Senior Research and Development Manager

For over 60 years this charity 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)
This employer promotes a hybrid, flexible way of working and they 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 this charity's research and evidence work, supporting its 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 this organisation 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 the Employer

For more than 60 years the organisation has been making a big difference to lives of children and young people across the country, particularly the most disadvantaged. They 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 the charity works across a range of important issues affecting the lives of millions of children. Their priority areas are currently focused on early years, special education needs and disability, health and social care and education and learning. This is a dynamic and multifaceted organisation at an exciting stage in their development - a review of their 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 the right is reserved to close this vacancy early should a high volume of applications be received. This employer encourages interested candidates to submit their applications as soon as possible.

Interested?

To apply, please click the apply button. You will be taken to a simple CHM Recruit form. There you can find out more information and complete your application by following the instructions.

This employer is actively seeking to broaden the diversity of their 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 this charity works on.

Our client 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.