Associate Director

Evaluation Associate Director: energy, environment, economic development Hybrid: Central London or Manchester or Edinburgh and home SF033253 This successful and highly regarded global research agency is looking for a dynamic and established evaluator to lead on high profile studies which inform policy and service delivery across a wide range of policy areas including environment, sustainability, economic development and infrastructure on behalf of clients including government departments, NGOs and charities. We’re talking hot topics such as net zero, climate resilience, clean growth, nature recovery, industrial decarbonisation, low carbon innovation, regional economic development, active travel, and productivity growth. The projects this team undertake tend to be large scale, both in terms of challenge and budget, and they tend to be very high profile. Working in a tight knit team of brilliant evaluators, the focus of this role is on evaluating the impact and effectiveness of public policies, programmes and interventions and drawing conclusions/ providing recommendations to help UK and global clients set policy priorities, improve effectiveness and strengthen delivery. As well as the opportunity to work on some of the most important programmes in these critical and interesting areas, you will work with highly respected experts - this agency is very much “full service” and home to many people widely seen to be leading the field. Your role is to create and oversee high quality impact, process and economic evaluations and to ensure work is delivered on time, to budget. You will be responsible for designing robust evaluation approaches, frameworks and methodologies at both bid and inception stage and then overseeing the delivery of these projects, working closely with the wider team and partners. The commercial side is a key part of this role: writing winning proposals with new and existing clients including making pricing recommendations and identifying opportunities for continued growth. You can expect to take ownership of proposals with £500-750k value – with support from senior directors. Experience of government procurement and the associated processes is vital. As part of this, there is plenty of opportunity to take part in marketing and profile raising activity including speaking at conferences, creating thought leadership pieces and taking an active role in stakeholder events. The role will suit someone who enjoys developing a strong understanding of client needs, who has excellent communications skills, can work in a collaborative way with internal teams and suppliers and who has a supportive approach to team leadership. It will also suit a someone who enjoys leading on multiple projects and who can deliver quality in a profitable way, including during busier times. The successful candidate must have a background in delivering largescale UK-based evaluations in an agency environment, using a range of evaluation methods. A focus on quality and on managing and delivering programmes to timescales and budget is critical. As is a commercial track record in terms of leading winning proposals. Experience in these policy areas would be nice to have, but this is not essential. The critical elements are evaluation expertise, client leadership skills and a strong commercial track record. A highly innovative and forward-thinking environment, this is a place for people who love to take ownership and make things happen – you are given autonomy, with support to do just that. The people here are genuinely curious and interested in what they do. The training on offer is second-to-none and development opportunities, here and overseas should you wish, are huge. As a result of all this, people talk about being challenged, consistently offered new opportunities, being listened to, and enjoying being in a culture where anyone at any level can have an opinion and lead on projects. For more information, please contact Stephanie Fairbank: .Visit our website for other great market research jobs: