The Colman Education Foundation is seeking an amazing person to join the Our Place team, as the Lead - Evaluation Strategy at the central office in Mulgrave.

At Our Place, we believe that supporting local schools to be the hub of a whole community is one of the best ways to enable long lasting change in communities experiencing disadvantage.

We enable this by working in partnership with local services, government and the local community to increase collaboration and to support all children and their families to succeed in life.

About the role

The evaluation team at Our Place is pivotal to the organisation’s strategic priorities, providing the evidence base of the Our Place approach. We’re seeking a Lead - Evaluation Strategy to guide our evaluation efforts capturing our progress and impact. This role is crucial in shaping high-quality evaluation outputs that support practice development and inform policy decisions for government and philanthropic partners.

Key responsibilities include leading the strategic planning and implementation of the evaluation approach, managing evaluation processes, and engaging with stakeholders such as evaluation consultants and government bodies. You will collaborate across teams, synthesise findings, and ensure alignment with Our Place’s broader strategic priorities. The role also includes providing strategic advice, building capacity, and engaging with contemporary evaluation practices.

The Lead - Evaluation Strategy role is dynamic, both inward and outward-facing. It requires a focus on long-term priorities, combined with a learning mindset to continuously adapt and improve evaluation processes. We are looking for a leader who can translate vision into clear actions, empowering the team and ensuring purposeful collaboration.

If you had been in this role for the past two weeks, you would have:

• Facilitated a meeting with the evaluation team to develop the 2025 workplan, aligned with strategic priorities and the evaluation plan.
• Worked with the Director – Evaluation to provide strategic advice, develop key messages, and prepare a PowerPoint presentation for internal leadership communication.
• Met with evaluation consultants to discuss project tasks, timelines, and roles for the next evaluation report.
• Visited an Our Place site team to develop an evidence collection plan for the term.
• Synthesised analysis and findings from multiple evidence sources (surveys, quantitative data, and practitioner reflections) to present back to site teams and project partners for a pilot project.

How to Apply

At the Colman Education Foundation, we are building a team that is as diverse as the communities we work within. Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our culture, and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply to join our team.

To find out more about Our Place visit ourplace.org.au.

So, if you are passionate about improving life outcomes for children and their families, will bring experience working with communities and are excited about joining a unique and innovative organisation then we'd love to hear from you.

To apply, please submit your CV and a one-page cover letter and upload them as a single document in Ethical Jobs in the CV File section. 

We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis so, if you are interested in this role, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

You can also send questions about the position to: Robert Kennedy (Director – Evaluation) [email protected] or phone: 0419 370 398, using the subject line: Lead - Evaluation Strategy enquiry via EthicalJobs.

A position description is attached.