Circular Economy Senior Evaluation Officer

Job summary

This is a stretching evaluation role in Defra’s Circular Economy Directorate, sitting in the Strategic Evidence and Analysis Team.

It will involve leading on multiple evaluations of key policies that aim to drive towards a circular economy, where more products are repaired, refurbished, reused and recycled, where waste is eliminated, and where materials are kept in circulation at their highest value for as long as possible.

This role will require the senior researcher to lead on the design and scoping of new evaluations, to procure new external projects, and to manage existing projects with external suppliers to deliver high-value and high-profile evaluations across the Directorate.

Job description

This is a stretching and exciting role for an SEO social researcher interested in delivering evaluation. This role will involve developing new evaluation plans for all upcoming priority Circular Economy policies, as well as delivering established complex and high-profile evaluations in the Directorate.

The role includes leading on the externally commissioned Circular Economy Pathfinders project, which will deliver strategic insights, research and evaluation elements into the place-based strand of Circular Economy programme. This is a multi-year project that will provide expert, bespoke evaluation support to a number of localised, community-level circular initiatives across England.

The role will involve the exciting opportunity of leading on the evaluation of pilot projects across the Directorate, using experimental research designs such as randomised controlled trials. This will require working with external suppliers to design and deliver new interventions at a localised scale, obtaining evidence among intervention groups and control groups, and understanding whether policies merit being scaled to national level.

The senior evaluation officer will also provide evaluation expertise on the flagship Resources and Waste Policy Programme Evaluation in the Directorate, which looks to evaluate the success of Defra’s large-scale reforms in the waste infrastructure sector, including the policies Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging, the Deposit Return Scheme, Simpler Recycling, and Digital Waste Tracking.

Together, this work is critical for supporting Defra and other government departments to make decisions on policy design, delivery, and overall approach to achieving circularity.

As part of this role, the senior evaluation officer will:

• Develop their experience of designing complex evaluation projects.
• Develop their project management skills due to delivering multiple high priority projects simultaneously.
• They will apply research and evaluation frameworks to ensure evidence can be delivered on whether policies are delivered as expected and are delivering key outcomes.
• They will apply quasi-experimental evaluation designs including randomised controlled trial methodologies to derive robust impact evaluation evidence that supports evidence-based decision-making and policy roll out.
• Work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure evaluation meets policy and stakeholder needs, and is delivered with key voices feeding in.

Key deliverables that the role is responsible for include:

• Managing the multi-year Pathfinders evaluation, including managing external suppliers to deliver three strands of the project and working closely with local projects on understanding the impacts of locally delivered circular projects.
• Delivering robust randomised controlled trial evidence for new pilots to inform policy decision-making.
• Providing evaluation expertise on the established Resource and Waste Policy Programme Evaluation
• Designing and planning for upcoming evaluation projects, including preparing this for procurement and managing the externally delivered evaluation.

Ad-hoc evaluation activity such as production of Theories of Change, identification of indicators, and designing of evaluation plans and frameworks in collaboration with policy and delivery colleagues.

Person specification

This role will require strong social research, evaluation and analytical skills, including but not limited to:

• Excellent analytical skills covering evidence synthesis, qualitative and quantitative research methods, data collection and analysis and interpreting survey data.
• A thorough knowledge of research methodology, including quantitative, qualitative and evaluation methods with at least two years of applied experience.
• Ability to accurately evaluate competing data sources and identify salient points and trends to draw sound, logical inferences.
• Experience of managing evaluation and research projects of significant scale, working with other analysts and ensuring relevant legal, ethical, procurement, and quality assurance practice followed, ensuring quality of results and methodological rigour.
• Able to lead a complex portfolio of work and manage work flexibly to adapt as priorities change, often at short notice.
• Be confident using effective interpersonal, verbal, and written skills, with experience of disseminating complex evaluation findings to a range of customers.
• Ability to work effectively with and influence a range of policy colleagues and analysts at different levels in the organisation, in other governmental departments and external agencies.
• A readiness to explore and promote innovative evaluation and research approaches as well as keeping in touch with new research findings and methods in your field and accessibly interpreting and sharing these with colleagues.

Have knowledge of a range of process, impact and economic evaluation methods including theory based and realist approaches, and an interest in working with new methodologies to meet challenges.

Qualifications

The following criteria must be met for the candidate to qualify:

You have a 2:1 or above in your undergraduate degree in a relevant social research subject (criteria for relevant subjects are outlined below); or a 2:1 in any subject with a postgraduate degree in a relevant social research subject.

The qualifying social research degree must contain substantial social research methods training (comprising around one third of modules taken on the course) including quantitative research methods and at least three of the following:
•systematic/literature reviews;
•qualitative methods;
•interpretation of data and presentation of results;
•study design, hypothesis testing;
•application of ethics to research.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• •GSR: Using & Promoting Social Research
• •GSR: Technical Skills

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,665, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £12,360 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete:

• A name-blind (anonymous) CV with details of your full job history, experience and qualifications.
• Personal Statement. Please use the Personal Statement (750 word max) to set out your reasons for applying for the role. Please detail your experience and explain how your current skills are transferable.
• Behaviour Statement (Max 250 words) for each of the listed behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Making Effective Decisions and Managing a Quality Service
• And 250 word Technical Skills: GSR: Using & Promoting Social Research and GSR: Technical Skills

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Applicants will need to have passed the GSR Knowledge Test to be eligible for this role, if they are not already members of the GSR professional body. This needs to be coordinated prior to the interview.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, Communicating and Influencing. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on the below behaviours and technical skills.

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

GSR: Technical Skills

• GSR: Using & Promoting Social Research
• GSR: Technical Skills

A presentation will also be assessed at interview.

Interviews will be held online via MS Teams.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to DEFRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : CEPeopleteam@defra.gov.uk
• Email : CEPeopleteam@defra.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: here