Research and Impact Manager

About Future Frontiers

In the UK, family income is the strongest predictor of how well a young person will do at school and the future opportunities they will have. Future Frontiers exists to change this. Our vision is of a society where equal access to education and career opportunities enables potential to overcome poverty.

We are an award-winning education charity with an innovative approach to tackling educational inequality in the UK. Our mission is to provide disadvantaged young people with the guidance, networks and opportunities they need to realise their potential at school and achieve post-16 qualifications that build towards secure and fulfilling employment. By partnering with schools and forward-thinking businesses we deliver a high-impact coaching programme to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. We recently developed an ambitious 5-year strategy which adds a second year to our programme and provides even more 1 to 1 support for young people, deepening our impact.

The strategy sets out how we will achieve our strategic vision statement: between 2021 and 2026, Future Frontiers will design, develop and rigorously evaluate an enhanced two-year programme that achieves meaningful long-term impact at the post-16 transition, transforming the life-chances of disadvantaged young people. During this period we will support over 16,000 disadvantaged young people. You can read more about our impact so far in our Annual Impact Reports on our website.

Why we need you

This is an exciting new role in our Monitoring, Evaluation and Research team. We are looking for a dynamic and driven individual to lead on primary research projects in schools and colleges that will get to the heart of our impact on young people. You will draw on your expertise to unpick the enablers and barriers to young people fulfilling their potential, and to demonstrate with confidence how our programme achieves long-term outcomes. You will also contribute to monitoring and evaluation projects across the organisation, engaging stakeholders within and outside the charity.

Your role is essential in providing insights and conclusions that critique and strengthen our theory of change and inform programme development. Your work will be guided by your passion for social mobility and a genuine dedication to maximising the impact of our programme on disadvantaged young people.

Your responsibilities

Mixed methods research

You will take responsibility for the efficient planning, design and delivery of multiple research projects with guidance from the Head of Monitoring, Evaluation & Research. This will include selecting appropriate methodologies, writing reports, and presenting findings throughout project life cycles. You will confidently set-up and conduct focus groups with young people, actively listen, and ask probing questions appropriately. You will conduct thematic analysis of qualitative data and maximise the value of these projects to provide learning and evidence. You will make sure projects comply with research ethics.

Qualitative and quantitative evaluation

You will contribute to the design and implementation of evaluation projects to meet our strategic goals. This will involve supporting the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data across multiple sources. You will use this to identify and describe the outcomes of young people who have participated in the programme and of relevant comparison groups.

Internal monitoring and process evaluations

You will work closely with young people, our programmes team, schools, business, and other stakeholders to conduct descriptive analysis of programme data. You will support the development of our internal process evaluation framework and support regular internal reporting of programmes using monitoring data.

Insights to critique our theory of change

You will triangulate different evidence sources to draw insights and communicate them in presentations and by writing compelling and accessible reports. These will support us to critique assumptions in our theory of change and inform the development of the programme to maximise our impact on young people.

Stakeholder engagement

You will maintain excellent relationships and communication with all stakeholders involved in our research and impact projects: young people, parents and carers, school staff and university partners. You will be expected to maximise networks with relevant organisations. You will have occasional opportunities to share your research with external audiences.

About You

Experience:

• Essential: 2+ years of professional experience managing end-to-end mixed methods research projects

• Essential: Working directly with young people or beneficiaries

• Desirable: Working on education research or education evaluation projects

• Desirable: Using data and research insights to facilitate decision making

Skills and knowledge:

• Essential: An excellent understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods

• Essential: Excellent attention to detail

• Essential: Excellent data presentation and communication skills

• Essential: An ability to troubleshoot and problem solve as required, keeping key members of the team informed

• Desirable: Knowledge of the post-16 education landscape and the common challenges faced by young people in this transition

• Desirable: Knowledge of statistical techniques

• Desirable: A relevant skills-based qualification in research and/or qualitative or quantitative analysis

What we can offer you

• Generous annual leave of 27 days + bank holidays, increasing with service

• Team building offsites and regular team socials throughout the year

• Flexible working: core hours 11am – 4pm and regular working from home as standard

• Early 4pm finish on Fridays

• Cycle to work scheme

• Generous parental pay and additional childcare leave for child’s first 2 years

Equal Opportunities, Diversity, and Inclusion

Here at Future Frontiers, we are dedicated to the practice of equal opportunities. The principles of it underpin our mission and we treat all employees, volunteers, clients, and students as individuals. We believe in having an open and inclusive culture that champions diversity in all its forms, including disability, culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, life experiences, socio-economic background, and religion.

We encourage everyone to apply for our roles. If you would like to talk to us about working at Future Frontiers in advance of your application, particularly regarding diversity, we strongly encourage you to contact us via email and we will arrange a call. We would love to hear from you.

To improve the diversity of the team we are particularly interested to hear from candidates who have not been to university or who have lived experiences relatable to our young people.

How to Apply

• To apply, please fill out our application form by answering these questions and attaching your CV.

1. Tell us why you want to work at Future Frontiers. What is it about us that excites you? (Max. 1,000 characters)

2. With direct reference to the experiences, skills and knowledge required in the job description, please tell us the three main reasons why you would make an excellent Research and Impact Manager. (Max. 2,500 characters)

3. Tell us about a mixed methods research project you worked on. We want to know what you did and what outcomes were achieved as a result. (Max 1,000 characters)

• Deadline: 8th June 2022 at 9am

• Initial interviews will be held on 20th and 21st June, virtually, via video call

• Final, in-person interviews will be held on 30th June at our offices in London Bridge

• Start date is 22nd August 2022, or earlier if possible