Head Of Research, Reflection & Evaluating (Hybrid / Remote)

Datafin; Remote; ZAR 900 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A community upliftment programme in Johannesburg seeks a Head of Research, Evaluation, and Learning. The ideal candidate will lead innovative research programs, with a minimum of 8 years of experience in complex environments and at least 4 years in senior management roles. A Master's degree is essential, while a PhD is preferred. Responsibilities include managing research assets, applying mixed methods, and supporting social impact initiatives, ensuring adaptable and effective evaluation practices.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years' relevant experience in complex contexts.
• At least 4 years in senior roles managing teams.
• Experience with social impact initiatives and organizations.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage research and evaluation assets.
• Develop and adapt research approaches over time.
• Build partnerships for research and practice.

Skills

Leadership

Research design

Mixed methods

Social impact understanding

Complex systems thinking

Education

Masters Degree or equivalent

PhD preferred

Tools

Research methods tools

Evaluation software

Job description

Overview

ENVIRONMENT: LEAD research programmes & projects in a relatively new and exciting Innovation & Learning portfolio as the next Head of Research, Reflection & Evaluating sought by a Community Upliftment Programme based in Johannesburg.

You will explore and seek new knowledge and introducing what's valuable to the programme appropriately, manage research & evaluation assets while designing appropriate (often mixed methods) approaches and adapting these over time.

Applicants will require a Masters Degree or equivalent with relevant experience, preferably PhD with practical experience with at least 8 years' relevant and diverse experience in complex organisational-systemic contexts incl.

4 years in senior role(s) successfully leading functions and managing teams.

You must also have experience of social impact initiatives, programmes and / or organisations, thoughtful familiarity with M&E / MEL / MERL approaches and practices & a track record of, and strong appetite for, seeing patterns and building coherence amid complexity.

Duties

Leading and developing approach(es) to identifying, creating, nurturing and sharing knowledge (know-how & know-that) for use across the network and ecosystem –

Explore and seek new knowledge and introducing what's valuable to the programme appropriately.

Collaboratively question key assumptions.

Collaboratively identify, create, and package knowledge for use & sharing –

Lead an asset-based orientation to knowledge.

Create, distil and / or package knowledge from people's experience and expertise, with an orientation towards people's agency & diversity, and "positive deviance".

Co-create the network-wide conditions for more deeply reflective practice and evaluative thinking (with the rest of the Innovation & Learning portfolio) -

Reflective practice: asking questions & questioning assumptions about one's own work and ways of working (standing on the balcony outside the dance, double loop learning, reflexivity, etc.).

Evaluative thinking: "an attitude of inquisitiveness and a belief in the value of evidence"...

Leading and developing approach(es) to researching and evaluating –

Lead and manage an iterative, multi-question, multi-year agenda focused on use / utilisation.

Build wider understanding across the programme of the nature and value of questioning, researching & evaluating — incl.

evaluating as integral to practice; and research as informed by & informing practice.

Lead the programme using research in evaluating and using both in learning.

Build and sustain research-practice partnerships to realise the programme's approach.

Manage research & evaluation assets.

Researching: Curiously and creatively formulate, prioritise, and inquire into questions with appropriate discipline(s) and diligence — yielding conclusions and new questions.

Evaluating: "Any systematic process to judge merit, worth or significance by combining evidence and values".

More specifically: "Evaluation science is systematic inquiry into how, and how well, interventions aimed at changing the world work."

Leading scoping, designing and managing research and evaluation programmes and projects –

Design appropriate (often mixed methods) approaches and adapting these over time.

Develop appropriate terms of reference and requests for proposal for independent evaluations.

Lead and manage research and / or evaluation programmes and / or projects.

Conduct research and / or evaluations.

Requirements

Qualifications –

• Minimum Masters Degree or equivalent with relevant experience; preferably PhD with practical experience.

Experience / Skills –

• Min. 8 years' relevant and diverse experience in complex organisational-systemic contexts incl.
• Min. 4 years in senior role(s) successfully leading functions and managing teams.
• Experience of social impact initiatives, programmes and / or organisations.
• Comfort and confidence leading sophisticated research and evaluations.
• People-and-user-centered approaches to research and evaluating.
• Thoughtful familiarity with M&E / MEL / MERL approaches and practices.
• A track record of, and strong appetite for, seeing patterns and building coherence amid complexity.

Advantageous –

• Fluency in one or more African languages.

Proficiency in / with –

• Tools suited to relevant research methods.
• Developmental evaluation.