Director, Impact Intelligence

Director of Impact Intelligence & Learning

Save the Children is seeking a dynamic leader to drive our movement-wide evidence and learning strategy. This role will transform how we generate, use, and learn from impact intelligence to deliver better outcomes for children.

Job Purpose

To lead and unify our evidence and learning functions, ensuring that robust data, research, evaluation, and insights inform every critical decision across the organisation. You will champion a culture of evidence-driven impact, from country offices to global leadership.

Principal Accountabilities

Strategic Leadership and Governance

• Lead a single, movement-wide evidence and learning strategy that integrates Insights and Learning, MEAL, Research and Evaluation, Ethics and Evidence Generation, and Economic Evaluation. Ensure alignment with Save the Children's Global Strategy, Theory of Change, and inter-agency agendas.
• Establish clear governance, roles, and expectations for leaders on evidence use, learning, and accountability. Embed evidence as a core organisational function, not an add-on.
• Champion a culture where impact intelligence is front and centre – expected, resourced, and rewarded. Align leadership pathways, incentives, and support systems (e.g., HR, resourcing) with evidence-driven work.

Enhance the Impact Intelligence Ecosystem

• Oversee the design and implementation of simple, connected impact intelligence systems. Prioritise data and learning systems that reduce duplication, improve data quality, and surface the right insights at the right time for country offices, members, and global teams.
• Ensure MEAL frameworks, standards, policies, and tools are coherent across all SCI entities and integrated with core systems (e.g., Global Indicators, GAR, digital platforms). Enable real-time, routine learning rather than one-off reporting.
• Partner with IT, data and digital teams, plus external partners, to implement fit-for-purpose tools (e.g., dashboards, shared repositories, "PDF-light" solutions) and quality assurance processes that strengthen data literacy and use.

Focus on Decision-Critical Evidence

• Lead strategic prioritisation of impact intelligence. Focus the organisation on the decisions that matter most and right-size evidence requirements accordingly (e.g., lean designs, proportional baselines, targeted evaluations).
• Ensure global indicators, MEAL standards, research and evaluation agendas, and economic analyses are aligned to these priority decisions, reducing unnecessary data collection and reporting burdens.
• Embed processes and routines so that insights from monitoring, evaluations, research, economic evaluations, and learning reviews are systematically translated into programmatic and influencing decisions – during design, adaptation, and scale-up.

Lead and Connect Organisational Evidence Efforts

• Act as the hub connecting evidence, data, and learning across clusters and functions (programmes, operations, governance, funding, ethics, digital). Enable evidence to travel across units, countries, and members.
• Build and steward strong collaboration mechanisms between the four units (Insights and Learning, MEAL, Research and Evaluation, Ethics and Evidence Generation, Economic Evaluation) and related functions (e.g., Global Indicators, GAR). Reduce silos and duplication.
• Convene cross-unit communities and platforms to share, package, and communicate insights in accessible, decision-ready formats. Support influential storytelling, advocacy, and resource mobilisation.

Across the Four Units Specifically

Insights, Learning and Capability Strengthening

• Lead the Insights and Learning unit to transform data and evidence into timely, actionable insights for country offices, members, and global leadership. Strong focus on synthesis, translation, and "what this means for decisions".
• Oversee movement-wide capacity strengthening for MEAL, research, learning, and cost-informed programming. Emphasis on country offices and locally led partners. Build habits of reflection and adaptation.
• Promote and model learning behaviours (e.g., after-action reviews, learning cycles, experimentation). Ensure time and space are protected for teams to learn, adapt, and improve.

MEAL Architecture and Practice

• Ensure high-quality monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning architectures, tools and practices are in place across country offices. Include staffing models, role clarity, and career pathways for MEAL professionals.
• Champion and oversee strategic initiatives such as Prime and the Global Indicators. Ensure they are embedded in country programmes and influencing work, used to drive learning, accountability, and impact at scale.
• Ensure accountability to communities, children, and young people is central to MEAL practice – including feedback, participation, and transparent communication of findings and decisions.

Research, Evaluation, Ethics and Evidence Generation

• Lead the Research and Evaluation unit to design and deliver a coherent portfolio of high-quality studies, evaluations, and syntheses that respond to priority learning questions and strategic evidence gaps.
• Oversee the Ethics and Evidence Generation unit to ensure robust ethical governance, safeguarding, and integrity in all data collection and research activities – including data protection and responsible use of emerging technologies.
• Promote partnerships with research institutions, governments, and peer agencies to leverage external expertise, align with global agendas, and enhance Save the Children's thought leadership.

Economic Evaluation and Cost-Informed Programming

• Lead the Economic Evaluation unit to integrate cost, cost-effectiveness, and value-for-money analysis into programme and influencing design, adaptation, and scale-up decisions.
• Ensure economic evidence is presented in accessible ways for non-specialist decision-makers. Use it to guide smarter choices in tighter aid budget contexts.
• Promote use of economic evidence to reduce workload and improve efficiency. Focus on high-leverage decisions rather than adding reporting burdens.

Locally Led, Inclusive and Ethical Learning

• Ensure that communities, children, and young people meaningfully shape learning questions, participate in monitoring, research, and evaluation, and see their feedback reflected in programmatic and influencing changes.
• Embed diversity, equity, and inclusion in all evidence and learning work – including who produces knowledge, whose perspectives are visible, and how findings are framed and used.
• Contribute actively to diversifying the Innovation & Impact teams. Build inclusive cultures where different types of knowledge and lived experience are valued.

Experience and Skills

Essential

• Curiosity and positive scepticism about how data is collected and used, with a passion for understanding what is 'best in field'.
• Demonstrated track record in leading organisational learning and evidence agendas in large, complex, multi-country organisations, including fixing fragmented data and learning systems.
• An interest in how trends and technology can enable and influence our impact for children.
• Extensive experience leading research and evaluation portfolios aligned to strategic priorities, including mixed-methods designs and synthesis of evidence for decision-makers.
• Experience overseeing or closely collaborating with ethics and research governance functions, including responsible data and safeguarding in evidence generation.
• Experience integrating economic evaluation or cost-informed analysis into programme and influencing decisions, or proven ability to lead specialist teams in this area.
• Strong record of building and leading diverse, geographically dispersed teams, and of working through influence and matrix structures to align evidence efforts across units and countries.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills, including ability to turn complex evidence into clear options and recommendations for senior leaders and partners.

Desirable

• Experience designing and implementing organisation-wide learning or knowledge-management initiatives, including digital solutions that reduce reliance on static documents and enable real-time learning.
• Experience engaging communities, children, and young people in co-creating learning questions, monitoring, research, and evaluation, particularly in humanitarian and development contexts.
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within evidence, research, and learning work.

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Advanced Degree: A post-graduate degree (Masters or PhD preferred) in a related field such as international development, social sciences, or planning & statistics.

Desirable

• Author of publications or thought pieces on learning, evaluation, or research in development or humanitarian settings.
• Recognised Certification: Certification in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) and in research and evaluation methodologies is highly desirable.

Values in Practice

Accountability

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values.
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team. Takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same.
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others.
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration

• Builds and maintains effective relationships with their team, colleagues, Members, and external partners and supporters.
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength.
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.