication: Ability to communicate (verbal and written) confidently in English and to adapt to different audiences and cultural contexts