Senior Evaluation Manager

UKRI; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Annual leave 30 days + 10.5 days

Employee discounts

Employee assistance programme

Flexible working options

Job summary

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is recruiting a Senior Evaluation Manager to lead monitoring, evaluation and strategic activities within the R&D MAP Clean Energy Superpower Mission in Swindon. The role involves designing evaluations, guiding logic models, and embedding evidence of impact across the mission and MAP hub.

Hybrid working is available with periodic travel. The post holder will mentor governance groups, work with partners, and contribute to performance reporting while shaping the

Qualifications

• Professional competency in research, monitoring and evaluation.
• Understanding of evaluation approaches to meet objectives.
• Experience designing and delivering impact evaluations of complex programmes.
• Analytical, problem-solving and strategic decision-making skills.
• Ability to explain technical information to varied audiences.
• Plan and prioritise work to deliver outcomes.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills across levels.

Responsibilities

• Designing and delivering evaluation activity for the mission, including managing independent evaluations.
• Partner with internal and external teams to co-develop monitoring and evaluation plans.
• Lead the team’s efforts to monitor outcomes and benefits from mission funding.
• Develop and synthesise evidence on impact, including case studies.
• Participate in R&D MAP Evaluation Working Groups and share lessons across missions.
• Establish and deliver performance reporting structures and processes.
• Support scoping, development, commissioning and management of high-quality investments.

Skills

Monitoring & evaluation

Data analysis

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic thinking

Communication

Education

Certified qualification in research/M&E

Job description

Senior Evaluation Manager

Band: UKRI Band E

Salary: £46,743 per annum

Hours: Full-time/ Part Time (minimum 0.8 FTE) (flexible working available)

Reports to: Innovation Lead – Clean Energy Superpower Mission

Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire - Hybrid working available

Contract: Fixed Term 23 months.

Closing Date: Wednesday 9th September 2026

R&D Missions Accelerator Programme

The R&D Missions Accelerator Programme (R&D MAP)representsan exceptional opportunity to create real world impact through R&D investment.

The programme will utilise a £500m budget to bring together the private sector, the third sectors and academia to collaboratively develop innovative solutions to public sector problems, resulting innew technologies, services, IP and more.

The programme has been designed to solve the key problems facing the Government's five national Missions and enable delivery of the milestones in the Plan for Change.

The Government has identified the key problems faced by the UK, to which the R&D Missions Accelerator Programme has designed Research and Innovation (R&I) Challenges to develop solutions.

The programme is currently developing its approaches across the Missions, and therefore by joining at this stage there's a significant opportunity to establish and drive the strategic and operational direction of the programme.

Clean Energy

The Clean Energy Superpower Mission is the UK's world-leading response to climate change with its twin focus on Clean Power by 2030 and accelerating to Net Zero. We'retackling two interconnected challenges that will shape the nation's energy independence, push peaking gas plant off thesystem,and drive down energy bills.We are looking at how new business models and approaches can unlock grid flexibility through AI and digital innovation, and developing new low-cost ultra-long duration energy storage solutions. Working with experts in system change such as the Energy Systems and Digital Catapults, market shapers at NESO andElexonand leading industry players, we are investing in real-world solutions and growing UK-based innovators and skills, right at the forefront of building the flexible, resilient power grid that will deliver our clean energy superpower ambitions.

We are looking for people who are highly self-motivated and who engage widely to findnew solutionsand ways of creating impact and bring real benefits to peoples' lives and the economy.

About the role

This will be a varied and interesting role to lead the delivery of a portfolio of monitoring, evaluation and related strategic activity. The role will lead/support the design and delivery of strategic evaluations of new activities, encouraging best practice and building evaluation capability. The role will provide support and guidance to developing logic models, execute evaluation plans, and taking part in steering and advisory groups. This role will involve developing evidence syntheses and processes to disseminate and embed evidence of impact. Additionally, the role will require strong stakeholder management across challenge teams and UKRI.

The role incorporates a joint focus on programme-level and mission-level M&E support. In addition to working across the Clean Energy Superpower Mission the postholder will be involved in the Evaluation Working Groups for the overarching R&D MAP evaluation. This provides an exciting opportunity to shape a mission portfolio while benefiting from, and sharing, experience and good practice across the missions.

The postholder will be a central member of the Clean Energy Superpower Mission team, reporting to a Grade F manager, with a secondary reporting line to the Head of M&E in the R&D MAP hub.

Hybrid Working

This position is based at our Swindon office, but hybrid working is available in accordance with UKRI policy. The team has a standing agreement to meet once a month at the Swindon office, and once a month at the London office, separately by two weeks. This post also may require travel to attend external visits and meetings. We welcome applications from candidates with special requirements.

Your responsibilities:

• Designing and delivering evaluation activity on behalf of the mission including contract managing independent evaluations of major challenge investments.
• Working in partnership with key partners (internal and external) to co-develop and implement monitoring and evaluation plans for mission activities and investments.
• Leading the team’s efforts to monitor and assess outcomes and benefits from mission funding activities.
• Working with other relevant teams to develop and synthesise evidence around the impact of the programme and its key investments, including identifying and developing case studies.
• Active involvement in the R&D MAP Evaluation Working Groups and two-way sharing of lessons and experience between the other missions and the Clean Energy Superpower Mission.
• Leading on set up and delivery of performance reporting structures and processes as required.
• Contributing to wider team activities and priorities as required including scoping, and development, commissioning and management of high-quality research and innovation investments.

This is not a comprehensive list, and we may require you to undertake other duties commensurate with the level of responsibility of this post.

Personal Specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

Essential

• Professional competency and technical skills reflecting expertise in research, monitoring and evaluation, ideally through a recognised and certified qualification (S).
• A demonstrable understanding of monitoring and evaluation and its uses, including awareness of a range of evaluation approaches for meeting specific objectives (S&I).
• Strong experience in design and delivery of impact evaluations of complex programmes (S).
• Sophisticated analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, and an ability to think strategically (S&I).
• Translating evidence effectively, explaining technical information clearly, and describing to varied audiences the implications, risks and uncertainties of such analysis. (I).
• Ability to plan and prioritise own work and the work of others to deliver successful outcomes, including responding flexibly to changing requirements and ambiguity (S&I).
• Well-developed communication and interpersonal skills at all levels, with the ability to maintain connections and influence to secure effective outcomes (I).

Desirable:

• Energy sector knowledge and experience (S).
• Demonstrable understanding of, experience in, or willingness to develop expertise in economic evaluation methods, including Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA), Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), Cost-Minimisation Analysis (CMA), and Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA) (S).
• The ability to build influential networks and experience in managing relationships across a broad range of stakeholder and cross-functional teams (I).
• A strong background of facilitation and/or stakeholder engagement and relationship management with experience of, for example, using focus groups or workshops to develop business case models and approaches (I).
• An understanding of the R&I funding landscape, and role of UKRI within it (I).

Benefits

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!

A list of benefits below:

• An outstanding defined salary pension scheme.
• 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent).
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.
• Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice.
• Flexible working options.

Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

For further information on our benefits please see:

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

UKRI is an Equal Opportunity & Disability Confident Employer.