Research Assistant

Hybrid - Within commuting distance of Birmingham (B15 2HU), Blackburn (BB1 2HT), Bradford (BD4 6NR), Bristol (BS10 5PY), Doncaster (DN6 7EQ), Beckenham (BR3 1QP) or Redcar (TS10 4AB)

2 years' fixed term contract Full or part-time

An exciting opportunity to contribute to a mission that values teaching as a fundamental societal good.

About us

At the National Institute of Teaching, we believe teaching is a fundamental societal good, a privilege and a responsibility. Our work is rooted in that belief: we exist to improve the quality of teacher and leader development at a system level, so that every child and young person benefits from excellent teaching.

Part of this mission involves producing rigorous, impactful, and cutting-edge school-led research. We have a dedicated in-house research team who work with our programme-delivery teams to develop and test new methodologies, address critical challenges, and meet the evolving needs of our partner schools and organisations in the wider education sector. This is a new and exciting approach to embedding research within practice in education, and we work collaboratively to continually evolve and strengthen our approach to making research useful in teacher education practice. The Evaluation and Observational Research team sits within the overall Research team, and designs and implements primary research projects in collaboration with the Programmes team at the NIoT.

About the role

We are seeking a Research Assistant 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 a team of Research Fellows, Research Assistants and the Head of Evaluation and Observational Research to design and implement academic research alongside the programmes designed and delivered by NIoT.

These roles include opportunities to contribute to research design of new research; collect quantitative and/or qualitative data; conduct quantitative and/or qualitative analyses; contribute to high-quality written outputs for academic audiences and policymakers, and other outputs to raise the impact of our research. In addition to having quantitative or mixed-methods research experience, 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.

The Evaluation and Observational Research team design and conduct research into teacher training and development. These roles will work on one or both of projects into: teacher training and development, such as Initial Teacher Education, the Early Career Framework, and National Professional Qualifications; and system leadership development.

This is a hybrid role, with the requirement for in person working for a minimum of once a fortnight, occasionally this will be more due to business need. The role includes participation in our annual all-staff away day (including an overnight stay) and occasional national travel.

Essential criteria:

Master's degree study in education, psychology, social science, health sciences, economics, or other related field

• Experience contributing to quantitative (e.g., experimental, quasi-experimental, observational) and/or qualitative research design
• Quantitative (e.g., advanced inferential techniques, sampling methods, and power analyses), qualitative (e.g., handling large amounts of textual data, iterative research design, thematic coding), and/or mixed-methods (combining and integrating quantitative and qualitative methods) data management and analysis skills
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills
• Proactive and collaborative approach to problem-solving
• Reflective approach to practice, with a commitment to continuous learning and professional development
• Advanced proficiency in R for data management, statistical analysis, visualisation and reproducible research
• A commitment to the aims of the National Institute of Teaching
• An interest in the education sector and a belief in the value of teachers and school leaders

Desirable criteria:

• Doctoral degree in education, social science, health sciences, or other related field
• Proven interest and/or experience in teacher training and development

Key benefits:

• Highly competitive pay and pay progression opportunities
• Flexible start and end working times
• Flexible working opportunities, including significant scope for hybrid working
• At least 27 days' holiday a year (plus 8 bank holidays) rising to 33 days after five years' service (with an annual discretionary office shutdown between Christmas and New Year)
• Entry to the highly valued Local Government Pension Scheme
• Excellent opportunities to develop your skills and experience and to progress your career
• A stimulating, supportive and rewarding working environment with a dedicated team of likeminded professionals

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.

For more information and to apply, please visit our vacancies page.

Closing date: 5.00pm on 30 September 2026.

Interview date: w/c 5 October 2026.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.

Candidates must already have the right to work in the UK, as we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

This post requires a satisfactory enhanced disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) with a Children's Barred List Check and Occupational Health Check is required as a condition of employment.