For over 60 years the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has been building a better childhood for all.
Senior Research and Development Manager - Research and Evidence
Contract: Fixed term for 24 months (with potential to extend/make perm subject to funding)
Hours: Full Time 35 hours / 1.0 FTE (open to part-time 0.8 FTE)
Salary: £51,349 per annum or £55,512 per annum if based in London
Location: London Fields / Belfast, Northern Ireland / Newton Abbot, Devon / Sheffield / Homebased within the UK (with travel to the office when required)
NCB promotes a hybrid, flexible way of working and ask that office-based staff attend the office for a minimum of 2 days per week.
About the Role
The Senior Research and Development Manager will play an important role in managing NCB’s research and evidence work, supporting our impact and growth and working across teams in a matrix environment. The post holder will be joining the research team at an exciting time, with significant growth in recent years, particularly in the area of evidence synthesis methodologies.
This role requires a strong background in managing and delivering evidence synthesis research projects, including systematic reviews, meta-analysis, qualitative synthesis, and mixed-methods approaches. It involves overseeing key research contracts, providing hands-on project management, ensuring methodological rigour, and delivering high-quality outputs.
The research team at NCB works on several influential projects using a range of research methods and spanning areas including youth justice, social care, early childhood development and education.
About Us
For more than 60 years the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has been making a big difference to lives of children and young people across the country, particularly the most disadvantaged. We are proud of having been instrumental in delivering major government reforms such as the changes to special educational need provision in schools, the extension of high quality early years provision and support to allow children to remain in foster care beyond their 18th birthday.
Today NCB works across a range of important issues affecting the lives of millions of children. Our priority areas are currently focused on early years, special education needs and disability, health and social care and education and learning. We are a dynamic and multifaceted organisation at an exciting stage in our development – a review of our purpose around a virtuous cycle of evidence gathering, research, influencing and practice improvement.
The Benefits:
* 30 Days Annual Leave
* Generous Pension Scheme
* Cycle to work scheme
* Flexible Working
* Winter Holiday Closure & Break
* Employee Assistance Programme
Timetable for Appointment:
Applications close at 08:00am on Friday 28th November 2025.
Assessments and interviews will take place on Tuesday 9th December (pm) or Wednesday 10th December (am/pm) 2025.
Interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams.
Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage interested candidates to submit their applications as soon as possible
Interested?
If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.
We are actively seeking to broaden the diversity of our staff group and warmly welcome applications from candidates underrepresented in the charity sector, including those from Black and Global Majority communities, disabled people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with lived experience of the issues NCB works on.
NCB is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, political opinion, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, paternity, and carer status.
No agencies please.