Overview

Do you want to be a leader in the evaluation of innovation and the application of learning to improve health and care systems?

We’re looking for a new Director to lead our Evaluation & Learning function.

We are looking for an experienced, curious and outcomes focused Evaluation and Learning Director to lead our Evaluation and Learning Business Function as we seek to build our reputation as leaders in spreading innovative practise in health and care systems. 

This role presents you with the opportunity to increase the adoption of innovation in health and care systems and to improve organisations’ abilities to understand and demonstrate their impact.

We are an ambitious, forward- thinking organisation and over the next five years we are aiming to build our profile and reputation as experts in spreading innovation in health and care.

Purpose of the role

The Evaluation and Learning Director is responsible for the development of our evaluation and learning business function and for the evaluation of impact and the application of learning in our programmes.

Your role is to:

• Lead the evaluation of impact in our programmes to spread innovative practice (ranging from new models of care to improve maternity services through to scaling up innovative diagnostic tools for cardiovascular disease)

• To evolve the methods and techniques we use to enable the spread and adoption of innovation

• To lead the growth and delivery of externally commissioned evaluation and learning projects for our partners. 

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and evaluation of our programmes to spread innovative practice in partnership with our Programmes Business Function.

• Use our insight and learning to inform how we prioritise our resources and maximise our impact.

• Lead the delivery and growth of a pipeline of income generating evaluation and learning projects that build; the capability of partners to spread innovative practice and; the capability of the health and care system to adopt innovation.

• Implement learning systems so we continuously evolve our core methods in evaluation, quality improvement, spread and adoption, knowledge management and public and patient involvement.

• Line manage, grow and develop a team of Evaluation and Learning professionals (currently eight employees’).

• Provide inspirational leadership to our evaluation and learning business function and associates - setting clear direction, objectives, budget and ensuring we deliver projects on time, within budget and to the satisfaction of our partners.

• Collaborate with our communications and engagement business function to communicate our impact, share our learning and build our reputation as leaders in the science of spreading innovative practice.

• Represent the organisation externally, acting as an ambassador for the organisation at a local, regional and national level.

Key success factors

• Track record in improving the design of corporate strategies and delivery programmes through the provision of robust learning and impact information.

• Proven ability to improve organisations’ abilities to understand and demonstrate their impact.

• A sophisticated understanding of how to effect change in complex adaptive systems.

• Passion for improving health and care through innovation in the health and life sciences sector.

• Ability to build, inspire, direct and grow a talented team.

Experience we are looking for

• Formal qualifications directly relevant to evaluation and learning.

• Significant experience of a deploying a range of quantitative and qualitative methods to support evaluations.

• Substantial experience of improving organisations’ abilities to learn, evaluate and demonstrate impact.

• A track record of leading, motivating and directing teams of internal and external specialists to deliver sustained results.

• A track record in designing, winning and delivering evaluation and/or learning projects and in using the learning to build capability in the team and the wider system.

• A track record in creating inclusive networks and ‘learning systems’ to foster learning and drive improvement.

• Experience of delivering written and verbal briefings, reports and presentations to and for a range of audiences, including on highly complex issues.

Experience and capabilities you will develop in the role

• Experience of spreading innovation across a national health and care system

• Co-creating cutting-edge innovation and improvement methods and approaches

• Experience building large scale, cross-sector partnerships that deliver impact

• Improving regional, national and international health and care systems to adopt and innovation at scale

Abilities and attributes

• Outcome focused - Focuses on the change and impact they want to see and how to measure it.

• Collaborative - Engages a diverse range of people and evidence sources to develop a deeper understanding of an issue.

• Leader – A focused, collaborative leader who can develop, inspire and influence diverse teams, including peers, patients, and practitioners, with integrity and openness.

• Complexity – Able to think about and analyse situations by recognising complexity, patterns and inter-relationships.

• Fair – Believes that others’ views, experiences and knowledge are as important and valuable as their own.

• Enterprising – Able to translate opportunity in order to grow our evaluation and learning business function.

• Initiates change - Does things differently, and creates new spaces and opportunities that empower others to do so too.

• Stakeholder Management - The ability to earn and maintain the trust of internal and external stakeholders at all levels.

Evaluation and Learning Director

Reporting to:

Director of Partnerships