Head of Research, Reflection Evaluating (Hybrid/Remote)

Datafin; Johannesburg; Remote; ZAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

A community upliftment programme is seeking a Head of Research, Reflection & Evaluating in Johannesburg. The successful candidate will lead diverse research programs and manage evaluation assets while driving innovative strategies. Applicants must have a minimum of a Master's degree, preferably a PhD, and at least 8 years of relevant experience in complex environments. This role emphasizes leading teams and social impact initiatives and offers hybrid or remote work opportunities.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years relevant experience in complex environments.
• At least 4 years in senior roles leading teams.
• Experience with social impact initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage research & evaluation programmes.
• Develop knowledge-sharing approaches across the network.
• Scoping and designing research projects effectively.

Skills

Social impact experience

Research management

Evaluation methodologies

Leadership

People-centered approaches

Education

Masters Degree or equivalent

PhD preferred

Tools

Research tools

Evaluation tools

Job description

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

KwaZulu Natal - South Africa, Johannesburg - Gauteng - South Africa, Western Cape - South Africa, Remote

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 whats 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 whats 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 peoples experience and expertise, with an orientation towards peoples 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 ones 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 programmes 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.

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