Senior Impact Research Lead — Policy & Evaluation

Human Sciences Research Council; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in Pretoria invites applications for Chief Research Specialist (CRS) on a permanent contract. The CRS will lead design and delivery of complex policy-relevant research with a focus on social impact, budgets, timelines and quality.

The candidate must hold a PhD, have extensive policy research experience and a strong record of peer‑reviewed outputs and funding success.

Qualifications

• PhD in Humanities and Social sciences required.
• Minimum of six years’ research and management experience.
• Excellent writing skills for reports and publications.
• Proven ability to translate research into policy outputs and briefs.
• At least 12 peer-reviewed publications, including international authorship.
• Extensive experience in securing funding for research.
• Strong project management and leadership of multidisciplinary teams.
• Intellectual leadership, integrity and drive.
• Experience in mentoring and training team members.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, planning and delivery of complex research projects with a focus on social impact, ensuring objectives, timelines, budgets and quality standards are met.
• Formulate targeted research proposals and secure funding on a sustainable basis for policy-relevant work.
• Deliver high-quality results and reports to budget and deadline.
• Stimulate public debate, civil society engagement and uptake of evidence by policymakers.
• Publish knowledge outputs in refereed journals, books and chapters with international collaborators.
• Ensure research impact through government and stakeholder engagement and policy briefs.
• Assess how research informs organizational strategy, policy, programmes and practice.
• Provide expert advice on research impact, monitoring, evaluation and learning across the organization.
• Communicate findings across media and at academic forums; develop research skills through training.
• The HSRC offers attractive, market-related packages depending on qualifications and experience.

Skills

Policy impact research

Academic writing

Funding acquisition

Team leadership

Research management

Dissemination

Mentoring

International publications

Proposal writing

Education

PhD in Humanities and Social

Job description

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in Pretoria invites applications for Chief Research Specialist (CRS) on a permanent contract. The CRS will lead design and delivery of complex policy-relevant research with a focus on social impact, budgets, timelines and quality.

The candidate must hold a PhD, have extensive policy research experience and a strong record of peer‑reviewed outputs and funding success.