Programme Manager

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is an independent charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement. We do this by supporting schools, colleges, and nurseries to improve teaching and learning through better use of evidence. We generate research evidence on effective practice in supporting learning outcomes and narrowing the socioeconomic attainment gap, and we work with education professionals to ensure this evidence is applied to achieve the maximum possible benefit for children and young people.

The EEF's reach and impact have been tremendous: the English education system is now one of the most evidence-informed in the world. Over half of state primary and secondary schools have taken part in an EEF-funded trial, and 70% of all school leaders use the Teaching and Learning Toolkit to inform their decision-making.

We are now looking for two Programme Managers to join us on a full-time basis, working 40 hours per week, with one permanent role available following an internal promotion and one 12-month fixed-term maternity cover position.

The Benefits

• Salary of £46,000 per annum
• Flexible working opportunities
• 27 days holiday a year (plus 8 bank holidays, including 3 which can be taken flexibly)
• 2 festive season closure days
• 6% employer pension contributions, minimum 3% employee contribution
• Life insurance cover
• Interest-free season ticket loan and cycle scheme
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave pay (conditions apply)
• Confidential Employee Assistance Programme to help you deal with any personal and professional problems

This is a unique opportunity for two research-literate education professionals with strong knowledge of the English education system across early years, schools or post-16 settings to join our mission-driven organisation. You will have the chance to drive educational improvements and make a real difference in narrowing the socioeconomic attainment gap in a position where you can progress and develop your career.

As a Programme Manager, you will lead research-informed programmes that generate and share evidence to improve outcomes for children and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Specifically, you will oversee one or more research themes, reviewing the evidence landscape, engaging with education professionals and producing clear, practical research summaries to support effective teaching and learning.

Working collaboratively with colleagues and external partners, you will help design and deliver high-quality evaluations, ensuring research is accessible, relevant and closely aligned with our mission and strategic priorities. Additionally, you will:

• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of grant-funded projects
• Assess applications for grant funding
• Support the communication of funding priorities and research findings
• Commission evidence and practice reviews to inform programme work
• Lead the production of practitioner-facing research summaries

About You

To be considered as a Programme Manager, you will need:

• Knowledge of the education system in England for early years, school or post-16 stage
• The ability to analyse a project's prospects of success and anticipate problems it might face
• The ability to analyse and interpret education research
• The ability to contribute to the design of robust evaluations
• Strong relationship management skills
• Strong communication skills, with experience in conveying complex information to non-specialist audiences
• IT proficiency, including in Microsoft Office and Salesforce
• A commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion
• A willingness to travel occasionally to project sites

Applications close: Wednesday 8th April 2026 (23:59 GMT or BST)

First stage interviews: Thursday 16th and Friday 17th April 2026

Second stage interviews: Friday 24th April to Tuesday 28th April 2026

All EEF staff are subject to a check by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The level of this check will be Basic.

Webrecruit and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

If you want to contribute to our mission as a Programme Manager, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.