Senior Evaluation Manager

Reports to: Head of Evaluation 

Contract: 2 years fixed term - potential to extend 

Location: Central London, Hybrid* 

Closing date: 5pm, Friday 31st of May 2024  

About the Youth Endowment Fund 

We’re here to prevent children from becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to change things.  

In recent years, violent crime involving children has increased. This is a tragedy. Every child is an important member of our community and society has a duty to protect them.  

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a charity with a £200m endowment that exists to reverse this trend. We will achieve this by finding out what works to prevent youth violence and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice. We do this by funding, evaluating and then spreading the very best work on reducing youth violence across England and Wales. Central to this is the evaluation team. The team is responsible for commissioning and monitoring complex and rigorous impact evaluations from experts in the field.  

The Senior Evaluation Manager will play a key role in supporting the Assistant Director of Evaluation to lead elements of evaluation work. The post holder will also lead a team of two Evaluation Managers, ensuring they have the support to deliver a portfolio of evaluation projects. 

Key responsibilities 

The core of your job is to ensure that we are excellent at evaluation, so we can find out the best ways to prevent children and young people from becoming involved in violence. 

Evaluation 

Working with the Head of Evaluation the post holder will: 

• Implement the processes to assess the quality of evidence presented in funding applications and provide funding recommendations to the Grants and Evaluation Committee. 
• Shape the evaluation approach for individual grant rounds, including leading on this for a small number of rounds. 
• Provide technical expertise on evaluation to the team and lead the development of YEF’s thinking on one or more areas of evaluation. 
• Lead the delivery of YEF’s evaluation work, designing, commissioning and managing complex and large-scale evaluations. 
• Be responsible for YEF’s evaluation policies and reporting templates, ensuring they remain consistent and fit for purpose. 
• Be responsible for the ongoing development of YEF’s commissioning guidance. 

Team management:

The post holder will likely lead the recruitment, management and development of a team of Evaluation Officers and will: 

• Ensure they have the knowledge, skills and support to carry out their work effectively. 
• Provide regular feedback and coaching on written outputs. 
• Supervise and project manage the team’s evaluation work, providing quality assurance and monitoring of progress against project plans and project budgets. 

Collaborative working

The post holder will contribute to the wider YEF team and will: 

• Be accountable to YEF’s Fund Leadership Team for the delivery of evaluations, making sure they are on time and on budget, including reporting on risks and issues. 
• Work closely with colleagues across YEF and specifically the Programme team. 
• Ensure high-quality evidence is at the heart of all YEF activity and that the evidence we produce is communicated in a clear and accessible way which will drive sustainable change. 
• Support the management of YEF’s panel of evaluators and expert panel. 

General 

The post holder may be involved in other elements of YEF's projects, working with senior colleagues to commission, scope and deliver projects. 

About you 

You are this sort of person: 

• You don't want your days to pass without making a difference. You want to play a significant part in reducing the level of violence involving young people and see the value in an evidence-informed approach.   
• You are an excellent communicator. You can produce technical documents that accurately report methodological and statistical information. You will combine this with experience of communicating complex evidence and analysis in a simple and accessible format to non- experts. 
• You have a post-graduate degree (Masters or PhD) in social science, social policy, public health, health services or other fields, with a significant quantitative component, or relevant experience equivalent to a Masters qualification. 
• You have strong knowledge, experience and technical expertise in evaluation methodologies including the ability to critically appraise the design of a variety of different evaluation designs. 
• You have quantitative analysis skills including experience of using advanced analytical software such as R, Stata or SPSS. 
• You have significant experience in carrying out or commissioning research including designing all aspects of the research and managing external contractors.  This may be in academia, government or a related sector. 
• You have strong relationship management skills. You are comfortable working with a wide range of people, including senior academics and other research experts, children and their families, practitioners, and policy makers. You’re able to provide constructive challenge when required.   
• You bring the best out of your colleagues.  You have experience in leading teams and managing others to achieve amazing results. You can both take and give direction. You are collaborative and a team player, able to build strong relationships across the whole organisation. You are happy to help out when and where it’s needed. 
• You have excellent project and time management skills and the ability to deliver high-quality work in a fast-paced environment. 
• You learn fast but remain humble. You like learning. You’re very good at synthesising information. You know how much you don't know and that you can always learn more.  
• You work well in a team. You care more that good things happen than who gets the credit. You support your colleagues to produce excellent work.  
• You’re committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. You believe and act in a way that celebrates and encourages a range of experiences, views and values. 

You may have, but they are not essential: 

A good level of knowledge and understanding of crime or serious violence. You know the facts, understand the issues, know the key people, and can discuss the theories. You’re knowledgeable on this topic and very at ease discussing it with experts. Alternatively, you might have a strong understanding of a relevant area such as education, youth work or social care.   

While it’s not a criteria, we’re especially interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of youth violence.

It’s also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.

All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well. 

Additional benefits include  

£1,000 professional development budget annually, 28 days plus Bank Holidays, four half days for volunteering activities. 

Hybrid working details 

The office is based in Central London. Those living in and around London are expected to be in the office a minimum of 2 days per week. If you live outside of London and work remotely, you’ll be expected to work from the London office 2 days per month.   

If you’re interested 

To apply, please send a CV and cover letter, and complete the monitoring form click on "Apply for this" button by 9am Friday 31st May 2024. 

You should also include the contact details of two referees, one of whom must be your current or most recent employer. Referees will only be approached with your express permission. 

This role is advertised as full time at 37.5hrs per week. As part of our commitment to flexible working, we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at interview stage.   

You will also be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. 

Interview process 

Interviews will take place the week commencing the 27th May 2024. There will be a task to complete as part of this process. 

Personal data

Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.