United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: RedR UK Research Assistant, London

The purpose of this role is to coordinate data sets (statistical and narrative evaluation of capacity building activities) and support Phase I of the joint impact assessment research project between RedR UK and the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard.

Project Background
Ensuring that there is adequate and appropriate capacity is essential to ensuring the humanitarian sector meets the needs of its target populations. This can only be achieved through assessing the impact of training and capacity building interventions effectively. Whilst there is a general appreciation of the positive impacts of capacity building, existing assessments fall short of demonstrating the connection between the increased capacities of humanitarian staff and organisations and better outcomes for affected populations. This generally occurs because funding for humanitarian training and capacity building is often short-term, and rarely includes sufficient provision for longer term evaluation or monitoring. This limits the effectiveness and learning from capacity building activities and those benefiting from capacity building projects are unable to maximise the benefits of what they have learnt

The joint RedR/HAH project aims to solve this problem by progressing the humanitarian sector’s collective understanding of approaches to assessing the impact of training, resulting in an improved approach to overall capacity building measures. Phase I will comprise research into current practice in assessing and maximising the impact of humanitarian training and capacity building including consideration of the enablers and constraints to achieving desired outcomes and impact.

Role information
The work detailed in the terms of reference to be completed on the basis of three days per week for six months, between November 2015 and May 2016. Flexible working hours are acceptable, upon agreement with the Programme Manager. The role will be remunerated at £10 per hour on the basis of 21 hours per week.

Role description

• Organisation of Advisory Group meetings and launch event


• Support in definition of scope of research


• Prepare project inception report


• Conduct desk research aimed to identify, access, organise and share with HAH key data sets related to the project hypotheses and research questions


• Liaise with internal and external contacts and AG as required to gather required data sets


• Liaise with HAH to understand data requirements and to share information


• Support in the drafting of research findings and final report

Person Specification

• A proven interest in training and/or capacity building;


• Proven skills in collection and analysis of primary and secondary data;


• Confidence in research design;


• Skills in data collection, collation and analysis,


• Good written and verbal communication skills;


• Good presentation skills and willingness to represent RedR externally;


• Academic background and interest in International Development, political science, disaster/emergency management, or humanitarian engineering;


• Demonstrated commitment to our humanitarian mission and values;


• Ability to establish and maintain systems for tracking and storing information;


• Ability to prioritise and manage time effectively.

How to apply:

To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter explaining your motivation for applying and how you meet the person specification. Applications should be sent to Katie Robertson at consultancy@redr.org.uk

Applications close at 12pm on Wednesday 7th October. It is anticipated that interviews will take place on Monday 12th October.