We’re Hiring: Come Help Us Figure It Out

/in , , , /by

At The Evaluator, we help brilliant organisations understand the difference they make.

We work across arts, heritage, nature, health and community projects — combining rigorous research with warmth, creativity and clarity. Our ethos is Creatively Simple. Honest. Useful. And our promise to clients is straightforward: We’ll figure it out for you.

Now, we’re growing.

And we’re looking for thoughtful, capable people who want to build something meaningful with us.

Why join The Evaluator?

We’re a small consultancy in an active growth phase. That means:

You’ll do real work that matters.
You’ll see projects from start to finish.
You’ll help shape how we work — not just slot into a fixed system.
Your ideas will count.

This isn’t a corporate machine. It’s a focused, ambitious team who care deeply about quality, ethics and doing right by our clients and communities.

We offer:

A quarterly bonus scheme (up to £2,000 per year)
28 days’ holiday (rising to 33 after one year)
Hybrid and flexible working
Real progression as we grow
A reflective, supportive culture

But more than that — you’ll be part of a team that takes pride in clarity, rigour and kindness.

The Roles We’re Recruiting

We’re currently recruiting across several positions

Senior Evaluation & Learning

£35–45k depending on experience | Permanent | Hybrid

This is a senior appointment, shaped around the right candidate.

You might be:

A Project Lead who thrives on client relationships and end-to-end delivery.
A Senior Evaluator who leads on methodology, analysis and quality assurance.

Either way, you’ll help shape our next phase of growth and maintain high standards across projects.

Project Officer – Data Focused

£27–29k | Permanent | Hybrid

If you love spreadsheets, clean datasets and turning numbers into insight, this role will suit you.

You’ll:

Clean and manage datasets.
Support survey design and analysis.
Create charts and visual summaries.
Contribute to reports and dashboards.

This role is for someone precise, analytical and organised — who enjoys bringing structure to complexity.

Project Officer – People Focused

£27–29k | Permanent | Hybrid

If you’re confident facilitating conversations, gathering stories and working in community settings, this could be the one.

You’ll:

Support interviews, workshops and focus groups.
Coordinate fieldwork.
Code qualitative data.
Draft case studies and narrative insight.

This role suits someone calm, adaptable and genuinely interested in people’s lived experience.

Intern Opportunities (2–3 days per week, £25k pro rata)

We’re offering two flexible, part-time internships (initially 6 months, with potential to extend):

Data Intern (Business Systems & Analysis)
Perfect for someone studying or recently graduated in economics, maths, statistics or business analytics.

Creative Intern (Graphics & Visual Outputs)
For someone confident in Canva, layout and visual storytelling — turning insight into clarity.

These roles are real, paid opportunities to work on live projects and gain meaningful experience.

Who Will Thrive Here?

You’ll enjoy working with us if you:

Like building and improving systems.
Are comfortable with change and growth.
Can create structure rather than waiting for it.
Take ownership in a small team.
Care about doing good work properly.

If you need rigid structures and narrow boundaries, this probably isn’t the right fit. We’re building something — and that requires energy, judgement and initiative.

How to Apply

To apply, please send:

  • Please send your CV.
    Please include a supporting statement (no more than two sides of A4) outlining why you are a strong fit.
  • If applying for a specific focus (Data, Engagement, Creative), please make this clear.
  • For the Creative Intern role, please also include a short portfolio.

Closing date: 28th March 2026

Senior role applications:
📧 Kirsty@theevaluator.co.uk

All other roles:
📧 Rebecca@theevaluator.co.uk

Full job details are available here: 2026 02 26 Job Advert.docx

If you’re looking for a role where you can think clearly, work meaningfully, and help organisations demonstrate real impact — we’d love to hear from you.

We’re not just hiring to fill posts.
We’re hiring to build what comes next.

Measuring Salford 100 Years of Salford’s Culture and Community Impact

/in /by

New Client: Salford 100

Shaping the City’s Centenary Story

We’re proud to be partnering on Salford 100, a once-in-a-century celebration marking 100 years of city status.

The year-long programme will use culture as a catalyst for pride, inclusion and transformation – a moment for Salford to look back with gratitude and forward with confidence.

A City That Never Stands Still

Salford 100 promises to be bold, participatory and unmistakably local – a celebration reaching from neighbourhood streets to world-class stages.

Working with creative producers Walk the Plank and From the Other, the programme will blend grassroots energy with large-scale spectacle: projection-mapped parades, digital storytelling, street parties, and new commissions that showcase Salford’s creative spirit.

As the city positions itself for Greater Manchester Town of Culture and a future UNESCO Creative City designation, Salford 2026 will demonstrate how culture drives regeneration, visibility and connection.

What We’ll Be Doing

At The Evaluator, we’re leading on the evaluation framework for Salford 100 — capturing the full story from community-led birthday celebrations to major commissions such as We Invented the Weekend, Light Up the City, and Songs of Salford.

  • Co-creating a Theory of Change so partners share one clear vision of success.
  • Designing a deceptively simple evaluation toolkit supported by digital dashboards and accessible templates.
  • Capturing numbers and nuance — attendance, reach and spend alongside stories of pride and connection.

We’ll also pilot our Measure the Experience approach at key events — playful, on-the-ground data collection tools that make evaluation part of the celebration itself.

Why It Matters

Culture sits at the heart of Salford’s story — from the docks to MediaCity, from brass bands to spoken word.

  • Evidence pride in place and connection across generations.
  • Track economic uplift from events and local commissions.
  • Highlight legacy potential — partnerships, skills and confidence enduring beyond 2026.
  • Celebrate the people who make Salford distinctive.

Having previously worked on We Invented the Weekend and the Salford Place Partnership Fund, we understand the city’s creativity, humour and honesty — and it’s a privilege to help measure and share that energy in such a milestone year.

Part of Salford 2026?

If you’re planning cultural activity in Salford or contributing to the centenary programme, we’d welcome a conversation.

Evaluation. Measurement. Impact.

Hackney Foodbank Evaluation – Understanding the Impact of Casework Support

/in /by

New Client: Hackney Foodbank

Evaluating the Impact of Casework Support in a Changing Community

We’re delighted to be working with Hackney Foodbank to evaluate its Casework Service – a project that’s doing much more than providing emergency food.

In the heart of one of London’s most diverse and creative boroughs, Hackney Foodbank has built a lifeline that not only meets immediate need but helps people tackle the deeper issues behind food insecurity.

From Crisis to Confidence

For over a decade, Hackney Foodbank has supported local residents in crisis. Demand has risen sharply in recent years, and many people are returning because the root causes of poverty remain unresolved.

The Casework Service was developed in response — a personalised, wrap-around model helping people navigate housing, benefits, debt, and employment systems.

What We’ll Be Doing

Our evaluation will combine data with human stories to show both the scale and depth of change.

  • Analysing quantitative data to identify patterns, trends, and outcomes across different groups.
  • Gathering qualitative insight through interviews and focus groups with service users, volunteers, and partners.
  • Using our MAQ and MANQ systems to integrate lived experience with measurable evidence — balancing head and heart.
  • Co-creating a practical evaluation toolkit for long-term monitoring that is simple, credible, and funder-ready.

It’s not just about collecting data — it’s about learning, improving, and equipping the team with tools to build long-term change.

Why It Matters

The Casework Service is more than crisis response; it is a bridge to stability.

  • Reduce dependency on foodbanks and emergency provision.
  • Address root causes of poverty rather than symptoms.
  • Demonstrate economic and social value to funders and policymakers.
  • Celebrate compassion and resilience across the community.

Listening, Learning, and Amplifying Voices

We’ll take a trauma-informed, person-centred approach — listening deeply and presenting findings that are honest and hopeful.

By combining numbers and narratives, we’ll show the ripple effects of support: improved wellbeing, reduced isolation, and renewed confidence.

Exploring Impact in Your Organisation?

If your organisation is looking to evidence impact and drive meaningful change, we would be delighted to speak with you.

Evaluation. Measurement. Impact.

Evaluation Frameworks

/in /by

Evaluation Frameworks

Evaluation Frameworks That Teams Actually Use

A strong evaluation framework is the difference between collecting data and generating insight. Too often, frameworks are either overly complex or too vague to withstand funder scrutiny. The result is inconsistent monitoring, fragmented reporting, and missed learning.

At The Evaluator, we design practical, funder-ready evaluation frameworks that make monitoring straightforward and reporting consistent — without overburdening delivery teams.

Measuring What Matters (and What Funders Expect)

Our frameworks provide a clear line of sight from activities to outcomes, aligned with funder expectations from organisations such as Arts Council England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), DEFRA, and Sport Scotland.

Each framework is tailored to your programme’s:

  • Strategic objectives
  • Delivery capacity
  • Partner landscape
  • Reporting requirements

The focus is on clarity, usability, and credibility.

What’s Included in an Evaluation Framework

Our frameworks are end-to-end, covering design, delivery, and reporting. Typical components include:

  • Theory of Change or Logic Model with explicit outcomes, assumptions, and risks
  • Indicator matrix with operational definitions, baselines, and targets
  • Data collection plan (methods, sampling, frequency, roles, ethics, and GDPR)
  • Evaluation toolkit (surveys, interview/focus group guides, observation tools)
  • Monitoring dashboards and reporting calendars for consistent oversight
  • Data management and quality assurance procedures aligned with ISO standards
  • Accessibility and inclusion guidance for equitable participation

Everything is provided as ready-to-use templates, not conceptual diagrams.

Designed for Real-World Delivery

Frameworks only work if teams adopt them. Our approach prioritises usability through:

  • Co-design workshops with staff and delivery partners
  • Right-sized tools that minimise administrative burden
  • Clear KPIs and outcome chains
  • Mixed-methods compatibility
  • Training and structured handover so the framework lives beyond the project

This ensures ownership, consistency, and long-term value.

Case Study: Citywide Culture Programme

Evaluation Framework & Monitoring Toolkit

For a large-scale Citywide Culture Programme, we developed a funder-aligned evaluation framework covering participation, inclusion, skills, economic contribution, and wellbeing.
Through a series of co-design workshops, we produced a clear Theory of Change, a measurable locally relevant indicator set, and a light-touch toolkit adopted by 30+ delivery partners.
Quarterly dashboards fed into a structured learning loop, improving both commissioning decisions and external reporting.

Key outcomes included:

  • End-to-end logic model with outcome chains and risk/assumption mapping
  • Reusable survey and interview packs, with consent and privacy templates
  • Co-designed indicators aligned to local priorities and funder outcomes
  • Simple data entry sheets feeding an automated summary dashboard
  • Team training and handover to ensure sustainability

Why Frameworks Matter

A well-designed evaluation framework delivers tangible benefits:

  • Clarity and alignment — shared understanding of outcomes, indicators, and roles
  • Simplified reporting — consistent, comparable data for funders and internal learning
  • Right-sized and inclusive practice — ethical, accessible tools matched to capacity
  • Quality assurance — ISO-aligned processes, GDPR compliance, and regular QA
  • Future-proofing — frameworks built for scaling, replication, and longitudinal insight
  • Better decisions — dashboards that turn activity into strategic evidence

Flexible Implementation Options

We offer multiple delivery models depending on need and timescale:

  • Full framework design in 4–6 weeks using co-design sprints
  • Audit and refresh of an existing framework
  • Partner onboarding and light-touch training
  • Dashboards in Google Sheets or your existing BI tools
  • Ongoing critical-friend support on a quarterly basis

Want a Framework Your Team Will Actually Use?

If you need a clear, funder-ready way to measure outcomes and report with confidence, we can help.
We’ll co-design an evaluation framework that fits your programme, your capacity, and your funder requirements — and hand over a toolkit your team can run with.

Evaluation. Measurement. Impact.

New Client: Derbyshire Makes

/in /by

New Client: Derbyshire Makes & Derbyshire Makes History

We’re thrilled to be partnering with Derbyshire Makes and Derbyshire Makes History — two interlinked programmes that celebrate and strengthen Derbyshire’s proud tradition of making, from past to present.

A county built by makers

Derbyshire has always been a place of ingenuity. From Cromford’s water-powered mills to the industrial heart of the Derwent Valley, this landscape is woven with stories of craftsmanship, materials, and communities shaping each other. You can read more here.

Derbyshire Makes is a three-year cultural programme supporting creative expression and community making across the county.

In parallel, Derbyshire Makes History is a two-year heritage-led initiative, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, that digs deeper into the industrial legacies of textiles, ceramics, mining and more.

Together, the programmes aim to connect past and present: giving space for both innovation and inheritance, fresh voices and rooted traditions.

What we’ll be doing

We come in as evaluators (aka “we’ll figure it out for you”) — supporting both programmes to learn, adapt and amplify impact.

  • Designing a learning framework that marries creative outcomes with heritage goals
  • Tracking outputs & outcomes (community participation, skills development, audience reach)
  • Gathering stories & voices from makers, volunteers, heritage organisations and local people
  • Reflecting on “what works where” — drawing out lessons for future creative-heritage programmes
  • Supporting evaluation capacity in local partners, so the learning doesn’t stay just with us

Our aim is to keep evaluation light, meaningful and usable — never ivory-tower, always in service of place, people, creativity.

A lens of reciprocity

What excites us most is the chance to help the programme stay curious, responsive and anchored in Derbyshire’s communities. With heritage and creativity in conversation, there’s real potential to:

  • revive crafts and materials that risk being lost
  • spark new making practices in places with fewer arts resources
  • foster pride in place and intergenerational connection
  • build sustainability: for organisations, for makers, and for heritage

We’ll be listening a lot — but also helping the programmes iterate, pivot and grow in line with what’s emerging on the ground.

What this means for Derbyshire

Over time, the evaluation will help tell a fuller story: how creative making and heritage can reinforce each other; where to target investment; and how to ensure accessibility, equity and resonance across Derbyshire’s diverse towns and communities.

We’re honoured to be on this journey. If you’re a heritage group, maker, community organiser or just curious — we’d love to hear your voice as the programmes unfold.

📧 info@theevaluator.co.uk | 📞 01756 532 538