Evaluation and Research Officer

Harris Hill are delighted to be working with The Winston Churchill Memorial trust to recruit an experienced Evaluation and Research Officer.

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust runs the Churchill Fellowships, a unique programme of overseas research grants.These support UK citizens from all parts of society to travel the world in search of innovative solutions for today's most pressing problems. These are not academic research grants. They are practical inquiries into real-world issues that the Fellows have encountered in their daily lives. Currently they cover healthcare, education, the environment, technology, communities, culture and the economy. 

About the role
This role is designed to support our work in monitoring and improving the performance of the Fellowship and how we communicate this. It will also help us to identify and service our strategic partnerships across many professional sectors, for both fundraising and influencing.

The postholder will be the internal champion of M&E. They will consolidate and maintain our existing programme of monitoring and evaluation focussed on individuals, and enhance how we use M&E information to develop and communicate our work. In particular, the postholder will develop M&E findings into usable evidence and case studies for our outreach to professional sectors, partners, donors, opinion-formers and potential applicants. They will also advise Fellows on their own M&E practice.

In addition, the postholder will provide research to support our relations with key audiences, including identifying and profiling key themes, organisations and individuals. This will inform the development of our annual award categories and fundraising.

The role sits within the Communications team, but will have an organisational reach, working closely with the Fellowship team and providing background research for the Chief Executive, Advisory Council and Trustees as required.

Key Responsibilities

• Acting as the internal champion for monitoring and evaluation
• Identifying key stakeholders, players, organisations and influencers in a range of sectors
• Researching potential award categories, their relevance across the UK and their potential for public benefit through our work
• Suggesting engagement strategies
• Maintaining and developing our database of sector contacts
• Maintaining the regular surveys of Fellows
• Analysing the resulting data and presenting it in usable form for internal and external audiences
• Developing these into case studies or other formats as requested
• Developing an archive of searchable and usable evidence to suit internal objectives
• Supporting Fellows' influencing activities and dissemination of their findings, through providing resources and advice on targeting
• Providing ad hoc research

Person Specification

• Undergraduate degree
• Experience conducting monitoring and evaluation of projects
• Knowledge and understanding of monitoring and evaluation approaches and methodologies
• Experience of researching and profiling target audiences
• Experience working alongside Communications, Fundraising or Policy teams
• Experience of developing case studies from data and survey information
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills for communicating face-to-face, in writing and by telephone with individuals at all levels
• Evidence of working in a team and contributing to a culture of collaborative working
• Strong IT skills, including proficiency in all aspects of Microsoft Office and ideally experience of Salesforce or other database
• Excellent analytical skills
• Ability to work autonomously and on own initiative
• A commitment to WCMT's ethos

If interested in this role then please do not hesitate to get in touch. Please note only applications including cover letters will be considered.