At Young Sounds UK our mission is to help musically talented young people from low-income families fulfil their potential. We're seeking our first Evaluation Director to join a small, thriving organisation and lead our evaluation strategy. Working collaboratively with colleagues, you will generate insights that strengthen programme delivery, and how we understand and share our impact.
For full information on this role, including key responsibilities and person specification, please view the job pack.
The closing date for applications is Monday 14 July 2025 at 12 noon.
About Young Sounds UK
Young Sounds UK exists because musical talent is everywhere but opportunity isn’t: family finances and other obstacles too often get in the way. We’re here to change this in two key ways:
- We support young musicians from low-income families with funding and other help
- We support music education through training, advocacy and research.
Established in 1998 we work across genres and across the UK. Our four programme areas are:
- Discover: training teachers in how to spot young people’s musical potential
- Connect: targeting and sustaining young people’s emerging talent through strategic support
- Thrive: funding young talent UK wide through annual grants and tailor-made help for individual musicians
- Innovate: leading new thinking and action on talent development
Role overview
Young Sounds is a reflective organisation. We’ve always invested time and effort in seeking out, understanding and demonstrating the difference our programmes are making. We believe in learning from experience. This is what we mean by evaluation.
We have recently secured funding to build on our evaluation work to date, and it is a priority for us to more fully embed evaluation throughout our work – the Evaluation Director will be critical to us achieving this. The Evaluation Director is a new role and will lead the development and implementation of Young Sounds’ evaluation strategy, ensuring that our work is evidence-based and impactful.
Key areas of responsibility
- Evaluation strategy and organisational learning
- Programme evaluation
- Organisational capacity and culture
- Research and policy engagement
- Quality assurance and reporting
Registered Charity 
6 - 10
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Salary: £60,000 (more may be available for candidates with exceptional skills and experience)
Location: Wolverhampton
Contract: Full Time- 35 hours per week
Are you ready to lead a progressive, student-led charity into its next phase of growth and innovation? Our client is seeking a dynamic and values-driven CEO to provide strategic leadership, strong people management, empower student officers, and help them deliver an outstanding experience for their members.
About Them
Our client is an independent education charity led by, and for, students.
They work to support all aspects of student life for the 19,000 plus students studying at the University. Located in a friendly city, with a proud industrial and educational heritage, they are an ambitious and diverse organisation, committed to supporting every student at the University in achieving personal success.
They support students through a variety of services including academic representation, campaigns on issues that matter to them, advice and wellbeing services and supporting student communities. They also host a number of events throughout the year and operate a café and two bars on campus.
About the role
As CEO, you’ll play a vital role in shaping the strategic future of their organisation. You’ll work closely with the Board of Trustees and student officers to translate strategy into action and ensure they remain responsive to the evolving needs of students.
They're looking for a collaborative and inclusive leader who can build strong partnerships within the SU, across the University, and with external stakeholders. You’ll bring a proven track record of strategic leadership, financial oversight, and organisational development, ideally within a values-led or membership-based environment.
You’ll also lead a talented staff team, foster a high-performing, inclusive culture, and identify new opportunities to diversify their income and extend our impact. Importantly, you’ll be a visible and supportive presence for their officers and staff, helping them to lead with confidence and drive meaningful change.
The successful candidate won’t necessarily need to come from the Higher Education sector, but you must be able to demonstrate a good understanding of the trends and issues that affect our students and sector. You’ll have a good understanding of charity governance, financial management and organisational development.
They offer an inclusive and fun work environment believe passionately in developing their people. They're also committed to ensuring their workforce reflects the diversity of the world and community they're based in. They respect everyone's individual identity and celebrate difference, and encourage applications from all candidates irrespective of background. They'd particularly welcome applications for the role from BAME candidates and those with a disability.
It’s a genuinely exciting time for them and they look forward to receiving your application.
Key Dates
Closing Date: Monday 7th July at 12pm
First Stage Interviews (Remote): Monday 14th July
Final Interviews (In-person): Monday 28th July
How to Apply
Please click 'Apply' to complete the application form. Please take some time to read through the recruitment pack before submitting your application.
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