Research and Policy Officer

AITSL is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a culturally diverse organisation. We strongly welcome and encourage interest from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people from culturally diverse backgrounds. We also strongly welcome and encourage people with disabilities to apply for roles with AITSL.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is deeply connected to our ongoing Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) journey. Our RAP guides meaningful actions to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce participation and cultural safety. Through targeted employment programs, cultural learning initiatives, and respectful recognition of traditional kinship and community commitments, we strive to create a workplace where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples feel valued, supported, and empowered.

Our dedicated RAP Working Group collaborates closely with our People & Culture team to embed reconciliation across the organisation. We actively promote awareness through events like NAIDOC Week and National Reconciliation Week, ensuring that reconciliation is not just a policy but a lived experience for all staff at AITSL.

We invite you to join us as we build a workplace where diversity thrives, inclusion is lived, and reconciliation is actively embraced.

About this role

The Research and Policy Officer works within AITSL's Research and Evaluation team and will support the range of research and evaluation activities conducted by AITSL to improve the future of learning in Australia. Working in a collaborative team environment, this role will assist the Research and Evaluation team to drive the evidence base of the organisation, translating evidence of/for policy and practice, and promoting evidence-informed insights and foresights to support transformation in teaching and school leadership in Australia.

What you'll be doing

You will support the organisation by translating evidence for policy and practice and promoting evidence-based best practice to contribute to excellence in teaching and school leadership. The work will vary from day to day, and will involve:

• Working with AITSL teams to support research and data collection, and data analysis and interpretation for tool development, and policy implementation
• Collating and summarising education research and evidence, and interpreting its implications for a range of audiences, including writing and editing evidence summaries
• Applying both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to projects in AITSL, advising and building capacity in and across teams in research and evidence collection, and translating data and evidence to support the development of tools and resources
• Preparing briefings, correspondence, reports, memos, recommendations, publications, presentations for meetings, web content, conferences and seminars based on literature, and data collation and review, as required
• Any other duties as directed by the Principal and consistent within the employee's skills and competence.

What we're looking for

We will give regard to the following key skills, experience and qualifications:

1. Demonstrated effective communication skills, including the ability to develop fit-for-purpose written materials for a range of audiences and to clearly convey complex ideas in a concise and practical way.
2. Proven capacity to support multiple projects, demonstrating resilience under pressure, adapting quickly to changing priorities, and maintaining high standards of organisation and attention to detail.
3. Demonstrated qualitative and quantitative research skills, evaluation experience and/or strategic insights and foresight development. Solutions-focused for approaches to support evidence-based policy and projects.
4. Demonstrated ability to effectively maintain productive working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
5. Broad knowledge of policy settings within schooling/education sector.
6. Relevant tertiary qualifications and/or relevant experience in education research, social sciences research and/or evaluation.

You may have systems thinking experience and ability to use research analysis software such as Delve, Alchemer and RStudio would be desirable.

AITSL is committed to working in a culturally responsive manner, and a desire to understand and behave in alignment with cultural recognition is expected.

About AITSL

AITSL is a Commonwealth company and not-for-profit based in Melbourne. We are funded by the Australian Government. The Australian Government is the sole member of the company, represented by the Minister for Education.

As a national body, AITSL was established to promote excellence in the profession of teaching and school leadership. We work with the education community to improve student learning in 3 main areas of focus:

• Initial teacher education: We provide support, resources and tools to help ensure that every pre-service teacher is classroom ready upon graduation.
• Quality teaching: We help teachers be the best they can be and provide tools and resources to maximise their impact on student learning.
• Leadership: We help school leaders become highly effective by giving them the tools, resources, policies and practices needed to succeed in their important role.

We are governed by a constitution and an independent Board of Directors who bring diverse professional experiences and expertise in educational practice, and research to the work of the company. Visit: for more information about AITSL.

How to apply

For more information, view the full Position Description via the below link:

Applications must be submitted via seek and include a resume and cover addressing the key requirements of the position.

Applications close COB Thursday 18 September 2025

The shortlisting process will commence immediately so send in your application as soon as possible. Please direct any queries to