Evaluation and Learning Coordinator

Evaluation and Learning Coordinator

Apply by Midnight Sunday,15 December  2024

Please note this role can be remote, but applicants must currently be based in the UK and have the right to work in the UK.

About Restless Development

Restless Development is a global non profit agency. We support the collective power of young leaders to create a better world. We are independently registered and governed in nine countries (India, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe) bound together by our vision for youth power. We run youth-led programmes to tackle the issues that young people care about the most. We also run the Youth Collective – a growing network of over 4000 local youth civil society groups and organisations in 185 countries. We are committed to creating an agency that walks the talk on power shifting, using the power shifting checklist, both internally and externally.

Our approach to safeguarding

Restless Development considers the welfare and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults to be an organisational imperative with primacy over the success of programmes or strategic objectives. We recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and we expect all of our staff, volunteers and partners to ensure we protect the communities in which we operate from harm and abide by our Safeguarding Policy.

About the role

The £4.5m Young Gamechangers Fund (YGF) is an exciting UK funding initiative that provides grants of up to £20,000 a year to young people transforming communities into safer, more sustainable and more inclusive places to live. Funding is provided by the Co-op Foundation, Co-op and #iwill fund, and is delivered in partnership by Restless Development, Global Fund for Children and the Co-op Foundation. In addition to funding, successful applicants also get access to peer support networks, training and mentoring. Importantly, the fund is co-design with young activists, through a Youth Steering Group. All elements of the programme are youth-led and grantee centred, with a commitment to codesign and seeking input from young people at all stages. 

Evaluation and learning is central to the fund; we aim to generate learning that will support young people, grantees, funders and delivery partners to learn and increase their impact, but also to generate evidence that can influence the wider sector. Ultimately, we are seeking to change the way youth-led funding is delivered.

The Evaluation and Learning Coordinator will work closely with the grantees to help them effectively understand and learn from the results of their work; and to generate and disseminate wider evidence and learning on the impact of the fund. The role will work closely with the Fund’s external Evaluation and Learning Partner - The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP) - who have just finalised a monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) framework for the fund. Restless Development is the delivery partner leading on the learning element of the fund.

We are looking for someone who has a commitment to learning and youth leadership, and is excited by the idea of generating evidence that could help to shift power to young people in the funding sector. You will also be excited by the prospect of working closely with our incredible Young Gamechangers, to help them better understand their impact.

The role will be part of Restless Development’s growing team in the UK that supports our network of young leaders. It will also be part of the YGF team, working closely with colleagues based within Global Fund for Children.

Job title : Evaluation and Learning Coordinator  

Location : Flexible, anywhere within the UK

Salary : £30,893

Preferred start date : ASAP

Length of contract : Until July 2026 (TBC)

Visa requirements : Must have the right to work in the UK

Reports to : Head of UK & European Programmes

Expected travel : Regular travel within the UK; including occasionally at weekends

Key responsibilities:

Support to Grantees

• Provide training and support to grantees to help them respond to quantitative and qualitative reporting requirements as set out by the MEL framework, e.g. through training on how to implement qualitative data collection tools (such as reflective diaries or more creative approaches such as video style reporting)
• Provide broader evaluation and learning support to grantees, based around the needs of their work - as part of the wider support offer alongside funding. Including the design and delivery of training, and in-person support visits.
• Support to grantees to complete other funder reporting requirements, including uploading quantitative data to match funder’s online portal.
• Focused support to a sample of grantees to help them develop Community Impact reports for their work, based on peer research (methodology to be defined from the Learning Partner)

Implementation of the Fund’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework

• Acting as the main point of contact for the Fund’s learning partner, and coordinating with other stakeholders (including delivery partners, funders and the Steering Group), to include coordinating feedback and review processes, e.g. for the mid-term and final evaluation reports.
• Work in partnership with the Learning Partner on the development and dissemination of any external learning products or activities, such as events, blogs or ‘Failure and Innovation One Pagers’
• Working to ensure strong youth engagement is embedded throughout all stages of the evaluation process, from design through to delivery. This will include working closely with the Steering Group.

Learning and Reporting systems

• Ensure effective processes are in place so that learning generated is used to inform the fund’s design and delivery, e.g. through a quarterly learning and review process.
• Responding to funder reporting requirements, including through the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collected through the MEL framework.
• Working with Restless Development’s Communications team to support the external dissemination of any learning from the fund, e.g. helping to finalise external products, and identifying relevant case studies to showcase the fund’s impact.

Other

• Contributing to agency wide learning, working with colleagues across the global agency to build expertise in funding and supporting youth social action
• You will occasionally be required to work on weekends and/or public holidays, for which time off in lieu will be granted
• Other duties as required

About you

We are looking for people with the right competencies and skills for the role, and who demonstrate the personal qualities consistent with our Values and behaviours.

Head: We are experts in our lived realities. We innovate and try new things without fear of failure.

Heart: Youth Power is at the heart of everything we do. We prioritise the wellbeing of all our people, supporting young leaders to thrive.

Hands: We collaborate and shift power with young people and communities. We connect, nurture, celebrate and fund young leaders.

Voice: We are honest and transparent.  We use our voice for what is right.

Skills and experience

Essential

• Experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning, including the implementation of MEL frameworks (or equivalent) and supporting evaluations
• Experience and / or commitment to mobilising and supporting young people from diverse communities in the UK to take social action (e.g. through campaigning, organising or volunteering)
• Strong analytical, and qualitative and quantitative research skills
• Strong coordination, organisation and time management skills
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to adapt information so that it is accessible for a diverse group of people
• Belief in the values of Restless Development and ability to uphold them personally

Desirable

• Experience of providing MEL focused training and support, ideally to grantees or partners.
• Experience of producing externally facing materials, such as case studies, learning papers or blogs
• Experience in working with young people from underserved communities within the UK (such as those who have experienced racism and discrimination)
• Experience of working with a range of stakeholders across multiple delivery and funder partners 

Restless Development is an Equal Opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community. Restless Development will ensure that no applicant or staff member receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, race, ethnic origin, religious belief, age, HIV status, disability, or any other factor that cannot be shown to be relevant to performance.

What we do for you

Remuneration

We are proud to commit to a transparent global salary scale, ensuring a fair and comparable system of pay across all global locations. In addition to salary, we offer pension contributions and other benefits in accordance with the local Hub.

Values and Culture

At Restless Development, we’re proud that the strength and integrity of our Values has been recognised by staff, young people, donors and others who we work with.  Beyond this, we have a culture of recognising and celebrating both our Values and our global achievements with monthly Values Champions and an annual Values Day.

Work-life Balance

It goes without saying that we work hard at Restless Development. We also recognise the importance of helping staff to maintain a positive work-life balance by offering:

• 24 days annual leave (in addition to public holidays and with an extra day of annual leave given for each full year of service, up to a maximum of 28 days).
• Birthday Leave
• Access to flexible working.
• Generous study leave, maternity, paternity or adoption leave, and other leave allowances.

Professional Development

Restless Development is proud to be an employer who recognises potential and invests in the development of its staff.  We are committed to the professional development of our staff through:

• Empowering opportunities to work on significant projects which stretch and inspire staff – allowing them to develop on-the-job. 
• Regular performance management.
• Training and development opportunities, including supporting our staff to identify mentors both within and outside of the agency.
• Quarterly Staff Workshops for all staff to give and receive agency updates, receive training, and socialise.

Travel and Medical Insurance

When travelling abroad with work, all staff will be covered by Restless Development’s travel and medical insurance.

To Apply

Please submit your CV and a covering letter that explains why you are excited by this role, and provides examples of how your skills and experience respond to the essential and desirable criteria in the Job Description (using no more than 500 words).