Animate Projects seeks an experienced freelance evaluation consultant to work with us on the evaluation of WORK Records, an ambitious, community focused and engaged project, exploring, and developing resources in response to, three heritage collections across the East Midlands, and a public engagement programme.
Location: Remote working, with travel in the East Midlands
Duration: approximately 25 days over April 2025 – November 2026
Fee: £8,000 and some travel expenses
Brief
Animate Projects is working with five Midlands organisations to deliver WORK Records, an ambitious and innovative 18 month programme exploring historic working lives, through an ‘investigation’ of the holdings of three heritage organisations, production of three documentary animations, and a public engagement programme of events and online activities and resource.
Please follow this link for more background on Animate, WORK Records and our partners.
We want to build evaluation into WORK Records project from the beginning and seek someone who will work closely with us to embed monitoring and evaluation across the whole project, working with us to create an evaluation plan at the start, and continuing to engage with the project, until its conclusion and reporting.
Whilst retaining an independent and objective approach, we see the evaluation as being an important part of, rather than apart from, the project, with its primary focus being on the qualitative experience of, and impact on, the partners, participants, and public. We expect the evaluator would attend ‘Project Community’ meetings of partners and participants and take part in an online discussion at the conclusion of the project.
We anticipate that the evaluation consultant will:
- Create an evaluation plan at the start of the project
- Survey partners, participants, and audiences
- Undertake impact interviews with key external partners and a selection of project participants
- Gather statistical information including attendance at online and in person activities and engagement with social media
- Use surveys and statistics to help us evidence what has been achieved and improve our ongoing project activity
- Summarise the broader context of practice and collaboration
- Draw together draw together and analyse the data collected in a report appropriate for our funders and other stakeholders, that conveys the expectations and experience of partners, participants and audiences, and evidences the impact of the project, providing responses and reflections, including the author’s own perspective.
Qualifications and experience
We are looking for someone who:
- Has a proven track record of arts and heritage project evaluation
- Can demonstrate an understanding of heritage and arts projects that engage the public as participants and audience
- Can provide a clear and considered methodology and approach to the brief
- Has a high level of written and verbal communication skills
- Can demonstrable report writing and presentation skills
- Has knowledge of current good practice in heritage engagement
Timescales
WORK Records runs from Spring 2025 – Autumn 2026. There is an outline schedule below. We expect the consultant to work intermittently across this period, delivering a final report in November 2026.
Fee
The fee is £8,000, plus reasonable travel expenses.
How to apply
Please send us the following:
- Your CV (maximum two pages)
- A cover letter (maximum two pages) with an outline of your proposed approach and methodology, and why you would like to take on this role
- An example of your report writing and/or link to previous work
- Name, job title, and contact email for two referees, to be contacted if we offer you the role
Send these as PDF attachments to: workrecords@animateprojects.org
with “Evaluation” as the subject line of your email, by noon, Friday 11 April 2025
If you would prefer to record a 2-3 minute video or voice memo rather than send a cover letter, please send a link to the video on Google Drive or Vimeo or another platform.
If we wish to invite you for a brief interview on Zoom, we will email you by 23 April.
Deadline: noon, Friday 11 April 2025
Interviews: 8 May 2025
If you have any questions or if you require the job description in an alternative form, please email Gary Thomas at: workrecords@animateprojects.org
We welcome applications from individuals from a group that is under-represented in the arts and creative industries, because we are committed to creating a more inclusive and diverse workforce. This includes, but is not limited to Black, Asian and ethnically diverse candidates, disabled people, those undergoing gender reassignment/ transitioning and individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
We ask all applicants to complete an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. We will send a link to this upon receipt of your application. The form will not be shared with anyone involved in assessing your application.
If you have any access needs, or barriers to access that you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to let us know either before applying or as part of your application.
We will notify all candidates who have not been shortlisted for interview, but we are unable to offer detailed feedback.
The successful candidate will be required to demonstrate that they have the right to work in the United Kingdom.
Animate Projects is an Art Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
WORK Records is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players.
