Director, Impact Intelligence in London

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Director, Impact Intelligence to join our global team.

The Impact Intelligence team puts what actually works for children at the centre of Save the Children’s day to day operations. It leads on our movement-wide efforts to become a learning-oriented organisation that ensures rigorous data, ethical evidence generation, and cost-informed programming drive scalable impact for children. The team co-owns delivery of the Digital, Data & Evidence enabler, connects and stewards the global learning ecosystem, and consists of four units and works closely with a fifth:

• Insights and Learning
• Research and Evaluation
• Ethics and Evidence Generation
• Economic Evaluation
• MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning)

The Director of this team will provide dynamic, strategic and operational leadership across these four units, ensuring that robust and ethical standards, tools, and capabilities are at the heart of our decision making for children. The Director will drive a coordinated agenda for data, evidence, evaluation, ethics and learning; will improve our systems and incentives for learning; and will focus on organisational efforts on the questions, metrics and insights that should most influence decisions in our programmes and influencing.

Job Details

• Reports To: Chief Innovation & Learning Officer
• Work Pattern: Hybrid/Remote with flexible working options available
• Location: Any approved Save the Children International office location.
• Contract Length: Fixed Term Contract (3 years)
• Grade: Executive
• Right to Work: The successful candidate must possess the unrestricted right to work in their current or preferred location for the duration of employment
• Language Requirements: English
• International Travel: up to 20%
• People Management: manager of multiple teams; 24 direct/indirect reports
• Remit: Global

Principal Accountabilities

• Strategic leadership and governance
  • Lead a single, movement-wide evidence and learning strategy and agenda that brings together Insights and Learning, MEAL, Research and Evaluation, Ethics and Evidence Generation, and Economic Evaluation, aligned with Save the Children’s Global Strategy, Theory of Change and inter-agency agendas.
  • Establish clear governance, roles and expectations for leaders on evidence use, learning and accountability, ensuring evidence is treated as a core organisational function rather than an add-on.
  • Champion a culture where impact intelligence is front and centre – it’s expected, resourced and rewarded, including aligning leadership pathways, incentives and support systems (e.g. HR, resourcing) to evidence-driven work.
• Enhance the impact intelligence ecosystem
  • Oversee the design and implementation of simple, connected impact intelligence which prioritises data and learning systems that reduce duplication, improve data quality, and surface the right insights at the right time for country offices, members and global teams.
  • Ensure MEAL frameworks, standards, policies and tools are coherent across SCI entities and integrated with other core systems (e.g. Global Indicators, GAR, digital platforms) to enable real-time and routine learning rather than one-off reporting.
  • Partner with IT, data and digital teams, as well as external partners, to implement fit-for-purpose tools (e.g. dashboards, shared repositories, “PDF-light” solutions) and quality assurance processes that strengthen data literacy and use.
• Focus on decision-critical evidence
  • Lead a strategic prioritisation of impact intelligence, focusing the organisation on the decisions that matter most and right-sizing evidence requirements accordingly (e.g. lean designs, proportional baselines, targeted evaluations).
  • Ensure global indicators, MEAL standards, research and evaluation agendas, and economic analyses are aligned to these priority decisions, reducing unnecessary data collection and reporting burdens.
  • Embed processes and routines so that insights from monitoring, evaluations, research, economic evaluations and learning reviews are systematically translated into programmatic and influencing decisions, including during design, adaptation and scale-up.
• Lead and connect organisational evidence efforts
  • Act as the hub that connects evidence, data and learning across clusters and functions (programmes, operations, governance, funding, ethics, digital), enabling evidence to travel across units, countries and members.
  • Build and steward strong collaboration mechanisms between the four units (Insights and Learning; MEAL; Research and Evaluation; Ethics and Evidence Generation; Economic Evaluation) and related functions (e.g. Global Indicators, GAR), reducing silos and duplication.
  • Convene cross-unit communities and platforms to share, package and communicate insights in accessible, decision-ready formats that support influential storytelling, advocacy and resource mobilisation.
• Across the Four Units Specifically:
• Insights, learning and capability strengthening
  • Lead the Insights and Learning unit to transform data and evidence into timely, actionable insights for country offices, members and global leadership, with a strong focus on synthesis, translation and “what this means for decisions”.
  • Oversee movement-wide capacity strengthening for MEAL, research, learning and cost-informed programming, with particular emphasis on country offices and locally led partners, and on building habits of reflection and adaptation.
  • Promote and model learning behaviours (e.g. after-action reviews, learning cycles, experimentation) and ensure time and space are protected for teams to learn, adapt and improve.
• MEAL architecture and practice
  • Ensure high-quality monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning architectures, tools and practices are in place across country offices, including staffing models, role clarity and career pathways for MEAL professionals.
  • Champion and oversee strategic initiatives such as Prime and the Global Indicators, ensuring they are embedded in country programmes and influencing work and used to drive learning, accountability and impact at scale.
  • Ensure that accountability to communities, children and young people is central to MEAL practice, including feedback, participation and transparent communication of findings and decisions.
• Research, evaluation, ethics and evidence generation
  • Lead the Research and Evaluation unit to design and deliver a coherent portfolio of high-quality studies, evaluations and syntheses that respond to priority learning questions and strategic evidence gaps.
  • Oversee the Ethics and Evidence Generation unit to ensure robust ethical governance, safeguarding and integrity in all data collection and research activities, including data protection and responsible use of emerging technologies.
  • Promote partnerships with research institutions, governments and peer agencies to leverage external expertise, align with global agendas and enhance Save the Children’s thought leadership.
• Economic evaluation and cost-informed programming
  • Lead the Economic Evaluation unit to integrate cost, cost-effectiveness and value-for-money analysis into programme and influencing design, adaptation and scale-up decisions.
  • Ensure that economic evidence is presented in accessible ways for non-specialist decision-makers and used to guide smarter choices in tighter aid budget contexts.
  • Promote use of economic evidence to reduce workload and improve efficiency, focusing on high-leverage decisions rather than adding reporting burdens.
• Locally led, inclusive and ethical learning
  • Ensure that communities, children and young people meaningfully shape learning questions, participate in monitoring, research and evaluation, and see their feedback reflected in programmatic and influencing changes.
  • Embed diversity, equity and inclusion in all evidence and learning work, including who produces knowledge, whose perspectives are visible, and how findings are framed and used.
  • Contribute actively to diversifying the Innovation & Impact teams and building inclusive cultures where different types of knowledge and lived experience are valued.

Experience and Skills

• Essential
  • Curiosity and positive scepticism about how data is collected and used, and a passion for understanding what is ‘best in field’.
  • Demonstrated track record in leading organisational learning and evidence agendas in large, complex, multi-country organisations, including fixing fragmented data and learning systems.
  • An interest in how trends and technology can enable and influence our impact for children.
  • Extensive experience leading research and evaluation portfolios aligned to strategic priorities, including mixed-methods designs and synthesis of evidence for decision-makers.
  • Experience overseeing or closely collaborating with ethics and research governance functions, including responsible data and safeguarding in evidence generation.
  • Experience integrating economic evaluation or cost-informed analysis into programme and influencing decisions, or proven ability to lead specialist teams in this area.
  • Strong record of building and leading diverse, geographically dispersed teams, and of working through influence and matrix structures to align evidence efforts across units and countries.
  • Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to turn complex evidence into clear options and recommendations for senior leaders and partners.
• Desirable
  • Experience designing and implementing organisation-wide learning or knowledge-management initiatives, including digital solutions that reduce reliance on static documents and enable real-time learning.
  • Experience engaging communities, children and young people in co-creating learning questions, monitoring, research and evaluation, particularly in humanitarian and development contexts.
  • Demonstrated commitment to and experience in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within evidence, research and learning work.

Education and Qualifications

• Essential
  • Advanced Degree: A post-graduate degree (Masters or PhD preferred) in a related field such as international development, social sciences, planning & statistics
• Desirable
  • Author of publications/thought pieces on learning, evaluation or research in development or humanitarian settings.
  • Recognised Certification: Certification in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) and in research, evaluation methodologies is highly desirable.

Values in Practice

• Accountability: Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values. Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.
• Ambition: Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same. Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others. Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.
• Collaboration: Builds and maintains effective relationships with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters. Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength. Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.
• Creativity: Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions. Willing to take disciplined risks.
• Integrity: Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity.

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first.

We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued. The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children's voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030, and reach every last child.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation.

We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply.

Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

Application Information

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application. A full copy of the role profile can be found at SCI Careers. It is recommended that you save a copy of the role profile as it will no longer be available after the advert closes. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the job advert may be closed earlier than advertised subject to the volume of suitable applicants. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within 2 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our Recruitment Process

• Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter
• Two-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team
• Some recruitment may include an additional assessment or case study stage, or a third stage interview
• If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, followed by your contract subject to passing background checks

We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our Code of Conduct and all policies and procedures relating to Anti-Harassment, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and DEI and Equal Opportunities.

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.