Evaluation Manager

Salary: £37,369 to £39,560 with progression to £46,970 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 15 November 2026

The Role

Newcastle University is seeking an outstanding Evaluation Manager to lead the development, implementation and continuous improvement of evaluation and impact activity across two Regional Collaborative Partnerships: the North East Uni Connect Programme (NEUCP) and Access Universities for North East England (Access UNEE). Together, these partnerships bring universities, colleges, schools and strategic stakeholders together to improve educational outcomes, reduce inequalities and support progression to higher education across the North East.

As the partnership's lead specialist for evaluation, insight and impact assessment, you will be responsible for ensuring robust evidence is generated, analysed and effectively used to demonstrate programme outcomes, inform strategic decision-making and drive continuous improvement. This is an exciting opportunity to influence regional educational priorities, support innovation across a complex partnership landscape and play a key role in ensuring the successful delivery of programmes that make a real difference to communities across the region.

What You'll Be Doing

In this role, you will:

• Lead the development, implementation and continuous review of the evaluation strategy across Regional Collaborative Partnerships programmes, ensuring alignment with Office for Students requirements, funding conditions and programme objectives
• Design and oversee robust evaluation frameworks, methodologies and outcome measures that enable effective assessment of programme impact, effectiveness and value
• Provide expert advice and guidance to senior leaders, programme managers and partners on evaluation approaches, impact measurement and evidence-informed decision making
• Lead the planning, management and quality assurance of evaluation activity across multiple programmes, projects and partner organisations, ensuring appropriate ethical, methodological and governance standards are maintained
• Oversee the collection, analysis and interpretation of quantitative and qualitative evidence to assess programme performance, outcomes and impact
• Translate evaluation findings into actionable recommendations that inform programme design, strategic planning and continuous improvement, including the identification and dissemination of effective practice and "what works" evidence
• Lead the analysis and interpretation of programme, participant and partnership data, ensuring evidence is used effectively to support strategic and operational decision making
• Work collaboratively with the Project Manager (Operations) to ensure monitoring systems, reporting processes and data collection approaches support evaluation requirements and maintain high standards of data quality, governance and compliance
• Identify trends, emerging issues, risks and opportunities through the analysis of data, research and performance information
• Lead the production of high-quality evaluation reports, impact assessments, dashboards and evidence submissions for governance groups, management groups, funders and other stakeholders
• Act as the partnership's lead specialist on evaluation and impact, building effective relationships with partner institutions, sector bodies and external stakeholders, and influencing the adoption of evidence-informed approaches to programme delivery
• Act as a key point of contact for evaluation and impact across the partnership, representing Regional Collaborative Partnerships at regional and national meetings, networks and sector forums, and leading the coordination and delivery of the North East Regional Evaluation Forum to promote shared learning, collaboration and evidence-informed practice
• Monitor and interpret relevant research, policy developments, sector evidence and national datasets, translating findings into strategic recommendations and identifying risks and opportunities relating to programme impact, future funding requirements and continuous improvement

The Person

You will bring:

• Significant experience of designing, implementing and managing evaluation activity within complex programmes, partnerships or multi-stakeholder environments
• Experience of developing evaluation frameworks, methodologies and approaches to assess programme outcomes, impact and effectiveness
• Experience of analysing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data and translating findings into strategic recommendations and actionable improvements
• Strong experience of data analysis, reporting and visualisation tools (e.g. Excel, Power BI and other analytical software)
• Experience of producing high-quality reports, impact assessments, dashboards (using software such as PowerBI) and evidence submissions for senior leaders, governance groups, funders or external stakeholders
• Experience of working with large and complex datasets and data management systems (e.g. Higher Education Access Tracker or similar)
• Knowledge of data governance, quality assurance, GDPR and ethical considerations relating to evaluation and research activity
• Understanding of evaluation methodologies and evidence-based practice, ideally within the education, widening participation or public sector environment
• Experience of building effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders and influencing the use of evidence to support decision making and programme development
• Knowledge of current policy, research and emerging practice relating to widening participation, student success or related sectors
• Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is required for this post
• Full UK driving licence (vehicle will be provided as necessary)

Why Join Us?

This is a unique opportunity to join Newcastle University at a time when collaborative working and widening participation are central to our mission.

You'll work with a broad network of universities, colleges, schools and regional stakeholders to help create opportunities for learners across the North East. You'll be part of a supportive and ambitious team that is committed to delivering meaningful impact through partnership working, innovation and excellence.

How to Apply

To apply please upload your CV and covering letter evidencing how your skills and experiences align to the person specification as outlined within the job description.

For informal enquiries, please contact: Lucy McMahon, Senior Project Manager – lucy.mcmahon@ncl.ac.uk

Contract Type: Full Time, Fixed Term to 31st October 2027 in the initial instance.

Please note, due to need for travel within this role to some locations not accessible by public transport  ,successful candidates will require satisfactory evidence of a full UK driving licence, in addition for this role successful candidates will require satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).  People Services colleagues will support you with this during onboarding.

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 29894