Position: Research and Good Practice Manager

35 hours per week

Open to Job share?Yes

Responsible to: Head of National Services

Responsible for: Policy and Practice Researcher
(to be recruited in 2016)

Salary:£34,000 per annumplus 3% employer pension contribution

Length of contract:permanent

Toynbee Hall

Toynbee Hall is a community organisation that pioneers ways to reduce poverty and disadvantage. Based in the East End of London, we give some of the country’s most deprived communities a voice, providing access to free advice and support services and working with them to tackle social injustice. We have been a catalyst for social reform in the UK for 130 years, and continue to bring together communities, organisations and policy makers to create new ways to help those who find themselves in poverty today.

Job Description and purpose of the job

Toynbee Hall has been a leader in financial inclusion research and practice since 2002; under a new brand of the Financial Health Exchange, our National Services team mission is to improve financial wellbeing in the UK. We do this by working to create a more financially inclusive money environment, and by creating the financial capability programmes, tools and resources which will enable people to navigate that environment successfully. We research needs and barriers to financial wellbeing, identify and share good practice through our forums and networks, capacity-build organisations to deliver services and products which will have a better impact on the financial health of their customers, and influence policy, practice and product design and delivery across relevant sectors. We have built a good foundation for our Research and Good Practice work, and are now looking for an experienced researcher and research manager to help us grow this area.

The Research and Good Practice Manager will lead our research and evaluation portfolio, and bring valuable expertise around winning and delivering contracts. The role will also deputise for the Head of National Services in a range of external representational roles, on an on-going and ad hoc basis as required.

We also plan to recruit a Policy and Practice Researcher as our portfolio grows, and the two roles will eventually complement each other in their mix of quantitative and qualitative research skills and experience.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Manage Research and Evaluation Contracts:

  • Design and manage research projects that provide needs-led evidence, ideas and recommendations that will enhance the effectiveness of the financial inclusion and capability sectors.
  • Scope and manage a range of research and evaluation briefs, to include: developing project plans, defining objectives, allocating tasks, and delivering work to time, budget and quality standards.
  • Manage senior research and evaluation client relationships, taking responsibility for interactions with the client to ensure our work reflects the client’s needs and meets expectations.
  • Coordinate with other parts of Toynbee Hall, including our Development, Communications and Information and Systems teams, to ensure that client and research projects have the maximum impact for the client/research funder, the sector, and Toynbee Hall.
  • Review the success of projects and their impact.

Contribute to Research and Evaluation Contracts:

  • Carry out qualitative and/or quantitative research as appropriate for completing research and evaluation contracts to a high standard

Business development:

  • Identify and bid for relevant external research and evaluation contracts and secure funding, in partnership with our Development Team, for our own research and evaluation proposals.
  • Contribute to improving and managing the wider Financial Health Exchange National sales process for research, evaluation, consultancy and training client work, including helping identify prospects and working with the team to: carry out initial meetings; identify how Toynbee Hall could help the client; developing a proposal; and finalising negotiations to sale.
  • Contribute to building Toynbee Hall’s external profile through developing external relationships in relevant sectors and sharing specialist knowledge as appropriate.

Managing People:

Support the Head of National Services to build and support a high performing and successful team through:

  • Taking responsibility for developing elements of the team’s research, evaluation, project management and business development knowledge and methodologies as appropriate.
  • Mentoring less experienced staff and volunteers and share specialist knowledge across Toynbee Hall.
  • Line managing as required other members of the team.
  • Ensuring that Toynbee Hall’s HR procedures are fully implemented
  • Provide support and performance management to the team to enable staff to run their projects successfully.
  • Ensure that appropriate training and development opportunities are identified to support the team to meet their objectives and develop their skills and competencies.
  • Ensure that the development of existing or new projects includes appropriate reference to the recruitment / use of interns and volunteers, including training Community Researchers.
  • Ensure the effective use of interns, volunteers and Residential Volunteers where appropriate within projects, with the support of the Volunteering Manager.

Managing Yourself

  • Work to an agreed annual work-plan meeting targets and milestones
  • Prioritise and manage your own workload.
  • Take responsibility for your personal development and seek out opportunities for support and development.

General

  • Ensure that all services comply with equal opportunities and other relevant policies and good practice.

Person Specification

Requirement / Essential / Desirable
Education / Training / Masters or higher degree in social research.
SPSS training / SROI training
Experience / Experience of contributing to mixed methods research in published reports.
Four years, or more, of relevant experience in consulting, research, public policy, or the third sector, including managing clients and acquiring new business or generating research funding.
Experience of managing multiple client projects at one time / Line management or supervisory experience, including of volunteers.
Experience of using contractors/associates for completing contracts.
Experience of applying research to real-world questions in order to influence policy and/or practice.
Experience of community level research.
Experience of producing poverty/exclusion-relevant research.
Experience of training and managing volunteer researchers.
Skills / Excellent quantitative or quantitative research skills, or both: if quantitative, to include analysis using software packages such as MS Excel, SPSS, or similar.
Excellent communication skills: the ability to develop and deliver compelling presentations, to be robust and influential in discussions, and to write in a clear and engaging manner in reports and social media. / An understanding of and/or training in SROI analysis.
Knowledge, understanding & awareness / Knowledge of and expertise in efficient research tools and techniques, with some experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods, and highly developed knowledge in either qual or quant.
Experience of applying research to real-world questions in order to influence policy and/or practice. / Experience of using contractors/associates for completing contracts.
Experience of managing multiple client projects at one time.
Experience of community level research.
Experience of producing poverty/exclusion-relevant research.
Experience of training and managing volunteer researchers.
Personal attributes / Team player
Highly proactive, can-do attitude
Flexible and hand-on approach to work, with an appreciation of the resource challenges of working within the Charity sector.
Strong commitment to Toynbee Hall’s values of equality and inclusion.
A patient approach to developing staff and volunteers through mentoring and on-the-job training.

Learning and Development

Toynbee Hall provides all necessary induction training where necessary, and encourages and, where possible, supports other learning and development opportunities. All employees will receive regular support and supervision to facilitate their learning and development.

Volunteers

Volunteers are at the heart of Toynbee Hall’s work .The organisation is committed to involving volunteers in its continuous development and to offering volunteers the best of experiences. All Toynbee Hall staff members will be expected to support the volunteering ethos and to work alongside the volunteer team to promote and facilitate the involvement of volunteers wherever appropriate.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Toynbee Hall takes an outcomes and theory-based approach to its self-evaluation and monitoring. This means that the organisation is committed to gathering evidence of its effectiveness, and to using this information to learn, improve and communicate. All Toynbee Hall staff members will be expected to support this approach and to take part where appropriate in monitoring and evaluation planning and practice.

Location and Working Hours

This post is office based at28 Commercial Street, LondonE1, with travel around the country as appropriate for conducting research and other work. Working hours will be 35 hours per week over 5 days, plus 1 hour for lunch each day.