Head of Evidence and Insight (Social Purpose Lab)

At UAL, we believe in the value of a creativity to make the world a better place. We’re working to embed our social purpose in everything we do and use our position to shape a thriving and sustainable creative ecosystem.

As part of this ongoing commitment, we are excited to announce a new leadership opportunity within the UAL Social Purpose Lab for a Head of Evidence and Insight.

As Head of Evidence and Insight, you will lead a coalition across university functions to develop UAL’s practice in turning information into insight for action in service of our social purpose. To do this, you will combine your skills in using information to drive change, your passion for the value of creativity, and your ability to negotiate action across a wide range of stakeholders.

You will bring together leaders responsible for the collection and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data, and work with them to develop new actionable evidence. You will lead colleagues through a creative process of data storytelling and visualisation, combining quantitative data analysis meaningfully with the explanatory power of qualitative information.

You will seek and develop opportunities for the evidence you produce to play a key role in decision making across the university. The aim is that the creative, evidence-based stories and insights that you will jointly create with colleagues inform decisions at all levels. This will help to ensure that these decisions are in line with our commitment to social and environmental impact – whether it is a student deciding what materials to buy in our shop, or our Executive Board approving our proposed route to Net Zero or our funding of student support.

Additionally, you will develop a cross-university infrastructure to support skill-sharing and knowledge exchange on how we gather and act on evidence. You will find ways to improve data literacy across UAL and work towards strengthening our culture of evaluation, helping colleagues develop rapid feedback loops for continuous improvement. You will need to experiment with new ways to develop a culture of transparency, ensuring data and insights are interpreted and used openly within UAL and with external stakeholders.

This is a cross-functional role that requires collaboration with a range of stakeholders, from senior leadership to faculty, staff, and students, to create a unified approach to social purpose-driven decision-making.

To succeed in this role, you will need to have a deep curiosity about how to understand and articulate the value of creativity in all its forms. Your background will also include a strong understanding of creative practice and/or higher education, particularly how these areas can contribute to social and environmental change.

You will need creative ideas for how to tell stories with data and information, mining it for compelling narratives, and developing striking visualisations. You will need to be able to skilfully facilitate colleagues on a journey of drawing out conclusions from high volumes of both written narrative information and structured data.

You should show a keen interest in how creative approaches might be applied alongside the technical methods used to evaluate and measure social and environmental impact. You will be comfortable engaging with a range of methods, and will be able to clearly articulate their value in evidence gathering.

Additionally, you will have a proven ability to engage and win over a diverse range of stakeholders, from senior leaders to academic staff, without relying on formal authority.

If you’re ready to lead meaningful change and drive impactful decisions through data and insight, we would love to hear from you.

There will be a briefing for applicants interested in the role on Wednesday 2nd April 2025 at 4pm. To register please email Becky Hatch (Senior Resourcing Advisor) at [email protected]