CSE has a strong research track record and earlier this year was awarded ‘Independent Research Organisation’ (IRO) status by UK Research and Innovation which allows us to access funding from Research Councils. We are recruiting for a new Head of Research & Evaluation to help us build on this opportunity and support the delivery of our ongoing research projects. This is an exciting opportunity to take up a research leadership role in CSE and consolidate our role as a leading innovator in sustainable energy research and analysis, and influencing UK government policy and energy industry practice around fuel poverty and the climate emergency.

Pay and conditions

• The role is full-time (37.5 hours per week).
• The salary for the role will be (£45,987 - £56,283).
• You will be entitled to 25 days paid holiday (plus statutory holidays).

CSE offer a range of benefits including, subsidised bike purchase and Tech Scheme, Life Assurance, Health Cash plan, retail discounts, discounted breakdown cover and many more.

We will pay fees and expenses on relevant training courses.

Specific responsibilities

• An applicant appointed to the role will be expected to:
• Develop CSE’s research unit: Manage a team of researchers and data analysts and support their professional development, win new work aligned with CSE’s strategy and work programme priorities, collaborating effectively with other colleagues and external partners.
• Ensure quality: Provide expertise in research methods. Hold overall responsibility for quality of outputs produced in research projects and evaluations.
• Manage research projects and evaluations through the full project cycle from design to data collection and analysis.
• Hold responsibility for the financial management of research and evaluation projects Ensuring effective financial control, overseeing and directing project budgets, addressing financial underperformance where necessary.
• Hold responsibility for staff in the research unit, managing workloads, and contributing to the effective leadership and management of the whole Research and Analysis team.
• Support senior staff in the team to manage the well-being and job satisfaction of junior team members.
• Lead on research design across the organisation, championing the use of mixed-method approaches, developing research proposals that combine academic rigour with real world impact.
• Provide support to CSE’s Work Programmes, inputting to internal evaluation of programme effectiveness and helping the organisation deliver its strategic objectives.

To see a more detailed list of responsibilities please see the supporting documents attached. These documents are also available to download from our website.

Essential attributes for this role include:

• Post-doctoral degree or equivalent qualification.
• Research leadership in a relevant field with a significant track record of developing successful proposals, working across disciplines, delivering mixed methods projects, and publishing research outputs and evaluations.
• Successful project management of relevant research or evaluations, including responsibility for budgets and deadlines.
• Line management and supporting researcher development.
• Leading a financially sustainable team of 3 or more researchers and coordinating workloads to deliver multiple projects concurrently.
• Research design, including quantitative and qualitative research methods and statistical analysis.
•  Ability to summarise and present complex information in an accessible way.
• Effective project management.
• Excellent self-motivation and initiative.
• Ability to initiate, develop and maintain effective. Team relationships and research partnerships.
• The ability to manage own workload and support others to prioritise strategically.
• Demonstrable commitment to CSE’s primary objectives to tackle the climate emergency and end the suffering caused by cold homes.
• Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Please note, the above is an overview of the skills required for this role. To see the full list of essential and desirable skills please see the attached job description.