Impact and Evaluation Officer

JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Permanent, full time or part time. A minimum of 28 hours per week are required and the preferred working pattern can be discussed at interview.

Full time hours at the University are 35 per week with the standard working pattern Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00, with some flexibility in start/finish times.

Organisation structure

Education and Students, Widening Participation.

Your line manager will be Charlotte Thackeray, Outreach and Inclusion Lead.

Place of work flexibility

Your time will be split between the Horizons, Reading office and your home*. The exact split of days/hours is negotiable but must include a minimum of two working days each month in Horizons only on the core days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). *Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable – please see the ‘Working from home’ section on our Careers Site for further information.

High level summary of job role

As the Impact and Evaluation Officer, you will play a key role in measuring, evidencing and communicating the impact of the University of the Built Environment's educational, access and participation, student success and progression activities.

You will lead the design and delivery of robust evaluation frameworks, undertake qualitative and quantitative analysis, and generate actionable insights that support strategic decision-making and continuous improvement. You will contribute to institutional performance monitoring, regulatory requirements, Access and Participation Plan, student outcomes improvement, and the University's mission to widen participation and enhance success within the built environment professions.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

Impact and evaluation

• Design, implement and continuously improve evaluation frameworks for institutional projects, programmes and interventions.

• Develop and adapt logic models and Theory of Change approaches to support programme planning, delivery and evaluation.

• Evaluate the effectiveness, impact and value of initiatives across the student lifecycle, including:
  - Student outreach
  - Access and participation activities
  - Student retention and continuation
  - Student attainment and achievement

• Utilise the HEAT platform to record all access, success and progression data is accurately and regularly updated.

• Ensure evaluation activity aligns with regulatory expectations, sector guidance and institutional priorities.

Data analysis and insight

• Collect, extract, clean, analyse and interpret quantitative and qualitative data from multiple sources.

• Produce dashboards, scorecards and performance reports for senior leaders and committees.

• Use statistical and evaluative techniques to assess programme effectiveness and return on investment.

• Identify patterns relating to student demographics, widening participation, protected characteristics and socio-economic indicators.

• Support the monitoring of institutional KPIs, Widening Participation Strategy and Access and Participation Plan targets.

Engagement and continuous improvement

• Ensure evaluation activities comply with data protection, ethical standards and information governance requirements.

• Engage with sector networks to identify emerging best practice in evaluation, student outcomes and widening participation.

• Represent the University at external meetings, conferences and sector events where appropriate.

• Maintain accurate records of evaluation activity, findings and recomme