Scotty's Little Soldiers - Head of Impact and Research

Cobseo; Hartford; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A charity supporting bereaved families is seeking a research and impact evaluation lead to ensure effective measurement and reporting of their work. Responsibilities include developing frameworks, leading internal research, and producing insightful reports. Ideal candidates will have experience in research, excellent communication skills, and familiarity with the Armed Forces community. You will help shape the charity's strategies and enhance its impact through meaningful insights.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Supportive work environment

Opportunities for professional development

Qualifications

• Proven experience in research and/or impact evaluation, ideally in the charity or public sector.
• Strong skills in data collection, survey design, and analysis.
• Experience producing Impact Reports or funding insight packs.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain frameworks to measure service outcomes.
• Lead internal research projects using beneficiary data.
• Create clear insight reports and data summaries for stakeholders.

Skills

Research and impact evaluation

Data collection and analysis

Excellent written communication

Knowledge of trauma-informed support

Experience with Armed Forces community

Tools

Salesforce

CRM data tools

Job description

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain frameworks to measure the outcomes of all services and programmes.
• Ensure Success Measures (KPIs) and qualitative feedback tools are aligned to our Theory of Change.
• Work with the Families (service delivery) team to embed consistent and meaningful data collection across all services.
• Design simple, automated reporting processes to reduce manual admin and improve data use.

Research & Insight

• Lead internal research projects using beneficiary data, surveys, and feedback loops.
• Scope and manage external research partnerships with academic institutions or sector bodies.
• Design and deliver surveys to beneficiaries and the wider bereaved military community.
• Produce evidence to support service development, strategic decisions, influence national policy, and funding bids.
• Lead our existing advisory group (for children and young people) and establish new groups as required (e.g. for adult services).
• Ensure that lived experience remains at the heart of the charity's focus on understanding of the need.

Communication of Impact

• Create clear, accessible insight reports and data summaries for internal and external use.
• Lead the delivery of the annual Impact Report (content, structure, coordination with teams).
• Develop quarterly insight packs for funders and stakeholders, with engaging visuals and stories.
• Work with the Outreach Squad to ensure impact is integrated into campaigns and storytelling.

Learning & Collaboration

• Act as the internal 'voice of insight' - bringing beneficiary perspective and data into key conversations.
• Contribute to team training on evaluation, feedback collection, and outcomes thinking.
• Participate in cross-functional planning, especially with the Service Delivery and Outreach Squads.

Policy (Light Touch)

• Track key developments in bereavement, Armed Forces, and youth policy.
• Produce brief summaries or 'position snapshots' where relevant to Scotty's mission.
• Build relationships with other research and impact professionals in the sector.

30‑day goals for this role are:

• Build a deep understanding of Scotty's mission, our audience, the services we provide, and strategic direction.
• Develop a deep understanding of our current Success Measures, Impact measurements and Theory of Change.
• Reviewing research and data produced by the charity and related external research previously published.
• Understand the data structure and reporting capabilities of Salesforce.
• Understand existing commitments (e.g. funder report, impact reports etc).
• Taken ownership of our 2026 Community‑wide survey (project will be handed over upon start).

60‑day goals for this role are:

• Audit current data quality and gaps across the F‑Team Programmes.
• Support the publishing of the 2025 Impact Report (NB this might have been published but let's put it in for now).
• Scoped and invited members to join our first adult lived experience advisory group.
• Analysed and shared results of 2026 Community‑wide survey.
• Reached out to relevant impact and research groups to introduce yourself, particularly those attached the military or bereavement charitable sectors.
• Identified 1‑2 relevant conferences or forums for Scotty's to present at.

90‑day goals for this role are:

• Held at least 1 adult lived experience advisory group session.
• Created and shared the first quarterly Impact Review for internal use.
• Fully taken accountability for impact reporting and research projects within the charity and able to demonstrate a clear plan of action for the rest of the year.
• Proposed an outline for the Annual Family Feedback Survey in September.

Must‑Have

• Proven experience in research and/or impact evaluation, ideally in the charity or public sector.
• Strong skills in data collection, survey design, and analysis.
• Excellent written communication and reporting skills.
• Able to translate data into real‑world insight.
• Experience working with or around the Armed Forces community.
• Understanding of trauma‑informed or bereavement support practices.
• Experience producing Impact Reports or funding insight packs.
• Familiarity with Salesforce or CRM data tools.
• Some knowledge of public policy or third sector trends.

Other requirements

• The role may require occasional evening or weekend work.
• Enhanced DBS check required.
• Travel will be required to events and team training days.

For over 15 years, Scotty's Little Soldiers has been supporting children and young people who have been bereaved of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. We are about to embark on an exciting journey which will see the charity evolve to support anyone affected by a military‑connected bereavement and ultimately empower a community of more than 25,000 bereaved individuals and their families by 2035. Founded in 2010 by Nikki Scott following the death of her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, the charity currently offers a unique blend of emotional, practical, and educational support to over 750 young people. We are proud of our vibrant, non‑traditional culture, which puts the needs of bereaved children and young people at the heart of everything we do. We embrace innovative approaches, are committed to creating smiles and believe in the power of community, resilience, and connection.

Role Mission. To ensure that Scotty's understands and demonstrates the impact of its work - through high‑quality research, meaningful measurement, and clear reporting. You will lead the development of internal and external research projects, manage beneficiary insight gathering, and oversee the systems and frameworks we use to evaluate and share our effectiveness. This role is central to helping us improve what we do and explain why it matters and ensuring that lived experience remains at the heart of everything we do.

The Scotty's Way At Scotty's, our personal performance is only 50% of what success looks like. Our culture is equally important. When you join our team, you sign up to The Scotty's Way, rooted in our four core values: 1. Families Come First 2. Everyone a Supporter, Every Supporter a VIP 3. Love What You Do 4. Remember, Every Day Our values are further supported by our four non‑negotiable behaviours of Show Respect, Speak Up, Take Ownership and Actively Collaborate.