Insight and Learning Coordinator

Arts, Culture & Leisure Service - Sport and Physical Activity Team

Lead Insight, Learning and Evaluation Across Wakefield

Wakefield Council is seeking an experienced and motivated Insight and Learning Coordinator to lead the insight, learning and evaluation function for Move More Wakefield, our whole-system approach to increasing physical activity and reducing health inequalities across the district.

Are you passionate about using insight, evidence and lived experience to drive meaningful change?

Do you enjoy working with communities, partners and professionals to understand what works, what doesn't and why?

Do you have experience of evaluation, learning, community engagement and systems change within physical activity, public health or a related field?

If so, we would love to hear from you.

This is a key role within a high-profile programme, supporting delivery across Featherstone & Streethouse, Eastmoor & College Grove, and Knottingley & Ferrybridge, where partners are working with residents and communities to tackle inequalities and create the conditions for people to move more.

You will play a critical role in strengthening Wakefield's ability to understand community need, measure progress and apply learning, ensuring that decisions, investment and delivery are informed by evidence, lived experience and continuous improvement.

The role will support the use of innovative learning and evaluation approaches, including Realist Evaluation, Ripple Effect Mapping, Configurational Comparative Analysis (CCA) and the System Maturity Matrix, helping partners understand not only what is changing, but why change is happening and what conditions are needed to sustain it.

Working closely with Sport England's National Evaluation and Learning Partnership (NELP), you will ensure local learning contributes to and benefits from national evaluation, learning and evidence development. You will play a leading role in capturing, synthesising and communicating learning from the Move More Wakefield programme through high-quality process learning reports, case studies, evaluations and knowledge-sharing activities.

About the Role

Working within the Sport and Physical Activity Team, you will lead the development and delivery of the Move More Wakefield insight, learning and evaluation function, supporting both community-level delivery and wider system change.

You will play a central role in ensuring that insight, learning and evidence are embedded across place-based work, influencing how programmes are designed, delivered, adapted and sustained over time.

You will:

• Lead the design and delivery of insight, learning and evaluation approaches across the Move More Wakefield Place Expansion Programme.
• Gather, analyse and interpret qualitative and quantitative insight using a range of methods, including community engagement, surveys, focus groups, interviews and data analysis.
• Work closely with residents, community researchers, voluntary and community organisations and system partners to ensure lived experience shapes decision-making.
• Support partners to build confidence and capability in gathering, using and applying insight through training, upskilling and accessible tools and resources.
• Make insight and data meaningful and accessible through reports, presentations, infographics, dashboards and learning events.
• Lead the development and application of learning and evaluation frameworks, including Realist Evaluation approaches, to understand what works, for whom, in what circumstances and why.
• Design and facilitate Ripple Effect Mapping exercises to capture wider impacts, unintended outcomes and emerging system change.
• Support the implementation and ongoing development of the Move More Wakefield System Maturity Matrix, helping partners understand progress towards sustainable systems change.
• Apply Configurational Comparative Analysis (CCA) and other systems-based evaluation methods to identify patterns, combinations of conditions and factors that contribute to successful outcomes across different places and communities.
• Influence the effective use of resources by applying evidence to prioritisation, service improvement, adaptation and future investment.
• Coordinate commissioned evaluation, research and specialist support, ensuring quality, alignment and impact.
• Lead and facilitate learning conversations, reflective practice sessions, communities of practice and system-wide learning events.
• Develop and produce high-quality process learning reports, evaluation reports, case studies, evidence products and learning summaries that communicate progress, challenges, adaptations and emerging learning, informing strategic decision-making, commissioning, programme design and future investment.
• Support the translation of complex insight, evaluation findings and systems learning into practical recommendations for partners, communities, funders and decision-makers.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with Sport England's National Evaluation and Learning Partnership (NELP), academic partners, evaluation specialists and other Place Expansion partnerships, ensuring local learning contributes to and benefits from national learning activity.
• Contribute to regional and national learning activity, ensuring Move More Wakefield both informs and benefits from emerging evidence and best practice.
• Coordinate the collection and synthesis of learning across multiple workstreams, partners and places to support local improvement and wider sector learning.
• Support the monitoring and reporting requirements associated with Sport England investment and wider programme outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with partners to build a culture of learning, curiosity and continuous improvement across the Move More Wakefield partnership.
• Influence how organisations, communities and residents use evidence and insight to create lasting change and improve physical activity opportunities across Wakefield District.

Funding and Contract Information

This post is funded through Sport England's Place Expansion investment, alongside matched partner contributions, and forms a key part of Move More Wakefield's long-term ambition to create a more active, healthier and fairer district.

Please note: this post is funded until 31 March 2029 through Sport England's Place Expansion investment and matched partner contributions.

The role will play a vital role in supporting programme learning, evaluation and continuous improvement, ensuring insight and evidence are used to shape future delivery, investment decisions and the long-term sustainability of Move More Wakefield.

About You

You will be:

• Passionate about physical activity, movement and tackling health inequalities.
• Experienced in insight, learning, evaluation, research or performance management within a community, public health, local government or place-based setting.
• Confident working with complexity and translating evidence into practical action and decision-making.
• Experienced in designing and applying evaluation, learning and insight approaches within complex programmes, partnerships or systems.
• Able to analyse, interpret and communicate qualitative and quantitative information effectively.
• Able to synthesise and communicate evidence from multiple sources to a range of audiences.
• Experienced in producing high-quality evaluation reports, learning reports, case studies or evidence products for a range of audiences.
• Strong report-writing skills, with the ability to produce clear, concise and influential learning, evaluation and evidence reports.
• Skilled in distilling complex information into clear, accessible and actionable learning.
• Able to build effective relationships with academic, evaluation, funding and strategic partners.
• Skilled at building relationships and working collaboratively across partnerships and communities.
• Comfortable facilitating conversations, leading networks and engaging diverse audiences.
• An effective communicator, able to translate complex information into clear, engaging and influential messages.
• Organised, analytical and able to manage multiple priorities and projects.
• Comfortable working within complex, evolving and place-based environments where learning and adaptation are central to success.

Experience of systems thinking, co-production, community development, participatory research, behaviour change and place-based working would be particularly valuable.

Knowledge or experience of Realist Evaluation, Ripple Effect Mapping, Configurational Comparative Analysis (CCA), Theory of Change, contribution analysis, developmental evaluation, process learning and systems-based learning approaches would be highly desirable.

Experience of working with, or a strong understanding of, Sport England's National Evaluation and Learning Partnership (NELP) and the evaluation of complex system-change programmes would be an advantage.

Recruitment Process

Closing Date

Monday 7 December 2026 at 12:00 noon

Assessment Centre

Date: Wednesday 13 January 2027

Venue:
CRT Knottingley Hub
Hill Top
Pontefract Road
Knottingley
WF11 8ER

Candidates who successfully progress through shortlisting will be invited to attend the assessment centre. This will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for success in the role through a range of practical exercises reflecting the challenges of insight, learning and place-based working.

Interview(s)

Candidates who successfully progress from the assessment centre will be invited to attend a formal interview panel.

Dates: Thursday 21 January 2027 and/or Friday 22 January 2027

Venue:
Wakefield One
Burton Street
Wakefield
WF1 2EB

Interested?

This is an exciting opportunity to shape how learning, evidence and lived experience influence decision-making across Wakefield, helping partners better understand what works, why it works and how lasting change happens.

You will play a key role in ensuring that Move More Wakefield continues to learn, adapt and improve, helping more people across Wakefield District to move more, live well and enjoy active, healthy lives.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact:

Alastair Wood
Sport and Physical Activity Development Manager
07917 559286
alastairwood@wakefield.gov.uk

We look forward to hearing from you.

What can I expect?

• A competitive salary
• Generous holiday entitlement with the option to buy up to 10 extra days of annual leave
• Hybrid working (subject to role suitability)
• Access to high-quality training programs to advance your career to the next level.
• We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our staff. We recognise that resilient teams need good work life balance as well as supportive leadership.
• Discounted and subsidised public transport (Arriva Bus Annual Travel Ticket, Northern Trains Limited (NTL), MetroCard).
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and a Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) scheme providing a tax efficient way to increase our pension.
• Great range of benefits including an Employee Assistant Programme, discounted membership to our excellent leisure facilities with free 12 weeks exercise program, discounts for a range of retail, entertainment, health and leisure providers, a cycle to work scheme, and many more

Safeguarding

Wakefield Council is wholly committed to ensuring children and vulnerable adults are fully supported and safe. We are dedicated to the safeguarding of all children and vulnerable adults whilst promoting their welfare. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this responsibility.

DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service)

The successful applicant will be required to complete a Disclosure Application Form and to provide criminal conviction information.

Probation

In accordance with the Council Probation Procedure, this post is subject to a 6-month Probationary Period.

Fluency Duty

To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 (Fluency Duty), public facing roles will be subject to the Fluency Duty.

Diversity

Having a diverse workforce that is reflective of the communities we serve helps us to achieve the best outcomes for all. We encourage applications from everyone and actively seek to ensure that everyone feels included in the workplace so that we can make the most of our differences.

Why Wakefield

To find out more about the benefits of working at Wakefield Council, click here.