Research Associate (Evaluation Manager)

King’s College London is an internationally renowned university delivering exceptional education and world-leading research. The University is dedicated to driving positive and sustainable change in society and realising its mission of making the world a better place.

The Policy Institute is seeking a Research Associate (Evaluation Manager) to join its Evidence Development and Incubation Team (EDIT). The Policy Institute combines the rigour of academia with the agility of a consultancy and the connectedness of a think tank. EDIT is a dedicated evaluation specialist team that works with government departments, public bodies, charities and other organisations to understand the impact of their work. It also works closely with members of the What Works Network to strengthen the wider evaluation ecosystem.

This role is an exciting opportunity to join a collaborative team in a fast-paced research environment and to deliver evaluations with real-world impact. The Research Associate will play a key role in delivering EDIT’s ongoing and new evaluation and research projects. The team’s current work covers programmes across primary, secondary and further education, interventions aimed at reducing homelessness, and initiatives supporting young people into employment.

EDIT delivers impact evaluations using experimental and quasi-experimental approaches, implementation and process evaluations, and capacity-building work that helps organisations embed evaluation in their own practice. This role focuses mainly on designing and delivering impact evaluations. The successful candidate will have experience of working with service delivery organisations to design and deliver robust, feasible impact evaluations. That might include setting up a trial with a programme delivery partner, managing relationships with delivery partners and funders across the evaluation lifecycle, and adapting designs as delivery environments change. They will also have training in quantitative research methods (such as statistics or econometrics) and experience of using R.

The team is particularly interested in candidates who have worked with What Works Centres and who have delivered commissioned research in a research organisation, consultancy or academic setting. Candidates with subject-matter expertise in relevant policy areas, such as education, employment, youth violence reduction or homelessness, are also welcome.

The Research Associate will be highly organised and analytically rigorous. They will be comfortable working with colleagues across several projects at once, and flexible and adaptable enough to thrive in a fast-paced environment.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), offered on a two-year fixed-term contract.

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