Senior Research and Evaluation Officer
Fixed Term, Full Time
£43,431 to £51,095 per annum
Location: Chelmsford
Working Style:
Please note this vacancy is available as a fixed term contract or secondment opportunity for up to 12 months.
Essex County Council has embarked upon a programme of change for provision and services with the ambition to profoundly improve the outcomes and life experience of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Our vision is for a system which identifies and assesses need at an earlier stage, and which provides appropriate and impactful support without such high dependence on Essex County Council’s statutory services. We have a responsibility to deliver effective services and support in the most cost effective and impactful way.
In 2025 ECC established a programme of work with the aim of improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND in Essex, whilst ensuring our ways of working and financial position are sustainable for the future.
To support this, we need to ensure our focus and decisions are based on high-quality insights. Join us as a Senior Research and Evaluation Officer and you’ll take on a visible role helping to inform decisions, assess the effectiveness of, and learn vital lessons from this programme. We expect the impacts to be both immediate and longer-term. We need expert support to help us identify the short-term signals that tell us the direction of travel.
About you
You’ll work to support senior leaders within Essex County Council’s Education, Transformation and Policy functions, leading the evaluation and supporting managers and to make improvements. Your findings will inform political and executive decisions by providing evidence on the effectiveness of the programme and key lessons to drive improvement. You’ll also support broader work, hand-in-glove with analysts, researchers and policy advisors across ECC, to ensure the organisation makes evidence-based changes and invests in projects that improve lives across local communities.
You’ll need a track record of delivering high-quality research and recommendations that informs strategic decision-making. If that was in a local government or public sector environment, so much the better. On a personal level, we’re also looking for the ability to work with a wide variety of stakeholders, influence thinking and secure collaboration. You’ll need a commitment to your own professional development and the drive to play a full part in the development of a new and highly influential programme.
The role will give you the opportunity to:
1. Work with a variety of programme users. Along with colleagues within the Council, this will also include partners, schools, parents and children. You might be involved in using evidence and research to help co-produce interventions or make improvements to programme activities.
2. Work collaboratively with other researchers, analysts, evaluators and project staff on other programmes where there are shared visions and similar user groups.
3. Be part of a large local authority research and evaluation department with plenty of opportunities for you to learn and develop. We have a growing community of evaluators and practitioner-evaluation champions, with an interest in developing practice around evaluating systems change and programmes.
4. Training and supporting the development of colleagues.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
5. Educated to RQF level 6 (Bachelors) or equivalent by experience with evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.
6. Proficient experience in successfully delivering high quality, complex research and recommendations that impact on strategic decision making - within local government or a public sector setting is desirable.
7. Proficient experience of carrying out research that has made tangible improvements, as well as identifying opportunities for research to help solve business problems and inform future strategic direction.
8. Knowledge of governance requirements around quantitative and qualitative research methodology, including excellent working knowledge of the Data Protection Act.
9. Ability to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders to influence thinking and secure collaboration, including citizens with specific accessibility and communication needs.
10. Excellent verbal and written communication with the ability to present complex data and to speak and present the Council’s position at external and public meetings.
11. Proficient experience of leading teams within a matrix management approach, outside of traditional line management arrangements, is preferred.
12. Ability to manage the routine delivery of research tasks to high standards and on time.
We are looking for experience of carrying out research and evaluation projects that have resulted in tangible improvements, as well as the ability to identify opportunities to help solve business problems and inform the council’s future strategic direction. Intellectual curiosity will be vital.
In return, you can look forward to an excellent rewards package, as well as flexible working and long-term career opportunities.
Contact and apply
To apply please submit your CV and a Supporting Statement via the apply button above.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview in the week commencing 9th February 2026.
Why Essex?
As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.
In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about
, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.
Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
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