We have at least two roles available in our Education team. We are looking for: at least one Associate Advisor who will help run our behavioural science projects; at least one Research Advisor who will help run our evaluations. We will ask you to specify your primary interest when you apply, but are also open to candidates who are interested in both parts of our work.

The Education team covers the early years, schools, further education, higher education and adult learning. As an Associate Advisor, your work may explore how behavioural insights can:

• Make it easier for parents to support their children’s development;

• Increase school attendance;

• Improve student engagement with career advice and guidance; and

• Encourage more adults to complete online training courses.

In addition to running behavioural science projects, the team also does evaluation work across the education and youth sectors - supporting some of the most exciting organisations and interventions to find out what works, and to improve what they do. As a Research Advisor, you’ll be working on:

• Helping organisations to develop theories of change for their interventions;

• Pilot evaluations that help to develop early-stage ideas;

• Impact evaluations (including randomised controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs) that robustly test the effects of interventions;

• Implementation and process evaluations that try to understand things like how interventions work;

• Scaling evaluations that support proven interventions to grow effectively; and

• Capacity-building projects (e.g. helping organisations to improve the way they monitor and evaluate their work).

When we’re at our best, we’re combining our behavioural science and evaluation methods to create unique and powerful approaches to evidence-based policy and practice.

What does an Associate Advisor do?

We have at least one role at the Associate Advisor level which means you will be involved in things like:

• Conducting qualitative and desk-based research (e.g., interviews, observations, literature reviews) to inform innovative new interventions to improve education policy outcomes; 

• Developing and suggesting practical policy solutions or intervention ideas to address education issues, informed by behavioural science; 

• Managing relationships with schools/colleges; 

• Contributing to project deliverables (e.g., interview guides, logic models, evidence summaries, final reports) with a clear understanding of the overall project objectives. 

What does a Research Advisor do?

We have at least one role at the Research Advisor level which means you will be involved in things like:

• Designing, planning and managing evaluation projects, with support from a senior researcher;

• Designing qualitative and quantitative data collection tools;

• Collecting and analysing qualitative data (e.g. interviews and observations); 

• Collecting and analysing quantitative data (e.g. surveys and administrative data);

• Facilitating workshops (e.g. to develop theories of change);

• Managing relationships with schools/colleges, funders, and other partners; and  

• Preparing project deliverables (e.g., interview guides, logic models, evidence summaries, final reports) with a clear understanding of the overall project objectives. 

The very best candidate may feel comfortable performing the majority of these tasks. However, we don’t expect candidates to be able to do all of these things straight away. Depending on your skills and interests, you may also support behavioural science and education policy projects.

What makes a great Associate Advisor or Research Advisor at BIT?

We are looking for people who understand what we do, share our values and are keen to learn and develop their expertise. Our ideal candidates would also have formal training or experience working in the education sector, and/or be deeply passionate about improving outcomes in education. 

We are looking for candidates with some of the skills listed below, but expect to provide training and development support in some areas, including behavioural science concepts. You do not have to feel like you would immediately be an expert in everything. 

For both roles:

• Clear and convincing communications. You can explain complex topics in simple terms. You can contribute to a workshop or presentation and write clearly and concisely.

• Managing and developing yourself at work. You demonstrate high self-awareness and regularly self-reflect. You are aware of the impact that your actions and words have on those around you. You are resilient and accept responsibility for decisions whether they achieve the desired outcome or not.

• Contributing to projects and engaging with different stakeholders. You can manage your own time to produce high-quality work within a reasonable time frame.

• A basic understanding of ‘causality’ and statistical reasoning. You know that just because sales of sunglasses and ice creams increase at the same time, one does not cause the other. You might know how to run a test to prove this.

For Associate Advisors specifically, we are also looking for:

• Education policy design. You can see both sides of an argument, e.g. on topical issues related to education, and you can think about what makes some policies effective and others impractical.

• Behavioural science. You can explain the implications of theoretical concepts such as defaults, cognitive load and social norms.

For Research Advisors specifically, we are also looking for: 

• Project management. You can develop plans to meet objectives, and you can manage teams and projects with support.

• Mixed-methods evaluation. You can help organisations to develop plausible theories for their interventions. You know how to apply a range of research methods to find out if interventions work, and to help develop and improve them. You have a very good understanding of either qualitative or quantitative methods. You are able to manage research projects that involve both approaches, with support.

Applying for a new job can be challenging, especially when you’re not sure that your skills perfectly match what is listed on the job description. The good news is, nobody ticks every box! BIT values candidates with unique backgrounds and first-hand experience of the areas we are working on, so if you are dedicated to social impact, energised by our work, and looking for a supportive team culture, don’t hesitate to apply now.

How to apply

We use a great platform called Applied to reduce bias in the recruitment process. You will need to answer a few work-based questions which will be anonymously marked by members of our team. Our selection is based on performance in these questions, rather than looking at your CV. 

Candidates with the top scoring answers will be invited to a structured interview where you get to meet some of the team. At the interview stage you will be asked questions that reflect the role and also to complete a work-based task, so you have the chance to demonstrate your skills. It’s at this stage we first see your CV. We always give all applicants feedback, no matter what stage your application reaches.

Start your BIT journey here and apply now!

Key dates

• Role closes: 27th June 2022 at noon GMT

• Interviews and task completion: w/c 4th July

Please note that all dates are subject to change but we’ll do our best not to change them

To find out more about the organisation and the type of people who work in the team visit: https://www.bi.team/work-with-us-3/policy-expertise/education-skills/

Please note:

You will need to have the right to work in the UK in order to be able to undertake this role. We will ask all applicants short-listed for an interview to provide evidence of their right to work during the recruitment process.  If you do not have the right to work for BIT but are the most suitable person for the role we will explore with you whether sponsorship may be an option. However, this may not be possible for all roles.

Some of the personal data you provide to Applied when you apply for a role with The Behavioural Insights Team will be passed on to The Behavioural Insights Team for the purposes of (a) reviewing your application; (b) inviting you for interview; and/or (c) offering you a job and getting you set up as an employee/contractor. For full details on how BIT collects and uses your personal data please visit our global recruitment privacy notice.

If your application is not successful, any personal data provided to us by Applied (including any personal data relating to equal opportunities monitoring as set out above) will be retained by The Behavioural Insights Team for no longer than 6 months after the application deadline has passed (other than in exceptional circumstances where we may need to retain your personal data for longer), at which point your personal data will be securely deleted. We only keep your information for that period in order to allow us to comply with relevant legal obligations.