Research, Evaluation and Impact Officer (x2 posts)

Location: The Children’s Society’s national office at Whitecross Studios, Old Street, London, or one of our regional offices (currently in Birmingham and Greater Manchester), with hybrid working options available.  Alternatively, home-based by arrangement with the ability to travel to the national office as required.

The Children’s Society has been helping children and young people in this country for over 140 years. We run local services that support children when they are at their most vulnerable and in desperate need of help. We’re there for children, every step of the way.

Our Research, Evidence and Impact Team is recruiting two new Research, Evidence and Impact Officers to support our work across an extensive portfolio of projects.  As well as doing innovative and original research, we collaborate with colleagues to develop the evidence to drive policy and systems change, and with practitioners and managers in our services to support them with independently commissioned evaluation and learning from practice activities. We’re also developing new ways to understand, demonstrate and increase the impact of everything The Children’s Society does.

OUR TEAM

The Research, Evidence and Impact Team has a vital role in ensuring that The Children’s Society retains a clear and authentic understanding of young people’s lives, with a focus on what is most important to building or preserving wellbeing.  Our charity has been at the forefront of research on children’s wellbeing for 20 years, alongside conducting child-centred studies on adolescence, risk and vulnerability (e.g. on Child Exploitation), and child poverty, exploring the issues that jeopardise young people’s safety, health and opportunities. We have a track record for innovation (e.g. developing a validated and widely used ’Good Childhood Index’) and work with academic partners and other organisations who share our vision of a society built for all children. 

Our collaborative culture at The Children’s Society means that we often work with colleagues who lead lobbying and campaigning activities, bringing together compelling evidence to drive change – in public awareness and attitudes, and in policies and systems – that can improve young people’s lives. We also work closely with colleagues in our services across the country – sometimes to study the issues they see in their frontline work with young people and families, and sometimes to support them when they commission independent evaluations or learning exercises. 

The Research, Evidence and Impact Team’s work is also pivotal to two flagship reports that The Children’s Society publishes every year – ‘The Good Childhood Report’ and our Annual Impact report. 

THE TYPE OF PERSON WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are currently looking for two early career researchers / evaluators who can make a key contribution to the delivery of research, evaluation and impact projects for The Children’s Society.  You will be joining a team of experienced researchers to work across a varied and exciting range of projects.  You will be involved where your input is most needed – and there will be opportunities to develop fresh skills and knowledge.

If you already have strong research/ evaluation skills and the motivation to learn and develop in a supportive, multidisciplinary team in a leading children’s charity we would love you to join us.

To be successful in this role, you must have: 

• Knowledge and understanding of research and/ or evaluation methodologies, including young person-centred approaches – and an interest in exploring and understanding impact.
• Experience of conducting research and/ or evaluation, from project design through to reporting, whether through a paid or unpaid role or academic studies (ideally both).
• Qualitative and quantitative analysis skills – and demonstrable experience of applying these to research/ evaluation projects.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the confidence to work with a range of stakeholders including professionals in external organisations and, importantly, young people and parents/ carers.
• An understanding of ethics and safeguarding related to research with young people and families.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHILDREN’S SOCIETY

The Children’s Society runs more than 70 local services that help thousands of young people who desperately need our support, and we lobby and campaign to get laws and policies changed to make children’s lives happier and safer. Every day we’re changing the lives of children in this country for the better – you can find out more by reading our 'Impact Report' https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-impact

The Children’s Society is committed to safeguarding and protecting the children and young people that we work with.  As such, all posts are subject to a safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks.  We ensure that we have a range of policies and procedures in place which promote safeguarding and safer working practices across our services.

Therefore, candidates will be required to complete an “Employment history template” document prior to interview. The fully completed document should be loaded by the candidate at the point of uploading your CV.

The closing date for applications is 23:59pm on 19th of January, 2025. If after 14 days, we have received enough applications we reserve the right to close this vacancy from the 3rd January 2025 onwards.

Interviews will be held during the week commencing 3rd of February, 2025.

• JD REI Officer vFINAL.pdf (140.00 KB)
• APPLICANT PACK REI OFFICER vFINAL (3).pdf (5.14 MB)