ITT Fellow

ITT Fellow Application Deadline: 19 August 2026

Department: ITT

Employment Type: Fixed Term - Full Time

Location: Manchester

Reporting To: Associate Director, ITT Delivery

Compensation: £45,000 / year

Description This is an exciting time to join Ambition Institute as we deliver Year 3 of our Initial Teacher Training (ITT) offer to supplement the work we already do with c. 45,000 teachers and school leaders each academic year. We are looking for a motivated and talented professional to join our team on a fixed-term basis for 11 months and play a key role in the operational success our Initial Teacher Training offer as ITT Fellow.

The 'ITT Fellow' is an important role for the organisation, working as part of the ITT Delivery Team. ITT Fellows are responsible for the high-quality delivery of our ITT programme, working closely with our network of Lead Partners and acting as a key point of contact for external stakeholders working with Ambition. The ITT Fellow is responsible for the onboarding, quality assurance and on-going development of our ITT Lead Partners.

This will be achieved through:

• Establishing and maintaining high quality and trusted relationships with Lead Partners and ITT placements schools, thus supporting the creation of appropriate and supportive learning environments for trainees.
• On-going oversight and management of ITT programme implementation, including facilitation, mentoring and trainee assessment.
• Driving the continuous improvement of our ITT provision and participant experience through oversight and analysis of quality assurance, compliance, and key programme data.

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:

• Develop and maintain expert knowledge of the initial teacher training (ITT) curriculum, building strong relationships with Lead Partners and stakeholders to support high-quality programme delivery and continuous improvement.
• Oversee and coordinate quality assurance processes, including Lead Partner onboarding, ongoing visits, observations, and evaluation of participant and facilitator experiences.
• Support Lead Partners with personalised development, operational optimisation, and compliance with partnership agreements, while advocating for the ITT programme and Ambition Institute externally.
• Collaborate with internal teams and contribute to governance, communications, and strategic workstreams to drive improvements and prepare for key external milestones such as Department for Education and Ofsted reviews.

Working in a hybrid way, you'll be attached to either our Birmingham, London or Manchester office and will report to Associate Director, ITT Delivery. In line with our current ways of working, you'll be expected to be in the office at least 1 day a month, in addition to team days and this may be reviewed by Ambition.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience Essential Our successful candidates will be able to demonstrate their commitment to the mission to improve the education and outcomes of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

They will also be able to demonstrate the following qualifications, skills, and experience:

• Qualified to degree level
• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
• A detailed understanding of the principles of effective training and development.
• A detailed understanding of best practice in teaching and learning
• Experience of developing the performance of teachers, including school mentoring or tutoring
• Significant experience facilitating across various groups of educators
• A track record of coaching teacher educators and/or delivering professional development training with demonstrable outcomes
• Experience of delivering a successful outcome during an Ofsted Inspection
• Experience of partnership working across schools and/or MATs
• Knowledge of current policy and provision for ITT, including a strong understanding of the ITT Core Content Framework
• Experience of leading quality assurance processes
• Excellent communication and influencing skills with the ability to draw stakeholders together for a shared goal

Desirable

• Postgraduate Certificate in Education
• Masters level qualification
• Previous experience managing multiple, competing demands, including good budget management skills
• Strong report writing skills at a senior (preferably board) level
• Experience of leading continuous improvement projects and managing operational risk
• Recent experience working within the education system relevant to ITT provision or delivery

What's in it for you ?

• Competitive annual salary
• Professional development for all staff
• 25 days' annual leave, plus bank holidays and 'winter shut down' at the end of December/beginning of January
• Employer pension contribution of 11%
• Agile, hybrid working culture, so you can manage when and where you work
• Staff affinity networks that help keep equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work
• Blind recruitment process to ensure equality and fairness in our hiring
• Enhanced maternity pay after a year's service
• Shared parental leave package
• Access to free, confidential 24/7 wellbeing and support line
• Comfortable and collaborative workspaces in the city centres of Manchester, Birmingham and London
• Work-from-home technology package to support hybrid working
• Interest free season ticket / bike loans

We don't expect the person we hire to have all of the following, but this should give you a sense of what would enable you to thrive in this role and in our organisation:

• You care deeply about educational disadvantage and being part of an organisation that challenges inequality
• You have a good work ethic and strive to make a difference in the job you do
• You always give maximum effort to understand and meet the needs of our partners and participants
• You always have a great attitude so we "can do" for all our colleagues, partners and participants
• You are open to feedback and learning because we want to keep getting better
• You work with your initiative to bring new ideas and a fresh perspective
• You are well organised and can prioritise work that will have the greatest impact
• You want a career with a person-centred organisation with a cause at its heart.
• You have a collaborative work ethos, bring warmth and good humour to work and constructive outlook to every situation
• You enjoy working in a fast-moving workplace, with a great support structure around you
• You would like to grow with an ambitious organisation as it progresses over time
• Want flexibility in how you work - splitting your time between one of our offices and remote working and managing your own working patterns to get the job done.

Applications will be accepted for all office locations. All applications must be received by the closing date 11:59pm on 19 August 2026. Interviews are expected to take place on 24 and 25 August 2026.

We recognise that AI function tools (such as ChatGPT or other generative AI tools) are here to stay and can be helpful for applications including to assist in researching for application responses and to shorten your first draft. However, we are observing a growing trend in the use of AI, and we would caution applicants against relying too heavily on such tools when drafting responses. The pitfall of such tools is that they produce generic responses that don't showcase individuality, specific experiences or real-life examples. This usually results in applications being unsuccessful. We want to evaluate your response, and we will be looking for answers that use examples and experiences that are clearly specific to you. You are more likely to successfully demonstrate your soft skills like communication and teamwork when preparing answers to application questions yourself and this helps mitigate the unintended consequences of AI-generated responses.

If we suspect you have used AI inappropriately, the panel reviewing your application may adjust how your response is rated. For more details of what we consider to be acceptable use of AI function tools in our application process, please review our FAQs on our careers page.

We are committed to the safeguarding of children and the most vulnerable in our society and, as such, we are unable to employ individuals with relevant convictions, including the following: a conviction for an offence involving violence or dishonesty, of a sexual nature or against minors . click apply for full job details