Director of Research, Data & Insights

Benefits

• 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 should apply for this role if: 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'll love working at Ambition if… 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. How to apply… Applications will be accepted for all office locations. All applications must be received by the closing date 11:59pm on 2 November 2026. First stage interviews are expected to take place 9 November 2026. Second stage interview dates are to be confirmed. 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. Ambition Institute is proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. We welcome applications from disabled people and, as part of our commitment, offer an interview to applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role (although where we receive a particularly high number of applications through the scheme, we may not be able to interview everyone who meets the criteria). We are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and encourage you to let us know if there are any adjustments that would help you participate fully. 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, or for any other offence that is relevant to the nature of the services provided by our organisation. For any questions or queries please review our FAQs | Ambition Institute Careers (pinpointhq.com) in the first instance. If we've not addressed your question in this section, please email us at jobs@ambition.org.uk As an employer, we have a responsibility to prevent illegal working in the UK by ensuring that our employees have the right to work in the UK. Therefore, as part of the recruitment process to verify your eligibility you will be required to produce relevant documentation.