Research Associate (Evaluation Manager)

King's College London; Greater London; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

King’s College London is seeking a Research Associate (Evaluation Manager) to lead evaluation design and delivery within the EDIT team of the Policy Institute. The role involves managing complex evaluations across education and youth services, coordinating with partners, and applying rigorous quantitative methods using R.

The ideal candidate has a PhD or equivalent experience, strong project management skills, and a track record of working with delivery partners and funders to deliver

Qualifications

• Experience designing programme evaluations with delivery partners and funders.
• Strong track record managing relationships with partners and funders in research projects.
• Training in quantitative methods (statistics/econometrics) and evaluation methods (RCTs, diff-in-diff).
• Experience applying methods to real datasets using R.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and delivery of impact evaluations for education, homelessness and youth support programmes.
• Manage relationships with delivery partners and funders throughout evaluation lifecycles.
• Contribute to dissemination and policy impact activities with the What Works Centres and external partners.

Skills

Evaluation design

Quantitative methods

R programming

Stakeholder management

Project management

Academic writing

Education

PhD in a relevant subject

Tools

R

Job description

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 our mission of making the world a better place.

The Strategic Vision 2029 looks forward to King’s College London’s 200th anniversary in 2029 and sets out ambitious plans in five key areas:

• Educating the next generation of change‑makers
• Challenging ideas and driving change through research
• Giving back to society through meaningful service
• Working with our local communities in London
• Fostering global citizens with an international perspective

As part of the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, the Policy Institute at King’s combine the rigour of academia with the agility of a consultancy and the connectedness of a think tank.

This role sits within the Evidence Development and Incubation Team (EDIT), a dedicated evaluation specialist team within the Policy Institute. EDIT partners with government departments, public bodies, charities and other organisations to understand the impact of their work. Our activities include:

• Designing and delivering impact evaluations to assess the impacts of interventions on key outcomes, using experimental and quasi‑experimental approaches
• Conducting implementation and process evaluations to explore how interventions operate in practice and how they are experienced by those involved.
• Supporting organisations to develop robust internal evaluation capacity, including the systems, skills and processes needed to embed evaluation in their work.

Beyond individual projects, EDIT advocates for the use of evidence in policy and practice, and works closely with members of the What Works Network to strengthen the wider evaluation ecosystem and promote the adoption of evidence‑based interventions.

See more at: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/about/edit

About the role

The Research Associate (Evaluation Manager) will play a key role in delivering EDIT’s ongoing and new evaluation and research projects. Current work spans evaluations of programmes across primary, secondary, and further education; interventions aimed at reducing homelessness; and initiatives supporting young people into employment.

The role has a strong focus on impact evaluation design and delivery. The ideal candidate will have experience working with service delivery organisations to design and deliver robust and feasible impact evaluations. This would include, for example, working with a programme delivery partner to set up an impact evaluation or trial, managing relationships with delivery partners and funders throughout an evaluation lifecycle, and designing evaluations that are responsive to changing delivery environments. As this role has a particular focus on impact evaluation, the ideal candidate will also have training in quantitative research methods (for instance statistics, econometrics, or similar subjects), and experience using R.

We are particularly interested in candidates with experience working with the What Works Centres, and of delivering commissioned research within a research organisation, consultancy, or academic setting. We also welcome candidates who bring subject‑matter expertise from working in relevant policy areas, such as education, employment, youth violence reduction, homelessness, or related fields.

The successful candidate will be highly organised, analytically rigorous, comfortable working collaboratively across multiple projects, with the flexibility and adaptability to thrive in a fast‑paced research environment.

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

• Practical experience designing programme evaluations in collaboration with delivery partners, funders, and other key stakeholders.
• Substantial experience managing relationships with delivery partners, funders, and other stakeholders when designing and delivering research and/or evaluation projects.
• Training in quantitative research methods, such as statistics or econometrics, and programme evaluation methods, including experimental and quasi‑experimental approaches (e.g., randomised controlled trials, difference‑in‑differences, regression discontinuity) and matching approaches.
• Practical experience applying these quantitative research methods in R evaluation or research projects, for instance cleaning, managing, and/or analysing complex datasets.
• Excellent project management, organisational and time‑management skills, with a high level of attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively as part of a project team across multiple projects.
• A PhD in a relevant subject or equivalent professional experience

Further information

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service clearances.