Head of research jobs

Applicants must be located within 2 hours travelling distance of Cambridge City. 

The Charity and Our Vision.  

For over 15 years, Scotty's Little Soldiers has been supporting children and young people who have been bereaved of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.  We are about to embark on an exciting journey which will see the charity evolve to support anyone affected by a military-connected bereavement and ultimately empower a community of more than 25,000 bereaved individuals and their families by 2035. 

Founded in 2010 by Nikki Scott following the death of her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, the charity currently offers a unique blend of emotional, practical, and educational support to over 750 young people.  

We are proud of our vibrant, non-traditional culture, which puts the needs of bereaved children and young people at the heart of everything we do. We embrace innovative approaches, are committed to creating smiles, and believe in the power of community, resilience, and connection.   

Role Mission. 

To ensure that Scotty’s understands and demonstrates the impact of its work — through high-quality research, meaningful measurement, and clear reporting. You will lead the development of internal and external research projects, manage beneficiary insight gathering, and oversee the systems and frameworks we use to evaluate and share our effectiveness.  

This role is central to helping us improve what we do and explain why it matters and ensuring that lived experience remains at the heart of everything we do.  

The key responsibilities of this role are:  

Impact Measurement  

• Develop and maintain frameworks to measure the outcomes of all services and programmes.  

• Ensure Success Measures (KPIs) and qualitative feedback tools are aligned to our Theory of Change.  

• Work with the Families (service delivery) team to embed consistent and meaningful data collection across all services.  

• Design simple, automated reporting processes to reduce manual admin and improve data use, making effective use of Scotty’s CRM.  

Research & Insight  

• Lead internal research projects using beneficiary data, surveys, and feedback loops.  

• Scope and manage external research partnerships with academic institutions or sector bodies.  

• Design and deliver surveys to beneficiaries and the wider bereaved military community  

• Produce evidence to support service development, strategic decisions, influence national policy, and funding bids.  

• Lead our existing advisory group (for children and young people) and establish new groups as required (e.g. for adult services).  

• Ensure that lived experience remains at the heart of the charity’s focus on understanding the need.  

• Ensure that Scotty’s have access to the most up to date research within the bereavement, military, Children & Young People and Family Support sectors. 

Communication of Impact  

• Create clear, accessible insight reports and data summaries for internal and external use  

• Lead the delivery of the annual Impact Report (content, structure, coordination with teams).  

• Develop quarterly insight packs for funders and stakeholders, with engaging visuals and stories.  

• Work with the Outreach Squad to ensure impact is integrated into campaigns and storytelling.  

Learning & Collaboration  

• Act as the internal ‘voice of insight’ – bringing beneficiary perspective and data into key conversations.  

• Contribute to team training on evaluation, feedback collection, and outcomes thinking.  

• Participate in cross-functional planning, especially with the Service Delivery and Outreach Squads.  

Policy (Light Touch)  

• Track key developments in bereavement, the Armed Forces, and children, young people and families policy  

• Produce brief summaries or ‘position snapshots’ where relevant to Scotty’s mission  

• Build relationships with other research and impact professionals in the sector  

The 30-day goals for this role are: 

• Build a deep understanding of Scotty’s mission, our audience, the services we provide, and strategic direction. 

• Develop a deep understanding of our current Success Measures, Impact measurements and Theory of Change.  

• Reviewing research and data produced by the charity and related external research previously published.  

• Understand the data structure and reporting capabilities of Salesforce (CRM).  

• Understand existing commitments (e.g. funder report, impact reports etc).  

• Taken ownership of our 2026 Community-wide survey (project will be handed over upon start).  

The 60-day goals for this role are: 

• Audit current data quality and gaps across the F-Team Programmes.  

• Worked with the Families Team to develop the first adult lived experience advisory group.   

• Reached out to relevant impact and research groups to introduce yourself, particularly those attached the military or bereavement charitable sectors.  

• Identified 1-2 relevant conferences or forums for Scotty’s to present at.  

• Build ideas, working with the Head of Service, that can help teams improve current Success Measures and Impact measurements. 

The 90-day goals for this role are: 

• Held at least 1 adult lived experience advisory group session.  

• Created and shared the first quarterly Impact Review for internal use.   

• Fully taken accountability for impact reporting and research projects within the charity and able to demonstrate a clear plan of action for the rest of the year.  

• Proposed an outline for the Annual Family Feedback Survey in September.  

• Start to co-ordinate the 2026 Impact Report 

About You 

Must-Have  

Proven experience in research and impact evaluation, ideally in the charity or public sector  

Strong skills in data collection, survey design, and analysis  

Excellent written communication and reporting skills  

Able to translate data into real-world insight  

Experience of CRM databases and producing reports from them 

Knowledge and experience of the principles of involving those with lived experience, including co-design and co-production 

Nice-to-Have  

Experience working with or around the Armed Forces community  

Understanding of trauma-informed or bereavement support practices  

Experience producing Impact Reports or funding insight packs  

Familiarity with Salesforce or CRM data tools  

Some knowledge of public policy or third sector trends  

Additional Information

• The role may require occasional evening or weekend work

• Enhanced DBS check required

• Travel will be required to events and team training days

The Scotty’s Way

At Scotty’s, our personal performance is only 50% of what success looks like. Our culture is equally important. When you join our team, you sign up to The Scotty’s Way, rooted in our four core values:

Families Come First

Everyone a Supporter, Every Supporter a VIP

Love What You Do

Remember, Every Day

Our values are further supported by our four non-negotiable behaviours of Show Respect, Speak Up, Take Ownership and Actively Collaborate. We are looking for an individual who embodies these values and behaviours.

Closing date: 15th May 2026. Due to resource and time constraints, we are unfortunately unable to provide feedback for every application received and will only contact candidates shortlisted for interview. 

Thank you for your interest in joining our team, we are an equal opportunities employer, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees are treated with respect and given equal opportunities for employment and advancement.

We do not discriminate based on race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or any other protected characteristic.

We encourage all qualified individuals to apply for employment within our charity, and we provide a fair and inclusive recruitment process for all candidates.