Description

MEL Research is a social research agency, with expertise in research, evaluation and behavioural insights. With 40 years’ experience in working for the UK’s public services, we have a very strong focus on what we want to achieve as a business.

We believe that all businesses have a duty to be socially responsible to re-invest in society, be active contributors to the local community, and to minimise their environmental impacts. We push for social value – in why we work, how we work and who we work with. Click here to see our recently published Social Value report.

You can read more about what it is like to work at MEL Research here.

Our history and journey

Formed in 1985, MEL Research has grown steadily to a core in-house team of over 30 research and evaluation staff, plus many more telephone interviewers and external CAPI interviewers and support staff. We are on an exciting growth journey, expanding our research and insights capabilities, enhancing our evaluation services, and embedding our data visualisation tools alongside recognised quality accreditations.

Joining MEL Research means becoming part of a confident and forward-looking company, ambitious about the future and committed to broadening the expertise and solutions we offer our clients. At the heart of everything we do is our social purpose: to make a meaningful and lasting difference to society, to the communities we serve, and to our own people.

Benefits

Full details on what it is like to work for MEL Research can be found here. 

We offer employees a wide range of generous benefits including: 

Flexible working arrangements based around the needs of the employee (such as family commitments/needs/childcare). We are a very family-orientated business and encourage flexible hours and homeworking. 
Provision of employer contributions to Royal London personal pension scheme starting from a 4% contribution and rising to 8% (subject to employee contributions that meet the auto-enrolment requirements) 
In addition, paid annual leave allowance of 33 days per annum, including bank holidays (pro-rated for part-time hours), and your birthday
2 paid volunteer days per year 
Life assurance policy at 3x basic annual salary 
Health cashback medical care scheme and employee benefits scheme inc. retail discounts 
Eligibility for annual company profit and performance bonus scheme dependent on company performance 
Annual pay reviews and cost-of-living pay increases (also subject to the company’s financial performance). 
Job description

Post: Senior Evaluation Manager

Job Location: Remote (with a requirement to occasionally come into the Birmingham office)

Reporting to: Senior Evaluation Lead

Salary Range: £35,000-£40,000 depending on experience (37.5 Hours per week) plus potential profit bonus, pension and other benefits.

Full job specification

For the full job specification, please see the Senior Evaluation Manager briefing pack.

Person Specification

This person specification details the experience, knowledge, skills, ability, training, education and qualifications that are considered to be essential to fulfilling the requirements of this post.

Please demonstrate in your covering letter, using appropriate examples where possible, that you have the skills and experience to meet the following criteria for the post.  Your ability to meet the criteria will be assessed using a number of methods including your CV,  covering letter, interview, and where applicable presentation or work-based tests.

Essential

Applicants must be UK residents with the right to work in the UK
Over 5 years’ experience in managing and delivering evaluation and research projects from start to finish e.g. designing an evaluation project, undertaking literature reviews and other desk/secondary research, implementing qualitative and quantitative research methods as required,  analysing and interpreting data, and preparing and presenting client reports
Experience of working with public sector/third sector clients
Experience of bidding and pitching for new work.
Experience in developing logic models and Theories of Change.
Experience in developing evaluation frameworks and utilising different evaluation
approaches.
Your knowledge and skills

In-depth understanding of both qualitative and quantitative research, evaluation projects
and ability to recommend most appropriate evaluation design to meet a client brief.
Ability to interpret a client brief and prepare compliant evaluation proposals.
Ability to translate data/evidence into narratives (storytelling) and present findings that
are engaging and visually appealing.
Excellent client management and communication skills (written, verbal and
presentational).
Excellent MS Office skills, including Word and PowerPoint, Excel and / or Access
knowledge.
Excellent organisational and operational project management skills, and ability to plan and
deliver work accurately, on time and to budget.
Ability to interpret a client brief and prepare compliant research proposals.
Your values and attitudes:

Good team player but also ability to take responsibility for projects and work independently.
Demonstrates a strong sense of ownership and accountability, taking responsibility for delivering high-quality. work and following through on commitments.
A collaborative and relational style – able to build productive relationships with colleagues, clients and stakeholders.
Demonstrates a clear commitment to our social values – you can find out about our values by clicking here: Social Value report 2025.
Shows a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging for all in their work and approach.
Demonstrates commitment to continuous learning and professional development.
Desirable experience

Commercial skills in developing sales leads and achieving sales targets.
Understanding of behaviour change theory and models.
Knowledge of advanced statistical analytical techniques, economic evaluation, Social
Return on Investment, Quasi-experimental design and Value for Money.
Full UK driving licence and access to own car.
Able to work evenings and weekends when required.
Equal opportunities 

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age. We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is fair, transparent and free from discrimination or bias. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the application process or have any questions about our approach to diversity and inclusion, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Applications

If you are interested in applying for this role, please upload your CV and a cover letter outlining your experience and why you are interested in working for MEL Research via the section below.

Applications close Tuesday 11th August.