Research and Evidence Animator At Christian Aid

This role is about bringing Christian Aid’s evidence and learning to life through the way it is used and applied in different contexts. This involved three broad areas of work. The first is to take a lead on the capacity strengthening strand of REL’s work. This will involve working with the REL team to coordinate, design and deliver a range of learning interventions (including training courses, tools, resources and curriculum development) focused on strengthening Christian Aid and partners capacity to critically engage with evidence, to integrate research into their programmes, and make better use of research produced by others. S/he will work with our university partner to extend the rollout of our flagship blended learning course ‘Evidence for Development Professionals’. The second area of work involves embedding the learning from our research and evidencing work across the organisation. The third area of work will be use learning from our research to develop ‘capacity sharing’ partnerships with academic institutions, research organisations, civil society organisations and other strategic organisations (particularly those based in the global south).

Alongside key projects REL advisers also play a role in responding to diverse technical support requests from colleagues across Christian Aid. This could include advice on research design; partnership development and brokering with universities; critical engagement with a research funding proposal; and feedback on the quality of evidence generated through a review process. All REL team members are committed to reflective practice and are encouraged to capture reflections from experience of strengthening research and evidence processes within Christian Aid, for sharing with internal and external audiences; contributing to wider learning on research partnerships; and promoting good practice in applied research both within Christian Aid and the broader sector.

About you

You will hold a post-graduate qualification in social research methods and have an excellent understanding of learning design including knowledge of online pedagogy. You will have had direct experience in developing blended and online courses and ability to manage and deliver digital learning. You will be familiar with applied research at every stage of the research cycle – from identifying relevant research questions, designing appropriate methodologies, to developing strategies for real-world impact – as well as the role of research and evaluation in relation to the programme management cycle. You will enjoy finding creative and innovate ways to bring learning to life. You will understand the role of culuture and context in research and learning and be aligned with REL’s commitment to epistemic justice.

You will enjoy working in a practice setting, strengthening the capacity of others to produce high quality evidence and develop and deliver research. You will be confident in managing your own projects while also offering advice and accompaniment to others in their research. You will be comfortable engaging with academics and development/ humanitarian practitioners, and you will have had experience of working with colleagues across the globe.

Equally important will be your interpersonal skills, your ability to build strong relationships and work across different departments, and help colleagues to reflect and learn, make sharper decisions and achieve better results. You will have a good appreciation of the diversity of cultures, workstyles and perspectives that exist. You will be good at managing your own workload and competing priorities.