Position Description

The Maths Coaching Pilot (incubated within Axiom Maths)

Salary: £45,000

Contract: Fixed-term, 13-16 months depending on start date. If the pilot succeeds, this may become a permanent role.

Start date: Before 1st September

Location: You can be based anywhere in the UK, but will be expected to travel to London twice a month (every other Monday) for team days.

About the Role

The Maths Coaching Pilot is recruiting a Maths Coach to work with some of the most mathematically talented young people in the UK - children identified for exceptional mathematical promise, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, with little existing access to the mathematical world in which they belong.

This is not a classroom teaching role and it is not exam preparation. It is a coaching role built around mathematical exploration, problem-solving, and intellectual stretch.

The coaching model is intellectually demanding. Pairs of pupils are coached once a week, with no fixed curriculum. The coach's job is to follow wherever mathematical curiosity leads. You will need to hold your own at every turn, improvise problems and lines of inquiry in the moment, and stretch mathematically exceptional children far enough to challenge them. The ability to model an exploratory and research-style approach to mathematical learning is central to the role.

Beyond coaching ten sessions per week, each coach is the single point of contact for their twenty pupils and families, guiding them through educational transitions and ensuring no talented child falls off the pathway for want of navigation. Coaches will also contribute to programme development, designing coaching materials, evaluating and selecting online courses, recommending enrichment materials and activities, and delivering in-person events.

About You

The successful candidate will hold, or be close to completing, a PhD in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science or a closely related mathematical field. Strong candidates are likely to have deep familiarity with competition mathematics at national or international level.

We are looking for someone who:

• Has wide-ranging mathematical knowledge, well beyond undergraduate level, and the confidence and agility to explore unfamiliar territory alongside a curious pupil
• Teaches through investigation rather than exposition, and can generate novel, well-pitched challenges on the spot
• Can build genuine, warm relationships with young people and families from diverse backgrounds
• Is drawn to the mission: finding and supporting exceptional mathematical talent that might otherwise be missed

Prior experience of university teaching or individual tutoring is valuable but not required. What is required is the ability to communicate mathematics with real clarity and enthusiasm, and the commitment to put in the work to become an exceptional coach.

About the Maths Coaching Pilot

The Maths Coaching Pilot is a new national programme that identifies mathematically extraordinary pupils in state schools - with a particular mission to find disadvantaged pupils - and provides sustained 1:2 coaching, access to advanced mathematics, and close family support from age 9 or 12 through to university entry. It is the first programme of its kind in the UK operating at this level of mathematical depth and longitudinal commitment.

The programme's mathematical teaching is led by mathematicians with backgrounds in research and international competition mathematics. You would be joining a small, collegiate coaching team in which professional development, peer observation, and mathematical exchange are built into the working week.

The programme is currently incubated within Axiom Maths and is in an 18-month funded pilot, with a clear pathway to becoming an independent organisation after a successful pilot.

What We Offer

• Salary: £45,000
• Hybrid working: We all work remotely for most of the week. The successful candidate will work in the office every other Monday at our office which is close to King's Cross (N7 9QH). Travel to London for office days twice a month is included in the salary above and is not covered by expenses. All other relevant travel is covered by expenses.
• Flexible working: We work flexibly by default, and value outcomes rather than hours worked. All of our team are empowered to organise their work in a way that suits their needs.
• Setup costs: We offer a £500 allowance to purchase equipment for working from home. A laptop is also provided.
• Pension: 11% employer contribution
• Annual leave: 27 days leave + bank holidays, increasing by 1 day after 2 years tenure (up to 30 days). The office closes for 3 additional days between Christmas and New Year.
• Employee assistance programme: All our employees have access to a confidential employee assistance programme, which provides information and advice on a wide range of topics affecting their work or personal life.
• Books: Any employee can expense the purchase of any book that they believe will help make them better at their job.