Job Description We are looking to recruit a dynamic and experienced Senior Research Manager to manage the monitoring, evaluation and learning activities of a high profile National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) portfolio of translational, clinical and applied health research infrastructure funding schemes. Job Purpose Reporting to the Assistant Director, the post holder will work closely with the rest of the infrastructure team (especially the Programme Leads and Senior Research Managers who are responsible for the development and management of the infrastructure schemes), and with Data Analytics colleagues (who are responsible for designing systems for capturing, cleaning and presenting data), to manage the infrastructure reporting and evaluation activities. At an award level, you will develop, improve and maintain monitoring and reporting processes, and at a scheme level, you will implement monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches, including overseeing the delivery and/or commissioning of impact evaluations. You will support a wider programme around visibility and the strategic use of data within infrastructure, considering links to policy directives around Busting Bureaucracy, the developing NIHR digital strategy and system operability issues with NHS and University systems. You will be adept at dealing with an array of data sources (metrics, narrative and financial reporting information), have a good understanding of research impact, an understanding of the routes to achieving it, and how to apply monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches to generate insight that can evidence impact and support continuous improvement of scheme funding and support processes. You will have experience of managing complex projects, knowledge of the UK’s research environment and political agenda, and honed skills in stakeholder management. You will be a strategic thinker, capable of seeing the issues and solutions from a number of different stakeholder perspectives to see the bigger picture. You will be comfortable dealing with complexity and developing an approach to balance the needs of different stakeholders. You will be a team player, able to work in close partnership with a number of teams at NIHR and the DHSC. Key Accountabilities: Manage elements of the infrastructure monitoring processes: you will manage parts of the infrastructure reporting process both internally at the technical systems level and externally with users to support training and propose improvements. You will work with others to develop new reporting processes (for new awards), maintain existing annual and quarterly reporting, support the review of submitted reports by the team and the production of feedback, and drive process improvements through a continuous improvement cycle. Development of reporting outputs: support quantitative and qualitative data interrogation in projects across the infrastructure. Interrogating data to support strategic reviews, and, where feasible and appropriate, designing visual dashboards of progress using data collected and collated for reporting purposes. Also draw on award level reported data to feed into strategic scheme level evaluations and reviews, to produce impact case studies, and to feed into organisational level learning and reporting. This work will help articulate the contribution of the NIHR infrastructure to the wider health and social care system as well as feeding into broader NIHR initiatives such as the NIHR Impact Programme. Scheme reviews: support the delivery of scheme mid-term reviews and evaluations, working closely with the infrastructure team’s Senior Research Managers responsible for specific schemes and the central Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team to design and plan an appropriate review process for individual schemes. Stakeholder engagement: through appropriate stakeholder engagement, developing a sound understanding of data needs, minimising additional requirements of key stakeholders and understanding the types of reporting outputs/feedback that would provide the greatest utility for accountability and learning purposes. Proactively share key learnings across the infrastructure team and with wider stakeholder groups as appropriate. Flexible support to the team: flexible approach to work tasks with ability to ‘muck in’ and provide support on additional tasks across the team during busy times. Line Management: The post holder will be responsible for the line management of one Research Manager and will matrix manage other team members, where appropriate.