Job Description

Location:

Sheffield (at least 2 days/week in person), with travel to Scotland

Start Date:

ASAP - freelance to begin with, converting to permanent in December

Compensation:

24,000 - 30,000 per year depending on experience

Days/week:

4 or 5 days/week possible (the above assumes 5 days)

Who We Are

Trellis is an early-stage startup providing AI-powered IT solutions to the Scottish education sector. We are backed by CivTech and the Scottish Government Directorate for Learning.

Our mission is simple:

Streamline admin. Support learning.

We're a tight-knit team of 5 who believe technology should make teachers' lives easier.

We're guided by three core values: empathy, craftsmanship, and integrity.

The Role

We're looking for someone who thrives on variety and wants to make a real difference in education. This isn't a typical desk job - you'll wear many hats, supporting the team across four key areas:

Machine Learning Evaluation (~25%):

Review AI-generated educational content against Scottish teaching standards. No technical background needed - just a keen eye for quality and unending curiosity.

User Research (~25%):

Travel to schools across Scotland every 4-7 weeks (in a supporting role to begin with). We'll interview teachers, parents, and pupils about their experience, and help the whole team understand what teachers really need.

Customer Support (~25%):

Provide first-line support to teachers using our app during pilot phases. You'll be the friendly face that helps solve problems and gathers feedback.

Team Operations (~25%):

We have a diverse team with distinct strengths, but needing some support with admin and organisation. You'll help colleagues with planning ahead, checking in on tasks & deadlines, and handling logistics like travel booking and equipment ordering.

Don't worry if you don't have experience of all of the above - you'll get lots of shadowing, coaching and other support to learn on the job.

What You Bring

Essential:

Mission alignment:

You genuinely care about improving education and reducing teacher workload

Adaptability:

You're energised by variety and comfortable switching between different types of work

Tech-savvy:

Enthusiastic computer user who picks up new software quickly (comfortable with spreadsheets, new apps, online tools)

Interpersonal skills:

Excellent at listening, empathetic, patient, and non-judgemental

Organisational superpowers:

You love creating order from chaos and helping others get organised. You can take in unstructured information and propose sensible next steps in real time

Desirable:

Experience working with young people (teaching, youth work, tutoring, etc) Interest in developing skills towards machine learning or software engineering roles (we'd love to support this growth!)

Why Join Us?

Impact:

Your work directly helps teachers spend less time on paperwork and more time with learners. Every task you complete makes a real difference.

Growth:

We're committed to your development. With structured weekly 1-1s and personal development planning, you'll gain valuable and broad-ranging skills. You'll report to Angela Bradbury (Chief Operating Officer / Project Manager).

Team:

Work closely with Andy (Founder & Product Manager), Harriet (Machine Learning Engineer), Dani (Software Engineer) and Thomas (Fractional CTO). This team has already delivered award-winning AI projects for Citizens Advice Scotland and the NSPCC.

Flexibility:

While we value in-person collaboration (minimum 2 days/week in Sheffield with Angela), we're flexible about how you structure your work around travel and project needs.

Values-driven:

For example, we created a compensation framework from a team consultation, and we run a blind hiring process.

The Process

Because of how our budget works, this role will start with a 2-month freelance contract, then convert to permanent employment in December if there's a good mutual fit. You'll need to bring your own laptop initially - we'll provide one if you join permanently.

Interested?

Fill out our application form

by 12th October 2025: https://helpfirst.notion.site/276dddf268e9805abb81f03040f4200c

Trellis is committed to equality and welcomes applications from all backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from people with lived experience of additional support needs / SEND in their schooling.

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Permanent, Freelance, Graduate

Pay: 24,000.00-30,000.00 per year

Expected hours: 30 - 37.5 per week

Benefits:

Casual dress Company pension Employee mentoring programme Flexitime Free or subsidised travel Profit sharing Sick pay Work from home
Application question(s):

Have you submitted your application via https://helpfirst.notion.site/276dddf268e9805abb81f03040f4200c?
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Sheffield S1 2JP