Education Analyst (Office of Education Research) [NIE], Opportunity At NTU Main Campus, Singapore.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION (NIE)

The National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore, is Singapore’s national teacher education institute and we are proud to be an integral part of the nation’s education service. We play a key role in the preparation of teachers and in the provision of teacher professional and school leadership development programmes. We are committed to our vision of being An Institute of Distinction: Leading the Future of Education and our mission to Inspire Learning, Transform Teaching and Advance Research.

NIE invites suitable candidates to join the Office of Education Research (OER) as Education Analyst. The OER oversees the management of education research across the Institute to enhance the Institute’s strategic aims of learning, teaching and research as well as to enhance its standing as a leading international research institution. This is a contract position up till 30 September 2023 and may be renewed depending on the individual’s performance and the needs of the organization.

The Education Analyst facilitates the flow of NIE education research to policy and practice to deepen the impact of NIE education research. This position analyses, manages and mobilizes information about NIE education research to inform NIE decision-makers and MOE policy makers. The Education Analyst also develops user-friendly and actionable resources (e.g., write-ups) on NIE education research to mobilize research knowledge to practitioners (e.g., teachers) and MOE stakeholders. As such, the Education Analyst is expected to be actively involved in understanding research in knowledge mobilization, research impact, and developing resources on these for building up capacity at the institute.

Responsibilities:

Reporting, Synthesising and Knowledge Mobilising

• Provide info as needed about NIE education research (e.g., identification of studies relevant to an area; running of data analytics using basic statistical tools like SPSS or excel-based tools like pivot tables) to support and report theme- and institution- level insights into NIE research.
• Create teacher-friendly resources and write-ups to bridge the gap between knowledge resources and educators/stakeholders.
• Synthesize relevant information from multiple data and information sources (e.g., databases, researchers, webinars) using effective search and analytical methods.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of plans for knowledge mobilization at the institute and beyond.
• Participate and host ideation sessions and webinars on local educational trends, stakeholder needs, research trends, for information gathering from, and networking purposes with, researchers and non-research stakeholders to increase research dissemination, uptake and impact.
• Proactively liaise with domain experts, administration teams to document and collate information and knowledge about NIE education research (e.g., experiences, case studies, etc.) and with external vendors for the translation and dissemination of research.
• Coordinate with team lead, researchers and faculty members to support the translation of research into NIE programmes.
• Proactively organize, update and back up knowledge assets on shared server.

Ad-hoc Duties

• Synthesise and present tacit and explicit knowledge of knowledge mobilisation activities and processes in formal and informal discussions
• Learn and manage any relevant software/IT tools for information gathering, interpreting and dissemination (e.g., Tableau, Twitter), as required for responsibilities undertaken.
• Manage email communication and follow-ups.
• Assist with any other duties as assigned, e.g., minute taking, event support and urgent requests.

Requirements:

Core Requirements

• A University Degree in Education, Sociology or related field or experience in writing research papers
• At least two years of working experience relevant to the role (e.g., in research settings or in research dissemination)
• Understands the Singapore educational context with a strong interest in advancing education outcomes.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office (in particular, Excel skills up to intermediate level [e.g., VLOOKUP and pivot tables]), project planning tools, statistical analysis tools, or willingness to learn such tools.
• A self-motivated individual and a fast learner with the ability to multi-task and work within tight deadlines.
• Strong critical thinking abilities, problem solving and organizational skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, networking and communication skills; proactive at collaborating with others to achieve shared results.
• Strong attention to details and factual accuracy.
• Ability to read, understand and synthesise complex research ideas and effectively communicate them to diverse lay audiences through digital, print, and other channels.
• Ability to prioritize and take the initiative in times of ambiguity, and effectively manage complexities.
• Integrity and discretion when handling confidential information.

Candidates with the following will have an advantage:

• Master’s degree in Education, Sociology or related field.
• An appreciation of knowledge mobilisation theories and how they can be operationalized.
• Experience with social media outreach, graphic design, web development (e.g., updating of HTML website, UX-design) and video making.
• Experience with journalistic writing.
• Experience with teaching and/or training.

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Writing Task

Only applicants who submit at least one of the following writing tasks will be considered.

Task 1:

With reference to one (1) education research article of your choice, copy and paste the article’s abstract and rewrite the abstract as a “plain language abstract” (sometimes referred to as a “lay abstract”). Please cite the selected paper in APA format.

Task 2:

With reference to one (1) education research article of your choice, describe how you would disseminate the research findings to (up to three) different audiences. Please include justifications for your dissemination method(s).

If you choose to submit both tasks, you may use the same research article. Please include your submission in your application.

Writing Specifications

Length: A maximum of 500 words for each task.

Format: Single spacing, size-12 font.

Headings: Use of headings as needed.