Emerging Talent Trainee Placement - Project Assistant in Manchester

Overview

Launched in November, Historic England's Grants Evaluation Strategy introduced a consistent approach to evaluating the impact of our grant‑giving. The Evaluation Support Assistant will support the Evaluation Team to embed this approach, helping to grow our evaluation and support good use of evidence. This is an exciting time to join the Evaluation Team at Historic England, gaining experience of innovative approaches to understanding the difference that heritage‑based investment makes in the world. The post holder will assist on a range of projects being delivered by the Evaluation Team, to experience the breadth of the team's work. There's flexibility to ensure that the successful candidate can use this opportunity to achieve their goals and explore what interests them most.

What you will be doing

• Establish an internal network of Grants Evaluation Champions, connecting colleagues across the organisation to act as local advocates for evaluation. The network will share skills and knowledge, providing peer support on grants evaluation requirements.
• Work with the Senior Evaluation Officer (Grants) to design the set‑up and running of the network, ensuring Evaluation Champions have a well‑structured, meaningful experience.
• The Evaluation Support Assistant will develop an internal call‑out, lead on recruitment to the network and set up the initial Evaluation Champions meeting.
• Develop our internal communications, exploring different ways to share evaluation content. The Evaluation Support Assistant will use channels such as internal newsletters, SharePoint Intranet, Viva Engage and Teams, to engage colleagues with evaluation – including promoting evaluation clinics, shout‑outs for excellent evaluative work, and sharing evaluation findings.
• Develop engaging, creative and fun internal communications that spark inspiration and promote the importance of evidence. We will support the post holder to take a ‘test and learn’ approach – trying out new ideas to see what works (and what doesn’t). This could include creating short case studies and video content.

Events and meetings

• We will host an in‑person Welcome Event for all Emerging Talent Placements in July.
• Regular online team meetings in the Evaluation Team.
• On Tuesdays we meet with the wider Social Economic Research & Evaluation Team, a chance to hear updates from colleagues about their ongoing work.
• On Thursdays, we have ‘Curiosity sessions’ with the Social Economic Research & Evaluation Team, where we present on key pieces of work or invite external speakers along.
• Once a month, the Curiosity Session is replaced by a Monthly Analytics Group Share meeting, a chance to connect with colleagues across the wider Analytics Group and hear updates from the Director of Analytics.
• Roughly once a quarter, the Evaluation Team meets up in person for a planning day in one of our offices.

Personal attributes

• Change Agent – You are an advocate for change and enjoy making things happen.
• Curiosity – You show an interest in new things and actively seek out new information.
• Innovation – You enjoy coming up with new and different approaches to a task.
• Improver – You love to look for ways that things can be improved.

Working terms

This is a part‑time 18 hours per week, 8‑week paid Emerging Talent Programme placement. You will be paid a £484.20 per week bursary (pro rata for part‑time is £242.10 per week). We offer hybrid working where you are based in the Manchester office and from home.

Emerging Talent Programme

Historic England's Emerging Talent Programme provides paid opportunities to those under‑represented in the heritage sector. Training placements are for young people aged 18 to 30 years old across three audiences: Black, Asian, or ethnic minorities; Disabled people; People who are disadvantaged by their social and/or economic background or circumstances.