Reporting to: Head of MEAL. The reporting line may be reviewed as the team structure develops.
Location: Global Lumos role – Based in the UK. Also possible: US-based, or contractable from Lumos offices in Kenya, Moldova or Colombia
Working Pattern: 1 FTE (Full time), Fixed term contract 12 months with extension pending confirmation of funding
Salary: £50,000–£55,000 per annum for UK-based employees. For candidates based in other eligible locations, remuneration will be benchmarked against the relevant local market and aligned with Lumos’ pay framework.
About Lumos
Lumos works around the world, transforming care and protection systems for children so that growing up in a safe and loving family is a reality for every child.
We address the root causes of family separation and support the transition of children out of harmful institutions, so they can thrive within the security of family, supported by community.
For more than 20 years, we’ve worked in partnership with national governments to change the lives of children who are separated or facing separation from their families due to issues like poverty, violence, displacement or limited access to inclusive services. Over that time, we've enabled more than 280,000 children to grow up in families not institutions.
Rooted in the wellbeing of children, our work creates the conditions for children to grow up in the care of a family, strengthening communities and societies for generations to come.
Inclusive education services, foster care training, and family strengthening programmes are just some of the ways we help make a difference.
Now, in these critical times of geopolitical uncertainty and economic instability, we are partnering with more governments, organisations and local front-line professionals to shape the systems and deliver the services needed to enable more children to grow up in a family.
We combine decades of experience and expertise in the economics of care reform, with hands-on capability building, working with partners to create the sustainable, systemic transformation at-risk children need.
Building on our work to date, our ambition is growing. By 2036, we will enable over 500,000 children in care to thrive in families instead of institutions and support at least 10 million more children and their families to flourish together and avoid family breakdown and separation.
And we won't stop until the future of every child is secured within a safe and loving family, thanks to the care systems we transform today.
Job Purpose
Lumos plays a distinct global role in analysing the economic implications of transforming care systems so that children thrive in families. This work is now central to our global strategy through the Lumos Shapes pathway, which applies data, evidence and AI-supported tools to the mathematical and financial modelling of care transformation. Through it, we build the investment case for national care reform, develop economic tools to guide transformation, align global efforts to redirect funding to family-based care, and explore innovative finance to support the shift.
This new role provides economic, statistical and analytical leadership for Lumos Shapes. The role will lead our investment-modelling work, including AI-supported tools that generate real-time investment scenarios. They will turn this into analysis and thought leadership that helps governments, donors and partners understand the costs and financing pathways for reform. Based in the Evidence team, this is a technical leadership role without line management. The role provides specialist expertise and works alongside Lumos' existing research, evaluation and learning functions, supporting the work of the Senior Learning and Research Manager. The post-holder will work through influence and collaboration across Lumos and with external partners.
Key Objectives
Political Economy and Costing Analysis
Lead analysis of the political economy of childcare provision across country contexts, including the financial incentives and institutional structures that sustain institutional care and the drivers of underinvestment in family-based care and prevention.
Design and lead costing analyses of the transition from institutional care to family-based prevention and alternative care at local, regional and national levels, reflecting the full range of investment needs – prevention and family support, alternative care, workforce and system strengthening.
Support country programmes, partnerships and government partners to develop credible, transparent costings of national care reform strategies, tailored to local contexts.
AI-Supported Investment Modelling
Lead the development and continuous improvement of AI-supported tools that produce real-time short-, medium- and long-term investment scenarios to guide the pace, sequencing and financing of care transformation.
Ensure tools and models are rigorously tested, validated and transparent, that outputs are communicated clearly to non-technical audiences, and that ethical, data protection and safeguarding standards are applied.
Keep abreast of developments in AI, economic modelling, innovative finance and data science, and identify opportunities to apply them to Lumos’ work.
Thought Leadership and External Engagement
- Represent Lumos as a thought leader on the economics of care transformation through publications, conferences, technical working groups and engagement with governments, donors and international financial institutions.
- Build relationships with leading academics, economists and research institutions working on the economics of care, social protection and public services.
- Provide technical economic input to donor proposals, particularly costing, value-for-money and investment-case components.
Collaboration and Capacity Building
- Work closely with the Senior Learning and Research Manager, MEAL and Evidence colleagues, the Director of Programme Delivery and the Lead of Programme Quality to integrate economic and costing analysis into Lumos’ evidence agenda, programme design and quality assurance.
- Work with the advocacy team so that economic evidence underpins Lumos’ policy positions on financing care reform, and support senior leadership in shaping Lumos’ strategic positioning in this area.
- Build Lumos’ internal capacity to understand and apply economic analysis through training, mentoring and accessible guidance.
- Undertake international travel and other tasks as reasonably required.
What Success Looks Like
By the end of the initial 12-month contract, the post-holder will have:
- Developed and tested an AI-supported tool to analyse funding flows, and applied it to Kenya and Colombia.
- Scoped costing and investment-modelling analysis that could support national care reform planning in Lumos priority countries. The delivery phase would be planned for future.
- Produced analysis on financing of care transformation and contributed to future funding proposals and project designs.
Person Specification
Essential
- A degree (or higher degree) in economics, finance, health economics, statistics, mathematics or another relevant quantitative field.
- Significant experience in one or more of: mathematical or epidemiological modelling, health economics, or costing analysis and budgeting of public services.
- Significant, demonstrated experience of using AI tools for economic analysis and/or real-time costing or investment modelling.
- Experience developing and applying analytical or modelling tools to inform investment or policy decisions in a public service, international development or health context.
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills, with the ability to translate complex analysis into clear, accessible outputs for non-technical audiences, including senior decision-makers, donors and governments.
- Experience producing analysis and policy insight, publications or high-quality reports for external audiences.
- Familiarity with current thinking on innovative finance for public services.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively across a multi-disciplinary, multi-country organisation.
Desirable
- Experience engaging with governments, donors or international financial institutions on economic or financing matters.
- Specialist knowledge of innovative financing for national or regional systems of child or social protection, education, health or equivalent.
- Knowledge of the economics of social protection, public service provision, or childcare and child protection systems (specialist experience in childcare reform is not required).
- Experience commissioning or managing consultants (without formal line management responsibility).
Personal Qualities (Essential)
- Intellectually curious and rigorous, with a passion for applying economic analysis to real-world social challenges.
- Innovative and comfortable working at the frontier of AI and economic analysis, balancing technical rigour with practical usability.
- Collaborative, able to build strong working relationships across teams, geographies and external partners.
- Self-motivated and able to lead technically and work through influence, without formal line management responsibility.
- A genuine commitment to Lumos’ mission and values, and to the rights and wellbeing of children.
Additional Information
Alongside the opportunity to contribute to a truly life-changing mission, you’ll enjoy excellent benefits, a supportive and inclusive culture, and a genuine commitment to your personal and professional development. Some of the benefits we offer in the UK include:
- Direct impact on operational systems supporting our global mission, with exposure to senior decision-making during a transformative period
- Hybrid and flexible working
- 30 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays
- Enhanced family-friendly leave (maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental) and enhanced sick pay
- Competitive employer pension scheme
- Learning and development opportunities
- Access to our Employee Assistance Programme for confidential wellbeing support and advice
- Benefits for employees based outside the UK will vary according to location, local statutory requirements and the applicable Lumos benefits package.
Safeguarding Statement
Lumos recognises that the rights of safety and security are aligned with its core mission for children, families and communities. Effective and robust safeguarding sit at the heart of our mission and values, and accordingly, Lumos is committed to ensuring the safety and protection of children and adults at risk in all of its work. We expect all staff, associates and volunteers to share this commitment. Lumos has a zero-tolerance approach towards all forms of abuse, bullying, harassment and sexual exploitation. Lumos is a member of The Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and will carefully screen all applicants. Offers of employment are subject to checks and suitable references.
All staff and associates must:
- Carry out all duties with an awareness and understanding of Lumos safeguarding and PSEA requirements
- Ensure work complies with all safeguarding and PSEA policies and procedures
- Ensure that their behaviours and actions support the safeguarding of children, young people and adults at risk as appropriate.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
Lumos is wholly committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and against all forms of discrimination.
We are committed to creating and sustaining a positive working environment that encourages, supports and gives a voice to all, so that we can best support the children we serve.
We must ensure that all staff are equally valued, included, empowered and respected across the organisation and in everything we do. Lumos is fundamentally built on diverse, multi-national and multi-cultural teams.
This is something we cherish as a key strength and an integral part of our identity. Our organisation values and celebrates the diversity, culture and experience of each member of staff, provides equality of care, and support to everyone.
We pledge to listen carefully, to educate ourselves continually, to promote open dialogue, and to seek out and deal with discrimination and prejudice wherever it occurs in Lumos.
Our Values
Focus: We stay focused on what matters most, using our expertise to drive meaningful change for children through rigorous and purposeful action.
Integrity: We earn trust by acting consistently, honestly, and accountably in everything we do.
Ambition: We lead with bold, shared ambition to create lasting, system-wide change for every child.
Openness: We embrace diverse perspectives, continually learn, and adapt to meet the needs of a changing world.
Collaboration: We believe lasting transformation happens when we work in partnership with others to create change together.
Within recruitment and selection, these values are brought to life through fair, transparent, and safeguarding-led process, ensuring all candidates are assessed consistently, treated with respect, and given an equal opportunity to demonstrate their skills, experience and potential.
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