Director of Research, Data & Insights in Manchester

Director of Research, Data & Insights
Application Deadline
2 November 2026
Department
Data & Insight
Employment Type
Permanent - Full Time
Location
Manchester
Reporting To
Executive Director, Strategy and Impact
Compensation
GBP 76,000 / year
Description
At Ambition Institute, we believe a great educator changes the future every day - especially for those who have had a tough start in life. Our mission is to help professionals serving disadvantaged communities keep getting better, so every child can thrive. The Research, Data & Insights team sits at the heart of this work, uncovering what makes a real difference and guiding our decisions with robust evidence.
We are seeking a Director of Research, Data & Insights who shares our belief in the power of education. This is a unique opportunity to lead Ambition's research strategy and build our reputation as a trusted voice across education settings - including early years, schools and colleges.
You will set Ambition's research agenda, provide intellectual and methodological leadership, and develop partnerships to secure external funding. You will oversee our Data & Insights function, making sure we have high-quality data and evaluation to understand our reach and impact. You will champion the use of evidence across Ambition, helping colleagues use data to make decisions that benefit pupils.
As a senior leader, you will inspire a multidisciplinary team and play an active part in shaping Ambition's wider strategy. We are looking for someone with deep expertise in research design and methodology, experience of leading high-quality research and securing funding, and a passion for improving education for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
This is a unique opportunity to lead Ambition's research & insights strategy and build our reputation as a trusted voice across education settings. Together, we're shaping the future of education to give every child the best start in life.
Please note - this role is full-time, 37.5 hours per week. Part-time options available.
Who are Ambition Institute?
A great teacher changes the future every day. Especially for children who have had a tough start in life, a teacher can be the critical factor in their success.
At Ambition Institute we help schools tackling educational disadvantage to keep getting better and help their teachers and school leaders to become more expert over time.
That's how we'll make sure every child gets a great education and the best possible start in life.
We train teachers and leaders at all levels to get better at the things that make the biggest difference: what you teach, how you teach it, and how you create the conditions for schools to thrive.
We share what works. Everyone can benefit from evidence of how great teaching and leadership can improve schools and change lives, so we connect people to the latest research and best practice.
We champion every teacher and school leader's potential to develop, as the driving force for sustainable school improvement.
We would like you to:
As Director of Research, Data & Insights
You will be Ambition's senior research leader, responsible for setting our research agenda, strengthening the quality and distinctiveness of our research, and building Ambition's reputation as an authoritative voice in education research.
You will develop strategic research partnerships, secure external funding and ensure our research reaches and influences practitioners, policymakers, funders and the wider research community.
You will also be an active contributor to Ambition's external voice, communicating our evidence, ideas and impact through speaking, writing, commentary and relationship-building, in partnership with communications and public affairs colleagues.
You will also oversee Ambition's Data & Insights function, ensuring we have high quality data, evaluation and insight to understand our reach, quality and impact and to support effective organisational decision-making.
You will contribute to the development of our data capability and provide senior sponsorship of significant data projects that improve our infrastructure, systems and use of data.
Working in a hybrid way, you'll be attached to either our Birmingham, London or Manchester office and will report to Executive Director, Strategy & Impact. In line with our current ways of working, you'll be expected to be in the office at least 2 days a month, in addition to team days and this may be reviewed by Ambition.
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
To succeed in this role you'll have proven experience in
Significant experience of leading a varied portfolio of high quality research, with the intellectual credibility and methodological breadth to guide research across different topics, methods and types of project.
An established external profile, communication skills and appetite to develop an authoritative voice on teacher development, school leadership and wider education workforce issues.
Deep expertise in research design and methodology, supported by a PhD in a relevant field or an equivalent record of high quality research and publication.
A strong track record of building successful research partnerships, contributing to wider collaborative research and securing external funding.
Significant experience of providing strategic leadership to data, insights and/or evaluation, including using data and evidence to strengthen organisational decision-making and impact.
Experience of leading and developing multidisciplinary teams, managing significant resources and contributing to organisation-wide strategy and change.
Strong knowledge of the English education system and educational disadvantage, with excellent judgement and communication skills and the ability to influence senior internal and external stakeholders.
What's in it for you....?
Competitive annual salary
Professional development for all staff
25 days' annual leave, plus