Senior Evaluation Consultant - Sustainable Development

Position description

The role will primarily support international projects led by the Sustainable Development Research Centre (SDRC). The SDRC conducts research and evaluations on key international development concerns such as health, education, humanitarian assistance, youth futures, gender, civil society, and the environment and climate change, making this a unique opportunity to contribute to impactful international development work. The teams’ projects include ODA funded work delivered by the British Council and UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and multi-country interventions implemented by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the UK Health Security Agency and WHO. Other relevant clients have included UNESCO and UNICEF.

Our work spans the sustainable development policy agenda and has a direct bearing on the decisions made by international actors, governments, organisations and citizens. We take that seriously and, because of this, do work of the highest quality that stands up to close scrutiny.

What will I be doing?

This is an exciting opportunity for a Senior Evaluation Consultant, with first class technical capabilities, to support the delivery, growth and diversification of our business.

The role will suit applicants that have previous commercial experience supporting and delivering international research and evaluation projects through the full project cycle. Candidates need to have experience of delivering technical analysis in support of broader evaluations. This will include the development of theoretical frameworks, such as theories of change, the setting up and application of analytical models, the coding and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, from evaluation design, to data collection and analysis, through to developing conclusions and recommendations.

As a Senior Evaluation Consultant you will have the opportunity to work across our projects and business development activities, delivering our existing programme of work, and developing new areas. The successful applicant will help to grow this business through:

• Supporting the delivery of evaluation projects through the full project cycle, from evaluation design, to data collection and analysis, through to developing conclusions and recommendations;
• Expanding your methodological knowledge through the delivery of complex quantitative and qualitative evaluations;
• Supporting day-to-day client relationships while ensuring projects are delivered to budget and timescale through efficient working practices;
• Drafting evaluation frameworks, research tools and analysis plans;
• Close working with research teams to execute evaluation studies and provide consultancy inputs;
• Effective communication with clients and project partners;
• Supporting analysis of quantitative and qualitative datasets;
• Drafting sections of reports in Word and PowerPoint, with guidance and oversight;
• Supporting with the presentation of results to clients and stakeholders;
• Contributing to evaluation proposals as part of a wider team;
• Developing specialist expertise in a policy or methodological area.
• The majority of your time will be spent on evaluation projects, however there may also be occasions when you work on other qualitative or quantitative research projects.

Ipsos UK offers a hybrid working environment, 3 days in the office and working the rest from home. We have offices in London, Manchester and Edinburgh and welcome applications from those that are able to work from one of these locations.

What do I need to bring with me?

• Experience working for or with clients in the international development sector
• Skilled in both quantitative and qualitative approaches to evaluation problems (a strong academic background in international development, international relations, social sciences, or a related area covering global sustainable development topics)
• Ability to apply critical thinking and problem solving approaches to the design/delivery of evaluations
• Excellent attention to detail, organised, and solutions-focused
• Proven ability to work well in teams and work across multiple projects, prioritising tasks efficiently
• Ability to work to tight and demanding deadlines to deliver profitable work and high quality outputs
• Well-developed analytical skills, including a good understanding of Excel (or SPSS, Stata or another statistical software package)
• Strong writing skills and experience of preparing written reports and presentations, with a high level of English, including the ability to write in a variety of styles
• Desirable: policy knowledge and expertise in relevant areas (e.g. global health, inclusive education, humanitarian, energy and environment poverty and inequality, economic development), or ability to pick up new policy areas – note that methods and analytical skills are more important than policy knowledge.

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.

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on Globaljobs.org