Principal Research and Evaluation Officer - Impact, 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 our new Principal Researcher and Evaluation Officer - Impact. 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.

Please be sure to read the job description and person specification, to understand the specific requirements of this impact-focused post.

As Principal Research and Evaluation Officer – Impact, you will lead the CSA Centre's monitoring and evaluation activity, working closely with other research and evaluation colleagues and our team of multi‑agency Practice Improvement Advisers. You will develop and deliver approaches to evaluation and monitoring that support sustainable improvements to knowledge, understanding and practice, driving real change in the response to child sexual abuse across England and Wales. You will have demonstrable expertise in applying analytical methods and tools for gathering data and interpreting evidence, and managing multiple impact and evaluation projects simultaneously, ensuring effective planning, prioritisation and timely delivery.

We are looking for an experienced evaluator with strong skills and significant experience of designing, planning and overseeing programmes of monitoring and evaluation, using a wide range of methodologies. We welcome applications from experienced evaluation specialists working in the field of child sexual abuse, as well as those with evaluation experience in closely related fields such as violence against women and girls, violence against children or sexual violence, where your skills and expertise can readily transfer to this role.

This role is hybrid working from home with regular travel required, usually to London. The CSA Centre acknowledges that tackling child sexual abuse can feel challenging but is rewarding when actively making change. We provide support for all employees, including access to a therapist if needed.

Although this contract has a permanent status, the role is subject to funding and is fixed until 31 March 2027; should funding not be extended, you may be subject to a redundancy consultation or a TUPE arrangement. This contract is due to expire on 31 March 2027.

• Annual Leave entitlement for full‑time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum after 3 years of Barnardo’s service, 29 days per annum after 5 years and 30 days per annum after 7 years. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro‑rata.
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme.
• A host of family‑friendly leave options including company maternity, paternity and adoption pay, together with all family additional leave options.
• Service‑related sick pay from day 1.
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4 % or 6 % contribution from Barnardo’s; ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution.
• Death‑in‑service cover of 4 × annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension.
• Cycle 2‑work scheme.
• Interest‑free season ticket loans.
• Discounts and cashback from high‑street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal.
• 20 % discount at Barnardo’s stores.
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc.
• Free access to a round‑the‑clock employee assistance programme for advice and support.
• Access to Barnardo’s Learning and Development offer.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability‑Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti‑racist organisation with anti‑racism commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently under‑represented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.