Research, Impact and Evidence Senior Lead - 7096

Save the Children UK is looking for a strategic and impact-driven Research, Impact and Evidence Senior Lead to join the Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA).

This pivotal role will lead the HLA's research and evidence agenda, driving forward locally led humanitarian action by embedding high-quality, locally generated evidence into policy, practice, and learning. You will play a key role in positioning the HLA as a global thought leader, using insight and analysis to shape sectoral approaches and strengthen the impact of humanitarian capacity strengthening worldwide.

About Us

Save the Children UK believes every child deserves a future. In the UK and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children's unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

About the Function/Team:

The Humanitarian Leadership Academy's (HLA's) mission is to inspire a movement for locally led humanitarian action. Our purpose is to work with local actors and organisations to provide tailored resilience and crisis response support that addresses their specific needs, focusing on nurturing and empoweringlocal leaders,driving collective actionthrough our networks, thought leadership & research andamplifying local expertise, creating opportunities for change and collaboration.

About the role

As Research, Impact and Evidence Senior Lead, you will set the strategic direction & lead the research and evidence agenda in the Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA), driving the localisation agenda and strategic objectives by championing the use of high-quality, locally generated evidence to inform policy and practice. You will be establishing mechanisms to demonstrate the impact of local leadership and collective action for a locally led response.

You will position the HLA as a global thought leader in humanitarian learning, leveraging robust research and evidence to advance locally led solutions, influence sectoral policies, and promote innovative practices. You will do so using research to produce insight into emerging and future trends within the sector from a capacity strengthening and learning perspective, shaping the HLA's strategic direction.

You will also strengthen the HLA's impact and evidence work at the portfolio level by enhancing systems and providing strategic technical support. This includes driving a culture of accountability and embedding robust evaluation practices into all HLA activities. You will be accountable for understanding and enhancing the HLA's results for learners, partners, and stakeholders, ensuring the organisation's work delivers impact against strategic objectives.

In this role, youwill be responsible for:

• Set direction and lead the development and implementation of the HLA's Impact, Research, and Evidence strategy to align with MEAL Frameworks, strategic objectives, and sectoral trends.
• Represent the HLA in evidence-focused global forums to promote thought leadership on humanitarian learning, locally led response, and innovation.
• Oversee the development, optimisation and performance of data platforms, including but not limited to the CRM to streamline integration between current HLA platforms to unlock greater insights.
• Develop and manage strategic research partnerships with donors, INGOs, local partners, networks, academia, and stakeholders to expand HLA's influence and impact.
• Drive the design and delivery of localised research and evidence products that address evidence gaps within the capacity-strengthening and leadership ecosystem.
• Enhance the understanding and uptake of HLA's portfolio and associated platforms by monitoring insights, impact, and performance.
• Develop robust data management systems to track and monitor insights and performance against organisational goals.
• Embed the HLA's Theory of Change and results framework into team operations to ensure alignment with strategic objectives.
• Advocate for locally led research in external forums, demonstrating the impact of HLA's capacity-strengthening efforts.

About you

We are looking for someone with the following experience and skills:

• Significant experience in Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) within humanitarian or international development sectors and ability to work autonomously, setting direction for this area of work.
• Strong analytical skills with expertise in various research methodologies.
• Ability to design, implement, and improve MEAL systems, policies, and tools at various levels.
• Proven track record of leading and managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects within timelines and budgets.
• Senior managerial experience with a focus on fostering inclusive, high-performing team environments.
• Strong collaborative skills to engage with diverse stakeholders and achieve shared objectives.
• Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills, adaptable to diverse audiences and cultural contexts.

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:

The majority of our roles can be performed remotely in the UK, but there are likely to be times when you will be required to come to your contracted office (up to 2-4 days per month or 6-8 days per quarter). This will be agreed with your Line Manager and team and is intended to be time spent on collaborating with colleagues and relationship building.

Please note: travel costs to your contracted office will be at your own expense.

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 opportunityto change their world. We apply this to our workforce and we are committedto 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 interestedin 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 thatdifferent 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.

Save the Children is committed to paying staff in a fair and equitable way and will benchmark all salary offers in line with the pay of existing staff. To see our full offer please visit this link: Save the Children | Careers

Interview Expenses:

Candidates should note that unfortunately it is not our policy to reimburse expenses accrued when attending interviews at Save the Children UK unless you are requested to attend an interview in an alternative location to where the role is based.

Pre-employment Checks:

Any Employment with Save the Children UK will be subject to the following checks prior to your start date:

• a satisfactory police record check to include a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and/or an International Criminal Record Check (If applicable)
• receipt ofsatisfactory references
• proof ofeligibility to work in the national location for this role

If you have any questions, we have an FAQ sectionhere.

For anything else youcan email us on: careers@savethechildren.org.uk

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