Principal Evaluation and Social Research Consultant

About you

We are looking for an enthusiastic, adaptable and collaborative evaluator or social researcher who can make a positive contribution to our growing team. You should be flexible, self‑motivated, and able to demonstrate relevant knowledge and technical experience commensurate with your level of experience. We are particularly interested in applications from people who have worked in market research, evaluation, or economics who a passion for robust evidence and insight. Knowledge of the transport sector is not essential, but an interest and willingness to learn is desirable.

Essential experience

• Experience of designing and delivering evaluations of policies, programmes or projects in public policy, local government, transport, infrastructure, social value, regeneration or related sectors.

• Experience of developing theories of change, evaluation frameworks, benefits realisation plans or monitoring and evaluation strategies. This includes experience of applying UK Government guidance such as the Magenta Book, Green Book, Transport Analysis Guidance or other relevant evaluation and appraisal frameworks.

• Experience of leading and contributing to proposals, bids or business development activity.

• Strong project management skills, including the ability to manage tasks, budgets, timelines, risks and project teams.

• Experience of working with clients and stakeholders to understand their needs, shape evaluation questions and communicate findings clearly.

• Communication: experience of producing high-quality written outputs, including evaluation reports, technical notes, briefing papers and presentations, and ability to translate complex evidence into clear, actionable recommendations for clients and senior stakeholders.

• Evidence-informed decision making: a clear understanding of how evaluation evidence can support better policy development, investment and delivery decisions.

• Collaborative working style: strong communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills, with a commitment to quality, inclusion, ethical research practice and continuous improvement.

Desirable experience

• A postgraduate qualification or demonstrable professional development in evaluation, social research, economics, data analysis or a related discipline, with good knowledge of evaluation theory and practice, such as theory-based evaluation, process evaluation, impact evaluation, mixed-methods approaches, quasi-experimental approaches, realist evaluation, contribution analysis or value-for-money evaluation.

• Strong quantitative and/or qualitative analytical skills, with the ability to interpret evidence and draw practical, well-reasoned conclusions, including data visualisation or analysis using tools such as Power BI, R, Python, SPSS, Stata or similar.

• Digital and AI: an interest and curiosity in how digital tools and AI-enabled tools can improve the efficiency, quality and value of evaluation and benefits management.