Principal Research and Evaluation Officer, CSA Centre

This is an exciting opportunity to join the dynamic, multi-disciplinary team at the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) as one of the Principal Researcher and Evaluation Officers. This is a key role within the CSA Centre, central to our ambition to develop, understand and embed evidence-informed improvements in the response to child sexual abuse.

About the role:

The CSA Centre aims to inform and improve policy and practice at local and national levels by identifying, generating and sharing high quality evidence on what works to prevent and tackle child sexual abuse, and our extensive research, evaluation and monitoring activity is central to that mission.

As Principal Research and Evaluation Officers, you will lead a programme of research and evaluation, working closely with other research and evaluation colleagues and our team of multi-agency Practice Improvement Advisers. This is a unique opportunity to develop and deliver programmes of research and evaluation that support sustainable improvements to knowledge, understanding and practice, driving real change in the response to child sexual abuse across England and Wales.

We are looking for an experienced professional with strong skills in designing, planning and managing research and evaluation projects, in the field of child sexual abuse, or related field. You should be confident using a range of methodologies, including relevant specialist research and data analysis software and analytical approaches, and able to present findings clearly for different audiences.

We particularly welcome applications from researchers/evaluators with strong quantitative skills and experience working with large datasets or administrative data. Experience in statistical analysis, data linkage, advanced modelling or applied quantitative evaluation would be an advantage.

You will oversee multiple projects at any given time, ensuring effective planning, prioritisation and timely delivery. The role involves working with internal teams, external stakeholders and where appropriate commissioned research partners. You will contribute to high‑quality publications, guidance and resources, and support colleagues to embed evidence into practice and organisational learning.

As a Principal Research and Evaluation Officer, you will play a key role helping to prevent and tackle child sexual abuse alongside the work of our colleagues across practice, policy, communications and training. This is important work - the CSA Centre conservatively estimates that one in ten children will experience some form of child sexual abuse before age of 16, and our ambitious programmes seek to improve the knowledge, skills and confidence of professionals (social workers, teachers, social workers, doctors etc.) in identifying and responding to child sexual abuse.

CSA Centre roles are currently funded until 31 March 2027, in line with our current grant funding arrangements. This will be reviewed in late 2026, as future funding for the CSA Centre from 2027/28 onwards is confirmed.

About us

We are the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre). Our aim is to reduce the impact of child sexual abuse through improved prevention and better response. To tackle child sexual abuse we must better understand its causes, scope, scale and impact.

Established since 2017, we are a multi-disciplinary team that is funded by the Home Office, hosted by Barnardo's and we work closely with key partners from academic institutions, local authorities, health, education, police and the voluntary sector. We're proudly independent and our team will challenge any barriers, assumptions, taboos and ways of working that prevent us from increasing our understanding and improving our approach to child sexual abuse.

We bring about change by:

• Collating and analysing existing research, policy, practice and the real experiences of those affected, and filling the gaps we identify with new research, insights and analysis;
• Using that evidence and insight to challenge and improve existing policy and practice, develop new approaches and increase everyone's knowledge and confidence to more effectively tackle the issue.

This role is home based with regular travel required, usually to London.

Salary:

The CSA Centre acknowledges that tackling child sexual abuse can feel challenging but is incredibly rewarding and positive when making a difference. Our open working environment ensures that there is support for all employees, across the team and with access to a therapist, if needed. Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of this further.

We believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore are open to offering flexible working arrangements.

The CSA Centre is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce. We actively encourage applications from disabled candidates and candidates from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, as they are currently under-represented at the CSA Centre.

When completing your application please refer to your skills, knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.