About us

The National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) has an unswerving commitment to high quality, evidence-informed teacher education, and is on a mission to improve the quality of teacher and leader development across the system.     

NIoT Heads of Faculty are pivotal roles in the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT), connecting our content design, development and research with delivery. They are responsible for the continuous improvement and outstanding quality of our programmes (ITT, ECT, NPQ and NLE) and lead on the national delivery of core programme elements. 

The Head of ITT Faculty is responsible for our Initial Teacher Training programme. The successful candidate will be an expert in teacher training and development, and own the integrity of our ITT programme. They are the “go-to-expert" in the NIoT for all things around ITT, working closely with the Regional Principal with ITT responsibility, the Director of Teacher Development and Associate Colleges to enhance the quality of content design and delivery to ensure NIoT produces the best teachers who will thrive in the long term. 

Associate Colleges design and deliver ITT in their local area. The curriculum for ITT brings together the best of national design, cutting edge research and the best of knowledge from Associate Colleges to ensure local context is acknowledged and engaged with. 

Key Responsibilities 

Key responsibilities for the Head of ITT Faculty fall into four areas: 

Continuous improvement (including design) 

• To listen to and engage with trainees, schools, tutors and NIoT Excellence Fellows who deliver our ITT programme  

• To gather and share feedback on our content and work with content designers, Regional Principals with responsibility for ITT and the Teacher Development Director on the improvement of the programme including curriculum, mentoring, progress and placement. 

• To work with Research and Best Practice to ensure that cutting edge research is embedded into what we design and deliver and how we design and deliver ITT 

• To identify trends in feedback on a national level 

• To drive and monitor the national improvement plan and Ofsted readiness 

National delivery 

• To deliver the national parts of our curriculum with support from our tutors (and Excellence Fellows) 

• To own and plan the ITT programme of study and the ITT curriculum, e.g., curriculum input aligned to core content framework, academic and practice elements for weekly delivery, national subject elements for all subjects, including shortage, flying start curriculum (July of the previous year) and Intensive training and practice foci 

• To support Regional Principals with the recruitment of tutors and Excellence Fellows 

• To develop relevant programme artefacts and handbooks, e.g., for our Associate Colleges, tutors and Excellence Fellows 

Marketing, recruitment and digital 

• To work closely with our Comms and Marketing team to develop external materials describing our ITT programme offer 

• To work with our ITT Recruitment Manager and support recruitment activities across regions when required 

• To work with our Research and Best Practice function to ensure we embed latest research into the learning journey for ITT 

• To work closely with our IT team and relevant programme staff to ensure that our Learning Management System (LMS) is up to date and easy to use for our trainees and partners 

• To work closely with our Comms and Marketing team to support with relevant marketing to placement schools 

Regional support 

• To embed the recruitment practices and ensure and assure parity across the regions. 

• To chair regular meetings of our regional Heads of ITT to discuss programme delivery and identify national trends 

• To support with the finance and compliance aspects of the ITT course across the regions 

• To identify capacity issues across regions and develop solutions of support 

• To help shape and refine NIoT processes around ITT: from recruitment to training delivery to assessment and award stage 

Essential Criteria 

• A commitment to the aims of the National Institute of Teaching 

• Expertise on leading successful recruitment, onboarding, design, delivery and evaluation of successful ITT programmes 

• Analyse the progress of cohorts and sub cohorts to ensure that retention, engagement and progress of trainees towards success in PGCE/QTS 

• Intervene to update curriculum design and delivery to ensure success of cohorts and sub cohorts 

• Outstanding expertise of developing rigorous and effective programmes for mentors and lead mentors including tutors and Excellence Fellows. 

• Expertise and ability to innovate recruitment and onboarding systems to identify and onboard high potential candidates for our programmes. 

• Ensuring compliance of the new ITT Criteria is well known across all four campuses and the simplest and most effective systems are in place to check them. 

• Overall strategy for placement is embedded nationally, to support regional placement. 

• A commitment to the importance of rigorous, evidence-led training that produces exceptionally qualified teachers ready to lead the learning of pupils and thrive in the profession in the long term 

• A deep understanding of how frameworks, research and practice intersect to ensure high quality programmes.  

• Previous experience of leading Initial Teacher Training (e.g. at a SCITT or MAT) 

• Outstanding track record of development and delivery against tight timelines.  

• Ability to model good practice in the classroom with trainee teachers and mentors.  

• Exceptional interpersonal and written communication skills.  

• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.  

• Qualified Teacher Status 

Desirable criteria 

•  Relevant postgraduate degree 

• Previous experience of working in a remote and geographically distributed team 

• Working in matrix style organization where the balance of collaboration and accountability is optimised. 

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates looking to help shape the quality of the NIoT's ITT programme, and who wish to utilise their skills and expertise in a fast-paced, newly set-up organisation. 

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 and will be offered on a permanent contract.  

​​This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and Occupational Health clearance.​