Senior Evaluation Consultant - Social Policy Evaluation

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Job Description

Role Overview

Ipsos UK Public Affairs are leaders in social research. We bridge the gap between government and the public, providing robust research, evaluation, and analysis.

We are looking for a Senior Consultant to join our highly successful Policy and Evaluation Unit. The team works with public institutions to assess the effectiveness and impact of policies and programmes and to improve public services. The team is multi-disciplinary and includes economists and social policy researchers that work across all areas of public policy.

This role will focus on the evaluation of social policies and programmes aimed at tackling complex societal issues relating to crime, security, governance, employment and education, domestic abuse, migration and asylum, youth violence and social care.

What will I be doing?

As a Senior Consultant, you will be responsible for the day-to-day management and delivery of mixed-method evaluations of social policy-related programmes. You will be supporting an established team of evaluators and policy specialists to advance the use of key methodologies, such as randomised controlled trials (RCT), quasi-experimental designs, and other mixed methods studies. Many evaluations are complex and will require nuanced designs such as trauma-informed approaches, systems thinking, and more.

• Application of technical evaluation skills: Applying a strong understanding of evaluation techniques, leveraging previous experience to appraise techniques in different contexts, and developing specialist expertise in a policy or methodological area.
• Report-writing / drafting: Managing the analysis and reporting of quantitative and qualitative data, including effectively managing junior and senior input and to identify key findings, conclusions and recommendations for clients.
• Project management: Managing evaluation projects through the full project cycle, from evaluation design, to data collection and analysis, through to developing conclusions and recommendations or work package of a complex project (e.g. case studies, value for money assessment, contribution analysis, econometric analysis) - depending upon skills. These will be for projects size ~£500,000 with low-medium levels of political sensitivity.
• Client management: Act as main point of contact for clients on project-related matters and co-ordinate delivery of medium scale evaluation projects to timescale and to budget.
• Proposal-writing: Contributions to business development and proposals (£200,000 - 300,000 in gross value terms). Ideally you will also put yourself forward to manage and/or write methodology sections on bids of an appropriate size.
• Business development: Proactively supporting the development of key client relationships (e.g. through interactions with clients in projects, and at external events), keep abreast of upcoming bid opportunities and contribute to decision-making on bidding, as well as contributing ideas at the annual team business planning events. Develop evaluation report structure and present to AD/Director group. Manage the development of entire evaluation reports, taking the lead on reporting, co-ordination of inputs, and review process as required.
• Team development: Support to junior members to develop and extend their evaluation knowledge and skillsets (e.g. through mentoring, briefing them on tasks in projects, and delivering knowledge sharing sessions at monthly team meetings).
• Line management: Post-probation, line manage associate consultants and consultants, supporting their professional development and wellbeing in the team. Examples may include coaching, SMART goal setting and identification of development opportunities.

What do I need to bring with me?

The role requires an expert evaluation with a proven experience of designing and delivering evaluations in the social policy area.

Essential

• A strong academic background in social sciences (e.g. geography, economics, statistics).
• Wide range of Evaluation techniques.
• Proven experience of designing and delivering evaluation in a commercial environment - i.e. to timescale, budget, quality and external (e.g. client) requirements - or equivalent experience in a policy, third sector or academic environment.
• Managing evaluation projects through the full project cycle, from evaluation design, to data collection and analysis, through to developing conclusions and recommendations or work package of a complex project.
• Ability to apply critical thinking and problem-solving approaches to the design/delivery of complex evaluations.
• Knowledge of policy in one or more of the following areas: crime & security; migration & asylum; education, children & families; employment welfare & skills; politics & society.
• Strong skills in drafting accessible and concise reporting outputs of evaluation findings.
• Good attention to detail and the ability to self-review and review the outputs of others.
• Commercial / Business Development skills - previous experience of proposals and ITTs.
• Curiosity and drive to support a business to move into new areas and experience of contributing to winning evaluation proposals.
• Highly desirable:
  • Knowledge of statistical or econometric methods for conducting impact evaluations using quasi-experimental designs and/or randomised controlled trials.

What is in it for me?

Ipsos UK offer an attractive basic salary and a rewards package including 25 days annual leave, a pension scheme and a great range of flexible benefits to suit your personal needs. For roles at Research Manager level and above we also offer private healthcare.

In addition to this we have a fantastic Learning & Development offer delivered through a mix of face to face, online or on-demand; you can read more by clicking here.

We realise you may have commitments outside of work and will consider flexible working applications - please highlight what you are looking for when you make your application.

Ipsos is committed to equality, treating people fairly, promoting a positive and inclusive working environment and ensuring we have diversity of people and views. We also recognise that this is important for our business success - a more diverse workforce will enable us to better reflect and understand the world we research and ultimately deliver better research and insight to our clients.

About Us

Ipsos is one of the world's largest research companies and currently the only one primarily managed by researchers, ranking as a #1 full-service research organization for four consecutive years. With over 75 different data-driven solutions, and presence in 90 markets, Ipsos brings together research, implementation, methodological, and subject-matter experts from around the world, combining thematic and technical experts to deliver top-quality research and insights. Simply speaking, we help the biggest companies solve some of their biggest problems, serving more than 5000 clients across the globe by providing research, data, and insights on their target markets. And we're proud to share we've received our Great Place to Work Certification in 2022 & 2023!

About the Team

The Public Affairs Service Line is the world leader in Social and Opinion Research. We work with clients on political and public opinion polling, citizen and stakeholder management, social policy improvement, sustainable development strategy and identifying societal trends and perceptions across several sectors. We assess how government and public affairs policies as well as societal trends and views impact our client's brand/products/markets.