Mixed Methods Operations Lead
Slough, Berkshire
Are you a lead project and/or delivery manager with a background in operationalising mixed methods research, education research, evaluation, or assessment? If so, fancy joining an international organisation whose mission is to help children and young people get the best education possible and make a positive, lasting impact with a leading charity?
As the Mixed Methods Operations Lead within NFER, you’ll help to maintain, grow, manage, and continually develop NFER’s mixed methods research, including ILSAs and international operations projects, by ensuring the research we undertake will work practically in the field. You will be supporting researchers in designing studies that involve data collection from pupils, schools and other educational settings in the UK and internationally – this could be working out recruitment and retention strategies for participants, ensuring online and paper-based instruments are developed on time and responded to, or working out how to collect and collate electronic data from participants to name but a few.
Our projects are related to education, helping our clients answer critical questions – you could be involved in government-funded international comparison studies looking at reading standards within primary or preparing pupils for the workplace to privately funded research looking at the impact of Covid19 on education.
This is not a researcher role; you will not be designing the methodology, the instruments, or doing the analysis, but facilitating how best to make the methodology work in the field, communicating with schools and getting the data.
Requirements
- Structured and analytic thinker able to understand the complexity of our business, with the ability to develop new projects and processes from scratch and put these into place
- Experience in international research (preferably in education)
- Experience in International Large Scale Assessments (e.g. PISA, PIRLS, TiMSS)
- Experience in education and operational-related business
- Strong influencing and stakeholder engagement skills
- Strong partnership management skills
- Strategic thinking ability combined with creativity and innovative flair
- Comfortable with strategic and financial analysis and proficient in working with complex spreadsheets, quantitative/business modelling and strategic frameworks
- The ability to lead and motivate people maximising performance
- Excellent project management expertise, including a formal qualification in project management, Prince 2 Practitioner or equivalent and the ability to use Agile techniques
- High proficiency with Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, MS Project and SharePoint. SPSS expertise is desirable
- Proven line and team management capability, including experience in managing matrix-style teams
- Strong commercial and financial acumen
Why NFER?
NFER is a leading independent provider of insights and evidence into education. For over 75 years, we have been making a positive impact on education. Joining us not only will your work make an impact, but you’ll also get to work alongside some of the UK’s leading educational and assessment professionals.
- Attractive salary
- Generous pension scheme and 5x life assurance
- 42 days of holiday per year, including Bank Holidays & additional discretionary days (pro rata)
- Flexible working with a work/life balance plus a lot of well-being and social activities
You’ll be based at our Slough office with a requirement to attend the office when the needs of your role can’t be met at home. In the main, you can choose to work at home, from the office or a mix of the two to enable you to work as effectively as you can.
If you’re looking for a place where you can put your heart, soul and skills into making a difference, we want to hear from you. Apply via the button shown.
The closing date for applications will be midnight on 24th October 2022
NFER is a not-for-profit organisation and an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.