Associate Dean, Learning Design (Parental Leave Cover)

The Institute for Teaching is a specialist graduate school for teachers. Our courses have a single purpose - to help teachers to keep getting better.

We believe that having an expert teacher in every classroom is the best way to make sure that every pupil, regardless of their background, gets a great education. But teaching is complex and becoming an expert isn’t easy. To improve teaching we must improve the training teachers receive because most of what’s out there isn’t helping them to get better.

That’s why we're doing things differently – re-thinking teacher education and providing a progression pathway to expertise that is taught by a faculty of expert teacher educators. Teachers deserve as much effort to go into their training as they put into their teaching.

We are looking for an exceptional individual to join our team to help us bring this vision to life. As an IfT Associate Dean, Learning Design you will join a team of expert learning designers and be responsible for continually developing our understanding of how teachers learn. Working closely within our faculty team, our school partners, and our academic advisory board, we will leverage the best available evidence to design Teacher Education and Instructional Leadership programmes that secure significant improvements in teachers’ practice and their pupils outcomes. 

To excel in this role, the post-holder will need to have a track record of excellent teaching, particularly for children from less advantaged backgrounds. You'll have experience of leading the design of world class teacher education or instructional leadership programmes, and be able to develop others to design high quality learning experiences for teachers. You'll be passionate about evidence-informed practice, open to and hungry for professional improvement, and obsessed with the detail of pedagogy and practice.
 

Job Description

Job title: Associate Dean, Learning Design

Reports to:  Senior Associate Dean, Learning Design

Start date: August 2018

Contract term:  Fixed term, 18 months

Location: Flexible, with frequent travel to London

Salary:  £54,000 - £59,000 plus £3,000 London weighting if applicable and 11% pension contribution

What is the role?

This is an opportunity to join a high performing leadership team committed to ensuring that all children get an excellent education. As a leader within the Faculty, the post holder will:

• Lead the design of world-class training programmes for teachers and teacher educators in schools in challenging circumstances;
• Craft the big picture and fine detail of a teacher learning continuum from novice to expert, for new and experienced teachers and teacher educators;
• Develop the organisation’s understanding of what pupils need from their teachers in order to secure outcomes that will transform their life chances.
• Stay abreast of latest research, and support with publications geared towards sharing our learning with the wider community;
• Develop and maintain a global network of expert contributors to our understanding of teacher learning and teacher learning design;
• Develop a team of Design Managers so they have the mental models to be able to create world-class learning experiences for teachers
• Work with the wider faculty to help each other become expert teacher trainers
• Support with delivery of training sessions and programmes where necessary
• Advocate for the programme and institution;
• Other duties as required.

What will the team look like?

You will be working within a Senior Design Team (Peps McCrea, Katy Patten, Harry Fletcher-Wood, Jacynth Bennett and Melissa Thomlinson), and reporting to our Senior Associate Dean, Learning Design.

You will lead a small team of Design Managers who work remotely from several locations in England and travel to London on a weekly basis.

What’s the context?

The IfT is a rapidly growing organisation. This means that:

· You’ll feel an ownership over our vision and mission; 

· The team will start small and grow quickly; 

· There will be few established processes and norms;

· There will be frequent change; 

· There will be a need for constant prioritisation as resources will be limited; 

· There will be an expectation of flexibility - this is not a nine-to-five job and everyone will need to pitch in; and,

· You’ll have an understanding of all aspects of our work in the early stages and as we grow you’ll need to make the shift to increased specialisation. 

What will be required of you?

· Some evening and weekend work as required to support and facilitate the programme.

· Some travel within England (particularly the North West, Yorkshire and West Midlands).

· Significant initial commitment during this early phase.

What are the benefits?

· Pension: 11% pension employer contribution.

· Annual Leave: 25 days per year (in addition to bank holidays).

Please note that the IfT is currently incubated by the multi-academy trust Ark, and your employment contract will therefore be with Ark Schools.