About Us 

The National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) aims to be a global leader in improving teacher professional development through rigorous, impactful, and cutting-edge school-led research. Our Research and Best Practice (RBP) team plays a key role in this mission, as we work to feed our research findings into our programs, test approaches to delivery, and respond to the needs and questions of our partner organisations in the wider education sector. 

As a Research Fellow at NIoT, you will have the opportunity to work with a team of dedicated professionals on cutting-edge research that has the potential to shape the future of teacher education and professional development. If you are passionate about education research and are looking for an exciting new opportunity, we encourage you to apply. 

About the Role 

The RBP team is recruiting a Research Fellow to join our team and play a crucial role in the generation of high-quality and useful evidence on effective teacher professional development. You will work alongside the Head of Evaluation to design and implement primary research in collaboration with the Programmes team at the NIoT, leading on quantitative aspects of evaluation research. The role also includes opportunities to conduct quantitative analyses across a range of projects, to liaise with stakeholders in teacher education (e.g., academics, schools, teachers, policymakers), to produce high-quality written outputs for academic audiences and policymakers, and to generate and sustain research-practice dialogues with schools and teachers using generated evidence. In addition to being a specialist in designing and conducting primary quantitative research and impact evaluation, you will be an innovative and practice-minded researcher who strives to make cutting-edge research relevant, engaging, and useful for practitioners in teacher education.  

Key Responsibilities 

• Design and conduct primary evaluation research in educational settings, including RCTs and quasi-experimental designs  

• Lead on statistical aspects of evaluation studies, including conducting power calculations and analysis for trials, observational analyses using multi-level modelling, and meta-analysis and meta-regression  

• Generate and manage quantitative datasets to high standards 

• Conduct quantitative analyses on a range of research projects  

• Work closely with the RBP team and the Programmes team at NIoT, and external collaborators, to design impact evaluation studies and other primary research 

• Prepare high-quality written and/or other dissemination outputs to share findings with a range of audiences 

Essential Criteria 

• Master’s degree in social science, quantitative research methods, or other relevant field 

• Experience designing and conducting quantitative research projects, including impact evaluations 

• Confident using statistical software, including R, and adherence to best-practices in reproducible research 

• Experience delivering on collaborative projects against tight timelines 

• Excellent organisation skills and attention to detail 

• Commitment to the aims of the NIoT 

Desirable criteria 

• A doctoral degree or equivalent 

• Experience working in or with educational settings 

• Experience in mixed-methods research 

• Experience in Bayesian statistics and software, such as Stan 

• Experience of general-purpose coding languages, such as Python  

This is an exciting opportunity for researchers looking to make a tangible and immediate impact on practice, and who wish to utilise their skills and expertise to design and conduct primary research on topics most relevant to teachers and teacher educators, and engage in dialogues with practitioners based on new and cutting-edge evidence. This is an opportunity to grow your skills as an independent and innovative researcher.  

Further Information 

We think a wide range of different work and educational experiences could support you to be successful in this role. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities. 

This post is a full-time position (with opportunities available for a part-time role) and will be offered on an indefinite contract. 

Other things to know

•            All National Institute of Teaching staff are subject to a check by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The level of check which will apply shall be an “Enhanced” level check.

•            We regret that we are currently unable to sponsor visas.

Key benefits available to all National Institute of Teaching staff

• Flexible start and end working times (core hours between 10am and 4pm)

• Flexible working opportunities

• 27 days’ holiday a year (plus 8 bank holidays) 

• Local Government Pension Scheme