Research & Evaluation Coordinator

About Children's Ground

Children’s Ground is a First Nations organisation. The Children’s Ground Approach is designed and delivered through the leadership of First Nations people. We are committed to systems change to ensure dignity, justice and equity for all children and families. Our work focuses on national reform as well as evidencing a new way of working.

The Children’s Ground Approach is a whole of community, whole of life approach. We privilege First Nations knowledge systems and practice. Over the course of a generation, led by local expertise, we create and deliver an integrated system that is centred on learning, development and wellbeing that responds to the child and their family through the key transition points from pre-birth to young adulthood.

Our approach recognises the cultural, social, and economic strength of our communities. We build on this over a generation to ensure a future for our children and grandchildren that gives them freedom, opportunity and rights to their culture and identity.

Children’s Ground operates in Central Australia and across the Top End, with support provided by a Melbourne-based Shared Services team.

About You

We are seeking someone with relevant degree/qualification in evaluation &/or research. Skills in data system management and experience applying data quality and integrity processes for continuous quality improvement. Experience in undertaking evaluation or research with First Nations communities is valuable and the ability to work as part of a collaborative team, operating in Alice Springs, Darwin and Melbourne.

About The Role

The Research & Evaluation (R&E) Coordinator will work with the Department Heads to oversight the Evaluation, Monitoring and Research functions of Central Australia. The coordinator will oversee day to day delivery and work in partnership with First Nations leadership groups, Operational Coordinators, staff and communities of Ampe-kenhe Ahehle (Children’s Ground Central Australia).

The coordinator will oversee quality and delivery of daily monitoring and evaluation, in line with Children’s Ground’s longitudinal evaluation frameworks. The focus of our monitoring and evaluation is to evidence the impact of the Children’s Ground Approach and system. Key to this is the data collected as part of our longitudinal evaluation of impact.

The role will coordinate Children’s Ground’s data collection, local processes, quality assurance and control, with oversight and support from the Head of R&E. This includes working across operational teams on data capture, quality, training, reporting and feedback loops. A key part of the role is coordinating and working with First Nations staff and families on the Ampe-kenhe Ahehle triennial evaluation reports and internal annual evaluation reporting and impact reporting.

As the team grows, the R&E Coordinator will manage a small local research and evaluation team to engage with leaders and families in communities to support work with communities to develop community research priorities and projects (when funding and resources are available).

Children’s Ground’s research and evaluation focus on evidencing the impact of the Children’s Ground Approach. Children’s Ground works to ensure communities are designing and leading monitoring, evaluation and research projects and priorities that are important for their own children, families and community, as well as policy priorities.

This role will work closely with staff and families continuing to embed a culture of monitoring and evaluation with all staff and families in the Central Australian region leading Children’s Ground with their communities, as well as staff in achieving high-quality data collection and providing regular data reports and support to use data

Key Responsibilities

Team leadership, supervision and support

• Manage and coordinate day-to-day activity of R&E staff and support them in achieving their priorities
• Ensure all team members have a clear workplan that is reviewed and updated at least quarterly
• Engage in mentoring and learning with First Nations Research staff
• Undertake Children’s Ground’s Quality, Planning, Review & Support (QPRS) process with staff
• Ensure R&E staff are up to date with all organisational compliance and training requirements
• Undertake operational planning with Heads of R&E, R&E staff (and R&E Director)
• Support and contribute to monitoring and evaluation training across the R&E team.

Evaluation reports and data reporting

• Work with First Nations leaders to design and lead the implementation of the Central Australian regional triennial evaluation, in line with Children’s Ground’s longitudinal evaluation frameworks (western and cultural), ethics and standards.
• Work with communities leading the Children’s Ground