Senior Evaluation Adviser

Job summary

The Public Sector Reform Test, Learn and Grow (PSR TL&G) team is at the heart of the UK government’s initiative to drive innovation and reform in public service delivery. With the £100 million PSR Innovation Fund, our team collaborates with local authorities and government departments across the United Kingdom and with the Devolved Governments to design, test, and grow innovative solutions that enhance public service outcomes. By employing a ‘Test & Learn’ approach, we focus on creating evidence-based improvements while relieving pressures on public services. Our work involves piloting foundational programmes and place-based initiatives to accelerate mission delivery, support preventative measures, and foster a collaborative environment that encourages continuous improvement and innovation in public services.

As a senior evaluation adviser, you’ll work within ‘accelerators’. An accelerator is a multidisciplinary blended team bringing together colleagues from local government, central government and the wider public sector to work on a place-based project to prototype solutions to complex policy issues. Examples of some of the accelerators in our portfolio include ‘violence against women and girls’ in Islington, ‘special educational needs and disabilities’ in Nottingham and Sandwell, ‘economic inactivity’ in Wakefield, and ‘neighbourhood health’ in Plymouth and Liverpool. You’ll be responsible for embedding evaluation and monitoring into the accelerator’s work. At the same time, you’ll also be developing guidance with fellow evaluation advisers on good practice for adaptive evaluation that will support the overarching ‘Test, Learn and Grow’ programme and influence the wider public sector evaluation landscape.

This role is mapped to the Senior Digital Evaluator role in the Government Digital and Data framework, though we would expect candidates to be able to apply their skills to digital and non-digital projects. This role will require travel within the UK to work closely with local partners. This role is eligible for a DDaT allowance, the value of which will depend on an assessment of your skills and experience, as demonstrated at interview.

Job description

You will:

• work in a multidisciplinary team,
• develop theories of change and evaluation plans with stakeholders,
• manage relationships with stakeholders, data analysts, user researchers, product and strategy leads, and operational secondees,
• collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data through research,
• assure the work of other evaluators, including evaluation plans, data collection and analysis,
• present analysis clearly, turn complex data into compelling, clear and actionable stories, and give strategic recommendations to decision-makers,
• ensure data ethics and privacy compliance,
• use a range of appropriate evaluation techniques, which could include process evaluation, impact evaluation, ‘theory of change’, experimentation, and economic evaluation,
• collaborate with stakeholders to gather requirements and deliver findings, working under the guidance of the Head of Analysis,
• ensure coordination with the programme’s independent evaluation (being carried out by GO-Lab), including supporting with data collection and analysis where required,
• contribute evidence to inform TL&G strategy, objectives and priorities,
• work in the open and share often.

Person specification

It’s essential that you have the following skills:

• Evaluation delivery
  • evaluate using appropriate techniques including process evaluation, impact evaluation, ‘theory of change’, experimentation and economic evaluation,
  • analyse and interpret data you have collected and data from other sources,
  • use a wide range of analytical approaches, including descriptive and inferential analysis.
• Evaluation planning and strategy
  • influence stakeholders to secure resources for an evaluation project,
  • ensure plans for monitoring and evaluation of products and services are appropriate and proportionate,
  • agree the evaluation approach with diverse stakeholders.
• Communicating analysis and insight
  • turn complex data into compelling, clear and actionable stories,
  • present analysis and visualisations in clear ways to communicate complex messages.
• Data ethics and privacy
  • work with stakeholders to identify and address ethical and privacy concerns.
• Quality assurance of data and analysis
  • bring data together from different sources,
  • quality assure the work of other senior evaluation advisers and senior data analysts (preferred coding languages are R and Python).
• Inclusivity
• • support equity and inclusion for your delivery work as well as in your team,
  • incorporate a wide variety of views from underrepresented groups into your research.

It's desirable that you have:

• Behavioural science knowledge
  • working knowledge of theoretical concepts such as defaults, loss aversion and social norms.
• Place-based evaluation skills
• • delivery of complex place-based evaluation working with multiple partners outside of central government.

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

Technical skills

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

• Evaluation delivery
• Communicating analysis and insight
• Evaluation planning and strategy

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,204, Cabinet Office contributes £16,571 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 which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

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.

Application process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

You will be required to provide a CV setting out your career history and qualifications.

You will also be required to provide a (max 750-word) statement of suitability. Please use your statement of suitability to explain how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the criteria in the person specification section of the job advert.

Selection process
Applications will be sifted on CV and statement of suitability. Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to an interview which will assess Behaviours (Making Effective Decisions and Delivering at Pace) and technical skills in line with the Senior Digital Evaluator role. There may be a short task/presentation at the interview stage and more details will be provided to invited candidates.

Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date – w/c 30/03/2026
Expected interview date/s – w/c 06/04/26
Interview location - Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

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 cabinetofficerecruitment.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.

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

Please note that this role requires CTC clearance, which would normally need 3 years’ UK residency in the past 3 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

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

Any move to cabinet office 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.

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/Disclosure Scotland 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.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

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

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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 : Rowena Bermingham
• Email : rowena.bermingham@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.

Attachments

Cabinet Office Employee Offer (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)