About the position
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. 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 [Email Address Removed]s’ 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.
While we would really like to respond to every application, should you not be contacted for this position within 10 working days please consider your application unsuccessful.
COMMENTS:
When applying for jobs, ensure that you have the minimum job requirements. OnlySA Citizens will be considered for this role. If you are not in the mentioned location of any of the jobs, please note your relocation plans in all applications for jobs and correspondence. Apply here [URL Removed] OR e-mail a Word copy of your CV to [Email Address Removed] and mention the reference number of the job.
Desired Skills:
