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Research & Evaluation Officer, Children and Young People (Fixed Term)
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Closing Date: 1 September 2026
Interview Date: from w/c 7 September 2026
Welcome to The Reading Agency
Thank you for your interest in joining The Reading Agency and becoming part of our mission to inspire social and personal change through the proven power of reading.
The Reading Agency is a UK charity which works with individuals of all ages, communities and trusted partners to share the transformative benefits of reading for happy, healthy and thriving lives. We know that not everyone has an equal start in life, which is why we champion reading as a powerful tool to create opportunity, connection and positive change.
Through our work, we support people to build social connections, strengthen their reading skills, and improve their health and wellbeing. Each year, our programmes reach over two million people — but with a UK population of more than 67 million, we know there is so much more to do. We want to get more people fired up about reading, because everything changes when you read.
The work we do changes lives, and it would not be possible without the expertise, experience and passion of our people. If you believe you could help us reach more people and extend the impact of our work, we would love to hear from you.
Kind regards
Karen Napier
Chief Executive
Introduction
Welcome to The Reading Agency. We're a UK charity with a mission to inspire social and personal change through the proven power of reading. We work with individuals of all ages, communities and trusted partners to share the transformative benefits of reading for happy, healthy and thriving lives.
In the UK...
- 1 in 6 (8.5 million) adults struggle to read
- 1 in 4 children in England cannot read well by the age of 11
This limits life chances and choices.
Reading for pleasure and empowerment makes us more aware and informed. It helps us grow our imaginations. It makes us more empathetic and understanding of other people and cultures. It supports our health and wellbeing. It increases our ability to learn new skills. It helps us to communicate our ideas more effectively. It opens doors. It brings joy.
We know that not everyone has an equal start in life, so we support people to create social connections and improve their reading skills. We aim to help manage health and wellbeing through reading. Working with public libraries, prisons, hospitals and other community settings, last year our wide range of activities touched the lives of over two million people. But with a UK population of over 67 million that isn't nearly enough. We want to get more people fired up about reading because everything changes when you read.
The Reading Agency is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
@readingagency
Job Description
Job Title
Research & Evaluation Officer, Children and Young People (Fixed Term)
Location
Hybrid working, offering a mix of remote and office working
Our offices are based at 24 Bedford Row, London WC1R 4DH
Contract Type
Fixed Term (12 months)
Hours
Full-time (37 hours per week)
Salary
Up to £30,778 depending on experience
Reporting to
Head of Research & Evaluation
Context
The Reading Agency is a UK charity that inspires social and personal change through the proven power of reading. We work with individuals of all ages, communities and trusted partners to share the transformative benefits of reading for happy, healthy and thriving lives.
At The Reading Agency, we know that not everyone has an equal start in life, so we champion the proven power of reading by providing activities for all ages and backgrounds. We support readers to create social connections and improve their reading skills. We help people manage their health and wellbeing through reading.
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Working with public libraries, prisons, hospitals and other community settings, last year our wide range of activities touched the lives of 2.5 million people. But with a UK population of over 67 million that isn't nearly enough. We want to get more people fired up about reading, because everything changes when you read.
The Reading Agency and Libraries Rising, the national network for leaders in children's public and Schools Library Services, were recently successful in securing funding from Arts Council England to deliver a two-year programme placing young people at the heart of shaping the future library reading experience. The two-year project forms part of the legacy of the National Year of Reading 2026 and will work with young people and library services across nine regions of England to co-create new approaches, resources and digital innovations that build on the strengths of libraries and inspire more young people to read for pleasure. You can find out more about the project, Reading Rewired, here.
The Research & Evaluation Officer, Children and Young People is part of the Research & Evaluation team with a focus on supporting authentic co-creation and young people's engagement. The role supports the Head of Research & Evaluation and Reading Rewired project team, as well as our programme teams supporting children's and young people's reading, in exploring methods of engaging more young people in reading and demonstrating the value, reach and impact of the Charity's work in the delivery of reading-related benefits.
Travel across England will be required as part of this role, with some co-creation sessions expected to take place during the evenings or at weekends, depending on scheduling preferences of the young people involved in the project.
Purpose of the post
Role
The Research & Evaluation Officer, Children and Young People role will deliver co-creation activity with young people aged 10-16, related to the Arts Council England (ACE)-funded new Reading Rewired project, which aims to develop young people's reading engagement in libraries. As part of this activity, the role will:
- Work with The Reading Agency, Libraries Rising, immersive digital creative studio RamJam and nine library authorities across England to develop youth-led approaches to reader development in libraries, to enhance young people's skills, reading engagement and library use, and support library skills and confidence in working with young people.
- Be responsible for championing youth participation across the Reading Rewired project, ensuring young people are central to the design and decision making of the programme.
This role will also support wider functions across our children and young people's work, combining a mix of skills and experience including co-production, research, evaluation and programme development.
What You Will Do
Co-creation
- Design and deliver co-creation activities with young people aged 10-16 for the new Reading Rewired project, ensuring the project listens and responds to young people, particularly those who are often left out of conversations around reading.
- Facilitate co-creation sessions alongside library staff in nine library authorities across England: Camden, Devon, Kent, Kirklees, Knowsley, Norfolk, North Northamptonshire, Sandwell and Stockton, supporting library skills and confidence in working with young people.
- Work alongside immersive creative studio RamJam to deliver co-creation sessions focused on digital engagement tools (for example, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, etc.).
- Analyse data collected through co-creation sessions, producing outputs such as overview reports or presentations of insights to key stakeholders.
- Use insights gained through co-creation to support the development of youth-led approaches to reader development in libraries.
- Remain an advocate for uplifting youth voices within the Reading Rewired project and in relation to the Charity's wider work with children and young people.
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Evaluation support and delivery
- Support with the maintenance of a robust, consistent organisational approach to data collection, programme monitoring and evaluation, ensuring methods and outputs align with Reading Rewired project outcomes and Arts Council England reporting requirements.
- Day-to-day oversight of research and evaluation datasets related to Reading Rewired, including answering queries from and providing support to the project team and our delivery partners.
- Support with the design and delivery of wider organisational research and evaluation and data insight projects, with specific reference to our work with children and young people.
- Support with the delivery of actionable data insights to inform evidence-based decision making around future project development in relation to the Charity's work with children and young people.
- Handle data in line with The Reading Agency's data protection, data storage, data sharing, and data collection policies and protocols.
Research
- Support with consultation and qualitative research in relation to wider organisational research and evaluation and data insight projects, with specific reference to our work with children and young people.
- Remain aware of key research developments, evidence and methodologies relevant to the Charity's delivery of activity supporting children and young people, sharing these with colleagues where appropriate.
- Contribute up-to-date, reliable content for the research and impact sections of The Reading Agency's website, newsletters and other external communications, with specific reference to our work with children and young people.
- Contribute to the delivery of an original research programme, as led by the Head of Research & Evaluation, to inform and guide the work of The Reading Agency and raise our profile in this field.
General Support
- Represent The Reading Agency's Research & Evaluation team at meetings, events and conferences as required.
- Contribute to internal planning and project development.
- Carry out other projects or duties as may be requested by The Reading Agency management where capacity allows.
Who You Will Work With
- Head of Research & Evaluation
- Reading Rewired project team
- Research & Evaluation team
- Programme Managers and their teams
- Marketing & Communications team
- Other colleagues across the organisation, external stakeholders and partners
Qualifications
What you will need to know:
- Relevant education, qualifications and/or working experience in the areas of social or qualitative research (including co-creation or participatory approaches), data analysis,
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