Research and Evidence Manager

What’s the job?

We need someone with high quality research and data analysis skills to join us as our Research and Evidence Manager. You will work with us to plan, design and deliver projects with cross-sector stakeholders, as well as developing reports and other ways to share our findings with members and the wider sector. We need someone who has solid research skills, is a natural collaborator, and can collate and present research in different ways to help us achieve the change that’s needed for Londoners.

This role is crucial in ensuring that we deliver on our ambition to drive a learning culture, where shared data, intelligence and insight leads to better decision-making. This role is initially fixed term for one year, and may be subject to renewal. It reflects our growing commitment to ensuring our work is relevant and responsive to the diverse needs of our members and communities. As this is a newly developed post, we are also looking for someone who can work flexibly and bring ideas to help shape the role, so that it has a lasting impact on the way London Funders works.

So, what sort of work will you be doing? We’ve just committed to a really exciting and crucial piece of research taking place over the next year, where we will work with funders and equity partners to map the current state of funding for equity and justice infrastructure. This will initially focus on London, before we take the approach to cover England and Wales. The work will be used to inform discussions with funders on the strategic development of funding approaches in this critical space. You’ll be leading on the research and developing the workplan in a collaborative approach with our partners.

Alongside this project, your work will explore other aspects of the funding landscape in London and gather insights from across our membership. You’ll work on reports to support our range of thematic networks, and generate new evidence to help inform the work of funders and our partners across sectors. We’re looking for someone who thrives working as part of a small team, as well as working independently, who will suggest solutions to challenges and use their initiative. Someone who wants to help build a better London by taking action on what matters to our city and our communities.

So who are we?

We’re at the heart of a great network of over 170 member organisations, focused on funding in London. This includes every local authority in London, City Hall, independent trusts and foundations, businesses, social investment organisations, housing associations and more. Together, our members invest hundreds of millions of pounds every year in civil society through all aspects of London’s life, from arts through to welfare, so that people across our communities can live better lives. We’re the place where funders come together to connect and collaborate, where ideas are generated and acted on, and where people work to ensure that resources are channelled to the right places. You can read more about our ambitions here .

Over the past year we’ve grown in number and have several new programmes of work underway, including an ambitious new collaborative funding programme, Propel . The Research and Evidence Manager comes at a critical time to help us understand and connect the work happening across our membership, and to understand how funders can collectively address the challenges facing Londoners.

What do people say about us?

We’re always listening to people to help shape our work – and we’ve shared a few reflections below so that you can get a better sense of who we are and what we do. You can also see some of their comments and thoughts yourself on our social media (@LondonFunders).

Nasyah joined the team last year as our Membership Manager:

“ I really enjoy being part of the London Funders team. I like that we are small but mighty, and that we work hard to connect funders with each other to effect real change.”

Yvonne Field, the Founder of Ubele, worked with us on the London Community Response collaboration, helping to ensure that groups led by Black and Minoritised communities can access funding and is a vital part of our partnership looking to the future of funding in our city:

“It has been refreshing to see a partnership of funders that have really put equity at the heart of their approach, and to see that when we work together we can ensure that communities get the resources they need.”

We also asked our members what they’d say about us:

“London Funders are a small team that achieve big things - thanks for all you do.”

“You are a really lovely team, and have done an incredible amount to strengthen and support funding for vital community led activity in London. It is hugely appreciated and it is always great to interact with you”

“London Funders is doing a fantastic job – we are grateful and full of admiration.”

Who are we looking for?

Our ideal candidate would be someone who has experience of running multiple research projects at once with strong project management skills, and direct experience designing and leading both qualitative and quantitative projects. You’ll also need to be able to work with different stakeholders to both co-design research approaches as well as facilitate their engagement in helping us learn from and make sense of the findings. As such you will need a track record of building relationships in a range of contexts and producing and communicating research outputs in a range of different and accessible formats, including presenting to external audiences.

We're proud of the diversity and vibrancy of our city, and work to champion equity and justice in all that we do. We are actively working to make sure we reflect our community in our staff team, and are particularly welcoming of applications from people from Black and racially minoritised communities, who identify as LGBTQ+, and from people with disabilities, to help strengthen the diversity of thought and experience in our team that we know will make our work even stronger.

What can we offer?

We are a small organisation with big ambitions. And we can’t achieve those without our staff team. That’s why we work hard to create a positive work environment for all employees, where everybody can learn, thrive and deliver their best.

We have just made a permanent change to make our working week to be 32 hours FTE which enables staff to work a four day week alongside other more flexible work patterns. We believe a staff culture which values inclusion, equity and wellbeing helps to creates a stronger, healthier and more productive team. Alongside the four day week we offer flexibility in how you work. This shows our commitment to creating a culture that encourages wellbeing and personal growth, but still gives us the time to get the job done as effectively as possible. You can read more about what’s it like to work for us here .

Whilst we are a small team, we share an office with our friends at Trust for London. There is flexibility about the hours for this role, so it would be available on a part-time or full-time basis (with a minimum of 24 hours per week, or 0.75 FTE). The skills, experience, insights and inspiration you will bring to the role are more important to us, so we'll do what we can to accommodate your preferred working pattern.

The salary is £36,400 per year (or pro rata if you choose part-time) and is a fixed term contract for one year, with the possibility of becoming permanent. From the first day of employment you will be entitled to Health Cover and Life Insurance as part of our staff benefits package. On completion of your probation period you’ll also be able to access our other employee benefits including our Cycle2Work scheme and mobile months together with volunteering days and a generous annual leave allowance. We also offer a generous pension scheme (employer’s contribution of 10% of your salary). You can read more about our benefits here .

How to apply

If you’re interested in the role please download the full job pack and supporting documents from our site by clicking apply